By Frances Gordon
Auckland is now closer to becoming a Fairtrade city after the Waitemata Local Board became the first board to switch to Fairtrade products on Tuesday, May 10.
The board unanimously voted to become a Fairtrade workplace, meaning only Fairtrade certified tea and coffee will be served at meetings and made available at the board’s offices.
Deputy Chair of Waitemata Local Board Pippa Coom made the announcement at the beginning of Fairtrade Fortnight, which is held every year to encourage individuals and businesses alike to switch to fair trade products.
“As a board we wish to ‘Show off our Swap’ - the theme for this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight - by taking the first step of serving Fairtrade products at our local board offices,” she says.
Ms Coom says the community has welcomed the move to Fairtrade.
“There are already many cafes and businesses within our local board area that have already made the swap, and many residents appreciate having the option to shop ethically,” says Ms Coom.
For Auckland to become a Fairtrade city, the Auckland Council must vow to support and commit to working towards meeting the Fairtrade minimum requirements for at least 12 months.
Some of these requirements include making sure that all central council meetings, canteens and tearooms serve certified Fairtrade tea and coffee.
Auckland also needs to have a minimum of one retail store per 5000 people which sells Fairtrade products. In Auckland City, this would mean having at least 280 shops.
There are currently 900 cities and towns internationally that are certified Fairtrade. Wellington and Dunedin are the only certified New Zealand cities.
Frances Gordon is a journalism student at AUT University.