Tring's Status as a Fairtrade Town is Renewed at Market Place Ceremony

On Saturday 20th April 2013 the Tring Town Mayor, Councillor Nick Hollinghurst was presented with the Fairtade Foundation's Certificate in a ceremony in Tring Market Place which formally renewed Tring's status as a Fairtrade Town.

Michael Demidecki, Secretary of the Justice & Peace Group, made the presentation. The Justice & Peace Group, which is affiliated to Churches Together in Tring, acts as the Fairtrade Steering Group for the town. As such, they carried out a rigorous assessment of the extent to which Fairtrade products are accessible, sold and used within the town to ensure that Tring did still in fact qualify for fairtrade status.

Tring was first declared a Fairtrade Town in 2007 and the renewal is until 2015. In their letter enclosing the certificate the Fairtrade Foundation commented "It's clear from your renewal form that Fairtrtade in Tring is reaching ever greater heights. We love how more retail and catering outlets in the town are stocking Fairtrade products".

The Mayor after accepting the certificate on behalf of the people of Tring said that fairness is a pattern of behaviour that we all instinctively recognise. It does however require a conscious effort to practice but fairness should be an essential part of our dealings with all the people we have contact with. He said that this presentation celebrated fairness to farmers in third world countries, who usually work in cooperatives, and added that we should be prepared to pay a fair price for a fair product. Fairness, he said, is something we ought to strive for in our dealings with everyone, locally and across the globe.

The Justice and Peace Group meets in Tring every month except December. Everyone is welcome to its meetings. For more information see www.justiceandpeacetring.org