THE BOROUGH has celebrated renewing its commitment to sustainable and fairly sourced products.

A small ceremony was held at The Eco Shop in Barrow on Friday to commemorate Barrow becoming a Fairtrade Borough.

Both Barrow and Dalton previously had separate classifications, but this is the first time the whole Borough is united in it.

Kathryn Aldred, of Fairtrade Furness, said: “The idea to work towards becoming a Fairtrade Borough started back in 2018 over a cup of Fairtrade coffee with former Borough Councillors Ann Thurlow and Barry Doughty, who had worked on the original Dalton award.

"It was time to renew both Fairtrade Town statuses and it clearly made more sense to join forces and go for Fairtrade Borough status."

The Fairtrade Foundation sets five goals which must be met before the application can be submitted. First and foremost, the Borough Council must support the project and commit to serving Fairtrade tea and coffee at all their meetings and whenever hot drinks are served in their offices.

An audit must be completed locally to see how many shops and cafes sell Fairtrade products and which workplaces and community organisations, including churches and schools, engage with Fairtrade. Other goals are to attract media coverage and popular support for the campaign and to maintain progress through a committed steering group.

Ms Aldred continued: “When people think of Fairtrade, they usually think of products like tea, coffee, sugar, bananas, chocolate and wine - all of which are on sale locally in many retail outlets, the most prolific one being the Co-op. But we chose to do the presentation in the Eco Shop on Barrow’s Scott Street to show that Fairtrade isn’t just about food and drink.

"Barbara at the Eco Shop stocks a number of fairly traded household goods and gifts like beautiful scarves from ethical companies like Shared Earth and Tearfund. Similarly, Beddalls Newsagents on Market Street in Dalton stocks some lovely Fairtrade ceramics and bags.

"There are lots of opportunities locally to buy a wide range of Fairtrade items and support some of the world’s most disadvantaged workers."

The organisation is now looking to update their database of Fairtrade businesses in the area. They are also keen to engage with community organisations, and can be contacted on fairtradefurness@icloud.com.

Fairtrade Borough status is renewable in autumn 2023.