A product being Fairtrade means that social, economic and environmental standards have been set for both the companies and the farmers and workers who grew the products. It means that those workers will have been paid better prices and had decent working conditions. The Fairtrade mark means that local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world will have been supported.
These are all values that we as a University believe should be supported and that we should help campaign for this type of support for farmers and workers to be universal. Cardiff Metropolitan University and Cardiff Metropolitan Students’ Union have been supporting and selling Fairtrade products since 2003 and gained Fairtrade accreditation in 2007 from the UK’s Fairtrade Foundation. We were awarded Fairtrade status with Cardiff Met SU in 2022 under the new updated criteria.
Cardiff Met supports Fairtrade throughout each year, including by:
Having a Fairtrade Steering Group that meets termly
Selling Fairtrade Products in all University and Student’s Union retail and catering outlets
Celebrating and promoting Fairtrade Fortnight each year
Serving Fairtrade Tea and Coffee in hospitality
For more information on what Fairtrade is and why we believe you should support Fairtrade products, go to the Fairtrade Foundation Website.
The Fairtrade Steering Group has created a SMART Action Plan that shows their aims and objectives for the coming year. This document is constantly being updated and the current version is shown here: Fairtrade SMART Action Plan.
To access the Fairtrade Policy, go to Policies, Strategies and Plans.
Please refer to the Students’ Union Fairtrade page for more information on our joint Fairtrade plans, meetings, events and survey.
If you wish to provide feedback on the current policy or get involved with the consultation for draft policies please email sustainability@cardiffmet.ac.uk or studentunion@cardiffmet.ac.uk. All feedback will be reviewed at the Fairtrade Steering Group and/or Sustainability Committee on a termly basis.
