History of the Campaign

History of Campaign (2005 to 2011)

In 2005, Eastleigh Borough Council passed a resolution to serve Fairtrade tea and coffee in its own main Civic Offices. The Borough Council's Cabinet also approved a budget and other resources to facilitate the setting up of a local Fairtrade campaign with a view to becoming a Fairtrade Borough. Cabinet and Management Team Fairtrade Champions were appointed and the Sustainability Policy Coordinator for the Council was commissioned to create a group to take the Campaign forward.

This action by the Council was highly unusual in that it is normally a group of committed local citizens that canvass their local Council about becoming a Fairtrade Borough. Since there was no obvious group of people interested in Fairtrade locally, a great deal of effort and time was spent in raising awareness and creating an interim steering group.

After a few events and publicity designed to attract interested people, an interim steering committee was formed in July 2006 and a constitution for the Campaign agreed. This committee arranged several public meetings and attended various events with a 'Fairtrade in Eastleigh Borough' display. The secretary's report for the year 2006/2007, which gives more details of activities throughout this period is available on our Reports and Publications page.

Eastleigh Borough Council continues to support the Campaign and in 2006 gave a £500 grant to help, along with 'in kind' and other financial support.