Make Cotton Sustainable

PRESS RELEASE / MOTHER EARTH

Fair Trade goes to School
In response to calls from school and college students across the country for an end to uniforms made under appalling conditions, the supermarket chain Tescos has agreed to double the number of Fairtrade cotton school uniforms they stock. The student campaigning group People & Planet has called this a dramatic success for their new 'Wear Fair' campaign, which aims for all UK schools to have Fairtrade cotton uniforms by 2015, according to The Fairtrade Foundation.

The number of Fairtrade lines offered by Tescos will be increased by over 50%, while the volume of sales is projected to grow by 85% in 2010/11. This will make them the UK's leading retailer for Fairtrade cotton school uniforms, pushing them ahead of rivals Marks & Spencers. At a time of severe economic crisis for cotton growers in places like India and West Africa, this announcement is of great significance and shows the Fairtrade movement continuing to grow in strength.

Research commissioned by People & Planet showed that around 70% of school and college students want their uniforms to be made from Fairtrade cotton. Students in the campaigning group then launched a nationwide campaign last September to make this happen. Malek Araki, a student at Ealing College says: 'I’ve realised how big Fairtrade is and what great things it does for farmers'.