Style-savvy students step out in Fairtrade fashion

28/03/08

Style-savvy students step out in Fairtrade fashion

Students from Kingston University are snapping up Fairtrade sweatshirts designed to look good and help cotton farmers get a fair deal. The brightly coloured tops, which feature the University logo, bear the Fairtrade Foundation’s stamp of approval which guarantees the goods have been manufactured to help disadvantaged producers.

Since securing Fairtrade status in 2006, the University has taken a leading role in educating people about where their goods come from and ensuring producers in the Third World receive a fair price. Students and staff already consume more than 5,800 cups of Fairtrade tea and coffee a week on campus. University sustainability assistant Hannah Smith said adding the clothing collection, on sale at the Students’ Union shop at Penrhyn Road campus, was the next logical extension to the scheme. “Kingston University is a responsible organisation committed to the long-term future of the planet’s people and resources,” she said. “By buying Fairtrade products such as coffee, tea and chocolate our staff and students have already done a lot to help farmers and other producers to earn a decent living and provide good healthcare and education for their families. Now by purchasing a Fairtrade sweatshirt students can ensure that cotton farmers in the developing world can improve their livelihoods as well.”