Blaenau Ffestiniog and Prestatyn were both awarded Fairtrade Town status at a celebratory event at the Wales Millennium Centre on Monday 1st November.
The towns have worked hard to demonstrate their commitment to supporting Fairtrade, ensuring that Fairtrade products are widely available and holding promotional and educational activities to raise awareness of Fairtrade issues.
The awards were announced by the Environment Minister Jane Davidson who said:
“I am delighted that the Welsh towns of Blaenau Ffestiniog and Prestatyn have now had their Fairtrade Town status confirmed. They join the 45 other Fairtrade Towns and cities in Wales.
“Wales really is leading the way on Fairtrade; we were the first to be declared a Fairtrade Nation, have the world’s first Fairtrade capital city – Cardiff, all our cities have Fairtrade status and an impressive 70% of our towns have active Fairtrade campaigns.
“However we must not rest on our laurels. Our commitment to Fairtrade is ongoing and we are determined to keep leading the way so that we can support some of the poorest farmers and producers in the world to trade their way out of poverty.”
Kate Meakin, the development officer for Fair Trade Wales said:
“This is an achievement that the people of Blaenau Ffestiniog and Prestatyn have worked really hard for and should be very proud of.”
A Fairtrade Town is a community that has made a commitment to supporting Fairtrade and disadvantaged farmers and communities in the developing world.
Wales currently has 45 Fair Trade Towns and a further 30 have signed up to the scheme.
