Stratford MP Kate Green came face-to-face with the next generation of politicians when she visited St Antony’s Catholic College to pick up a petition to endorse her campaign for Fair Trade.
Student volunteers at the Urmston church school have been backing her campaign to improve the rights of producers in less economically developed countries (LEDCs)
During Fair Trade fortnight the Stretford and Urmston Labour Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities has been touring schools, churches, charities and local business to show the strength of feeling on the ground for tougher fair trade legislation.
At St Antony’s she collected over 400 special forms signed by pupils and teachers demanding action rather than rhetoric ahead of the budget.
Kate said: “The poorest farmers in the poorest countries are not getting their fair share.
“Profits disappear down the supply chain with shippers, wholesalers and supermarkets taking nearly everything and leaving the local farmers with nothing to sustain their own own businesses and take LEDCs out of poverty.”
Aaliyah Kerr, 13, a student volunteer at St. Antony’s said: “It’s simply not right that someone who makes and dyes a pair of jeans in Tunisia will get 99 pence, whereas the merchant who sells them on from Italy will get £6.99 and they will sell for £49.99 in the U.K.
“Studying the rights and wrongs of fair trade has convinced me I want to study international law at university and hopefully follow Mrs Green and become an MP.”
