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London celebrates becoming Fairtrade capital of the world!

Londoners have more choice than ever before when it comes to selecting Fairtrade in the nation's capital, as on Thursday 23 October, 2008, London became the world's largest Fairtrade City.

Hundreds of businesses have signed up to the campaign, meaning that Londoners will never again have to go very far to buy the Fairtrade products they want. In achieving Fairtrade City status, the nation's capital sent a strong message that the people of London want trade to be fairer.

"It's super news that London is now officially the world's largest Fairtrade city, with 20 Fairtrade boroughs in the capital. It sends a clear message that Londoners want their products to be Fairtrade and to make a significant difference to the lives of farmers and workers n the developing world."

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London.

"Now London has achieved Fairtrade City status we can really stake our claim as the Fairtrade Capital of the World. We are proud to play our part in tipping the balance of trade in favour of producers but we recognise that there is so much more to be done and we hope that people all over London will continue to do their bit by joining their local campaign and getting their schools and workplaces to stock more Fairtrade marked products."

Sophi Tranchell, Chair of the London Fairtrade Campaign

Across the capital, 20 boroughs now have Fairtrade Borough status, five of which are Olympic Boroughs. Almost 1000 retailers and 600 catering outlets now sell a range of products which carry the famous FAIRTRADE Mark.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said: "We have come a long way since Croydon became the first borough to achieve Fairtrade status in 2003 and the London Steering Group and Fairtrade Boroughs are to be congratulated for their hard work in achieving our new status."

941 retailers and 607 catering outlets now sell a range of Fairtrade products, including iconic London institutions like the Barbican, the British Library café, Café in the Square (Trafalgar Sq), the Horniman Museum, the London Eye, the National Theatre, the Royal Festival Hall, St Martins in the Field café, Amnesty International UK, Houses of Parliament, the café at Princess Diana Memorial Gardens and many more.

Key companies now providing Fairtrade at work include KPMG, the London Fire Brigade, the Met Police, The Bank of England, Royal Botanic Gardens, Aviva, BBC TV Centre, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, the Globe Theatre and East Thames Housing Association.

Churches across London have stalls stocking Fairtrade products and within the Anglican church, the Diocese of Southwark, the Diocese of London and the Diocese of St Albans all support Fairtrade.

Six universities across London reaching 89,650 students have Fairtrade University status. These include LSE, Royal Holloway College, King’s College London, Kingston University, Imperial College London, Southbank University.

Currently there are six Fairtrade Schools in London and 30 secondary schools, and 45 primary schools which are registered as working towards Fairtrade status.

A recent CAPI OmniBus survey shows that the public’s appetite for products carrying the FAIRTADE Mark has dramatically increased in all areas. Demand for Fairtrade in schools, colleges and universities has nearly tripled from 10% to 29% and demand in other sectors such as hotels and B&Bs, cafes, restaurants pubs, in supermarkets and smaller stores continues to flourish. In the workplace the number of people wanting Fairtrade has more than doubled from 9% to 21%.