Islington has become the 200th Fairtrade Town in the UK -- and to celebrate this achievement the council has presented the Islington Football Development Partnership with 70 Fairtrade footballs.<br><br>By presenting the footballs, it's hoped that through sport more people will become aware of the Fairtrade Campaign. All of the footballs are labelled with fairtrade messages, and are purchased from fair deal trading which is a company that supplies fairtrade footballs and trainers.<br><br>Cllr Lucy Watt, executive member for environment, said: "The presentation of these footballs is not only to recognise Islington Council's achievement in driving the borough to become a Fairtrade Town, but also to ensure the Fairtrade message is passed on through sport in the borough.<br><br>We are committed to being a 'green' council and through our Fairtrade Steering Group, we will continue to ensure Fairtrade goods are stocked by local shops and that residents are committed to buying them."<br> <br>This achievement is the result of a year of hard work by Islington's Fairtrade Steering Group to get local shops to stock Fairtrade goods and educate people to buy them.<br><br>To become a Fairtrade Town, Islington Council had to achieve 5 goals:<br><br>To pass a council resolution to ensure Fairtrade tea, coffee and other products are used <br>A range of Fairtrade products must be available in local shops <br>Fairtrade products must be used by a number of local work places <br>To attract support for the campaign <br>To set up a local Fairtrade Steering Group to ensure ongoing commitment <br> <br>Michael MacNeil from Aquaterra Leisure which manages Islington's leisure facilities, said: "We are delighted to be involved in promoting the Fairtrade message. The Islington Football Development Partnership's objective is to increase grass-roots participation through increased opportunities and improved facilities. To be presented with 70 Fairtrade footballs is a great opportunity to provide new and improved equipment for our young sport stars of the future".<br><br>For further information on Fairtrade in Islington see: www.islington.gov.uk/fairtrade <br><br>ends<br><br> <br><br>
Page Last Updated: 17 December 2009