Free drop in session provides an opportunity to explore,
“nourishing the body, nourishing the soul", do we know the score? Bring along friends and let's share over a free cuppa - All Welcome
Venue: Sussed - Green room... upstairs cafe area
4-5 James street, Porthcawl, CF36 3BG
Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University are a registered charity, providing free of charge talks, workshops, retreats and courses in meditation and related subjects. www.brahmakumaris.org/uk.
Registered Charity 269971: Contact Amita 07940 953239
Sainsbury's ditch Fairtrade tea - sign the petition
From the Fairtrade Foundation: You may have seen in the news recently that Sainsbury’s have decided to drop the FAIRTRADE Mark from their own-brand tea and replace it with their own ‘Fairly Traded’ label.
It means their Red and Gold Label, Green and Rooibos teas are no longer Fairtrade certified. Sainsbury’s are piloting a self-run sustainability scheme instead, and these are the first products launched as part of it.
Sign this Change.org petition and tell Sainsbury’s: don’t ditch Fairtrade.
Sainsbury’s asked the Fairtrade Foundation to work with them on their scheme, but we have some major concerns about it. You can read our statement here.
They include the fact that the farmers who grow their ‘Fairly Traded’ tea do not have a fair say in how the scheme is run. They will not be allowed to decide themselves how they invest the cash bonus they get on top of what they earn for their tea (similar to the Fairtrade Premium). Instead, the money will be held by Sainsbury’s, who have told farmers they have to apply to a board in London to find out if they can have it.
Over 220,000 tea producers stand to be affected by the change, and those we have spoken to are deeply dismayed. Fairtrade farmers have written an open letter to Sainsbury’s making it clear how unhappy they are:
‘We told Sainsbury’s loud and clear: your model will bring about disempowerment. We are extremely concerned about the power and control that Sainsbury’s seeks to exert over us.’
Another major concern is how the ‘Fairly Traded’ label on their own-brand tea could be misleading customers. It is very clearly written on the front of packs but the tea is not independently Fairtrade certified, it is self-accredited by Sainsbury’s.
Sainsbury’s are the largest retailer of Fairtrade products in the UK, and have proudly supported it for many years, with thousands of farmers and workers relying on their business. That’s why we’re hopeful that through discussions we can still persuade them to change their approach.
If you would like to show Sainsbury’s how much you support Fairtrade, you can sign the Change.org petition set up by Barbara Gwinnett, a long-time Fairtrade campaigner and Chair of Wolverhampton Fairtrade Partnership.
SUSSED sells a variety of fairtrade teas and coffees.
UK Supermarkets How Ethical Are They? (Video - Ethical Consumer)
How do the ethics stack up at your favourite supermarket? Leonie Nimmo discusses Ethical Consumer's research into the industry and discovers that it is still plagued with environmental and social issues. http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/buyersguides/food/supermarkets.aspx Special thanks to Mighty Earth, Kindling Trust & Manchester Veg People.
Pop in to the Green Room Café Saturday 21st January 2017
Fairtrade coffees and teas with delicious home made goodies created with fairtrade ingredients... pop in from 10.30, above SUSSED. The Café returns every third Saturday of the month.
Green Room Pop Up Café returns 19th Nov
Prepare your taste buds for some home made goodies!
The Pop up Café returns above SUSSED in the Green Room spacem 10:30am-4pm 19th November. For your diary; the Café will return every third Saturday.
Take a look at the menu (PDF)
Worldwide shortage of Chocolate?
Some cocoa industry experts think that rising demand for the cocoa beans that go into making our chocolate will lead to a worldwide shortage of cocoa within five years. It could mean you pay more for your 3pm chocolate fix, bars get smaller or – choc horror – chocolate could disappear altogether.
A big reason for this is that there aren’t enough younger people going into cocoa farming. Growing and harvesting the cocoa is physically demanding and the current generation of cocoa famers are coming up to retirement. Young people don’t see a future in it for themselves, having seen their parents struggle for years on very low incomes.
Find out more at the Fairtrade Foundation: http://goodbye.fairtrade.org.uk
SUSSED stocks a mouth watering range of Divine chocolate (including an advent calendar for Christmas). Divine Chocolate is the only mainstream chocolate company owned by the farmers who supply its cocoa – so they share Divine profits as well as receiving the Fairtrade price for their cocoa. Kuapa Kokoo cooperative of cocoa farmers in Ghana are Divine’s largest shareholder with a 44% share in the company. It means they benefit from the additional income from Fairtrade premiums, but also the profit, knowledge and power that company ownership brings
Divine Chocolate at SUSSED