Invasion of the Tea Ladies

Over 50 tea-ladies in blue and pink pinafores and head scarves came to Westminster this morning to urge everyone to switch to Fair Trade products, including tea, as a part of 'The Big Swap', a whole series of events across the country in Fair Trade Fortnight, 22 Feb - 7 March organised by the Fairtrade Foundation. After demonstrating outside the Houses of Parliament they went up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square where they held a tea dance. London, UK. 25/02/2010

Over 50 tea-ladies in blue and pink pinafores and head scarves came to Westminster this morning to urge everyone to switch to Fair Trade products, including tea, as a part of 'The Big Swap'. This was one of a whole series of events across the country in Fair Trade Fortnight, 22 Feb - 7 March and was organised by the Fairtrade Foundation. After demonstrating outside the Houses of Parliament they went up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square where they held a tea dance. London, 25/02/2010

London is now the world's largest Fair Trade city, and around two thirds of its 33 boroughs also have Fair Trade status, along with many workplaces, cafés, tourist attractions, schools and colleges - including 9 of London's universities - churches and other faith groups.

Fair trade means that the people who produce the goods in developing countries get a proper return for their labour and that they enjoy decent conditions of work. As well as providing fair and stable prices for the producers, the Fairtrade Foundation products also provides a social premium which is spent on community projects - such as building schools and providing health care and roads. The Fairtrade Foundation mainly certifies agricultural commodities such as sugar, tea, coffee, cotton and chocolate, licensing them to carry the Fairtrade Foundation symbol which guarantees they have been produced under agreed and audited labour and environmental standards. There are many other fairly traded goods - such as craft products, greetings cards and some fashion items and accessories for which Fairtrade certification is not appropriate.

The fair trade movement began around sixty years ago, mainly with charities and small activist groups importing handicrafts. In the 1960s there were just one or two outlets scattered around the country selling fairly traded instant coffee that required political dedication to drink; now we buy Fair Trade teas and coffee not just to support producers but because of its high quality. They are stocked by Sainsbury's, the Co-operative, Waitrose, ASDA, Morrisons, Somerfield, Spar, Tesco and other major retailers as well as many smaller stores. Last year Sainsbury's switched all its own-brand roast and ground coffee to Fairtrade, along with its Red Label tea.

Fairtrade bananas and other fruits and vegetables are also now widely available and products such as Divine chocolate have set new quality standards for widely available sweets and snacks. There are some fine and reasonably priced fairly traded wines and other drinks. Swapping to Fair Trade products can benefit consumers as well as the producers, although some retailers have been criticised for adding increased profit margins on these items.

Most cotton goods we wear - whether dirt-cheap on market stalls and mass-market retailers or at ridiculous expense from fashion boutiques are produced from cotton grown using near-slave labour and made up in sweat shops by people working long hours in dangerous and often unsanitary conditions. Now there is an alternative - Fairtrade certified cotton, and it is being used to make reasonably priced clothing, including various uniform items as well as fashion clothing and tea towels. And you can also get Fair Trade beauty products and soaps.

I joined the tea-ladies - who included a few men – outside the Houses of Parliament as they made their way around Parliament Square. Some carried teapots or tea trays, and there was a man with a large inflated plastic teacup with the message 'Swap Your Cuppa'. They sang some Fair Trade slogans and practised dancing, along with the occasional 'Mexican Wave’ that passed along the line.

From there the tea-ladies went up Whitehall and stopped at the Strand for a final briefing from the event organisers and a brief rest before making their way to the North Terrace of Trafalgar Square for their main dance, to music provided by a rather smart road sweeper and his barrow.