Young Kiwis create nationwide Fairtrade movement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release
Monday 9th of May 2011

Young Kiwis create nationwide Fairtrade movement

Rennie Qin and Soyeon Lim don’t think that being young stops you from making an impact.

The 19 years olds are calling for kiwis to pay a fairtrade coffee forward to the next customer on May the 18th national Pay Fairtrade Forward Day. The next customer gets a free drink and is asked to pay it forward to someone else. A domino effect is created!

Pay Fairtrade Forward, based on an international movement Pay It Forward, but with a fairtrade twist, is the brain child of these young kiwis.

The pair are a part of P3 Foundation, an organization founded by Divya Dhar, Young New Zealander of the Year made up of young people working together to break the poverty cycle.

‘I believe this experiment will be a huge hit because kiwis are such a fun loving and generous bunch’ says project lead Rennie Qin ‘through the domino effect, you are influencing so many people, both third world farmers and cafe customers.’

‘Fairtrade products ensure farmers are getting a fair wage as well as an additional Fairtrade Premium which is invested in social and community development projects’ Stephen Knapp CEO of fairtrade ANZ explains ‘this is a really creative way to increase fairtrade awareness. Help these young people to make it happen!’

The duo, full time university students, have worked tirelessly for months to make this happen. They have been ringing up every single fairtrade coffee roaster and cafe in the country a well as assembling an army of volunteers to reach out to cafes.

‘Pay Fairtrade Forward is a true example of kiwi ingenuity and can-do attitude’ CEO of P3 Foundation Divya Dhar says ‘Young New Zealanders do care a lot about the world!’

Supported by Fairtrade ANZ and Oxfam, this experiment takes off nationwide in local fairtrade cafes. Check out their website www.p3foundation.org for more information.

ENDS

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