FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pay Fairtrade Forward - May 18th

Wellington, New Zealand, 14th May 2012 –

On 18 May 2012, cafés all over New Zealand are joining forces to Pay Fairtrade Forward. At the beginning of the day an army of volunteers will be heading into their local cafés that sell fairtrade coffee and buying a coffee. The difference is, after indulging themselves they will leave a coffee as a gift for the NEXT customer.

The Pay Fairtrade Forward campaign is a social experiment through which we aim to increase awareness within New Zealand about the effects of buying fairly traded coffee and the difference this makes for farmers in developing countries.

So the lucky customer who comes in next will receive a free cup of fairtrade coffee and the concept of fairtrade and the positive social impact it has will be explained to them. They will then be asked if they would like to pay it forward to the next person – passing on the knowledge and creating a domino effect. This campaign was run in both 2010 and 2011, with amazing results –last year in one café in Auckland the chain continued for 200 people!

Fairtrade practice ensures that the coffee growers receive a guaranteed minimum price (providing them with enough money to meet their basic needs and protecting the vulnerable from often crippling fluctuations in the world market), a social premium (extra payment for the co-operatives to put towards community development in the form of schools, medical centres, better water supplies and environmental enhancement programmes), technical assistance (to improve crops, harvesting, processing, negotiation and shipping including access to social services) and expectation of future orders (enabling the growers to maintain and improve upon these community development initiatives).

P3 Foundation believes that education is the key to empowerment, thus through the Pay Fair-Trade Forward campaign we are seeking to educate New Zealanders on how an action as small as deciding where to buy your morning coffee, can have a global impact.

To participate on the day, simply go into your local fair-trade café and buy a fair-trade coffee. Below is a list of participating cafes, with more continually being added on our Facebook page. Jump on and confirm your participation.

So, when it comes to your next cup of coffee, will you take the opportunity to have a global impact?
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