OKEHAMPTON has proudly declared its status as a Fairtrade Town with new signs on the approaches to the town.

Members of the Okehampton Fairtrade Group and the town’s Devon County Councillor Kevin Ball met on Friday last week to mark the occasion.

The signs on the main routes into the town, displayed below the town logo, have been provided with a West Devon Locality Grant from the county council for £650, arranged by Cllr Ball.

Group spokeswoman Kate Thompson said the town had held Fairtrade status since 2010, and wanted to make visitors and residents alike more aware of the fact.

‘I was keen to have these signs because travelling around the country I noticed that in quite a few towns which have fair trade status you usually have that stated somewhere. This is what we wanted, to share the town’s feeling of pride in being a Fairtrade town,’ she said.

Fairtrade status certifies that a good proportion of shops, cafes and organisations within the town use and sell Fairtrade goods. The logo is the guarantee that workers in far-away countries are paid a fair price for their products.

‘The group was formed in 2009 because of a desire amongst local people to make trade fairer and improve conditions for farm workers in developing countries by encouraging the sale of Fairtrade goods in the town,’ said Kate.

‘Challenges such as climate change and war mean that small producers need this support more than ever.

‘The thing we want to stress is that by the choices we make when we are shopping, by deciding to have Fairtrade coffee, say, instead of the one you had at your friend’s, you are getting an extra benefit and benefitting other people. It is about the power of people making a difference.’

Okehampton achieved Fairtrade status having gained the support of the town council and gathered evidence and information required by the Fairtrade Foundation.

To maintain this status the group needs to provide evidence of work undertaken and to put forward an action plan for the future every two years.

Kate said the group were grateful to Cllr Ball for facilitating a West Devon Locality Grant to cover the cost of the signs.