Something for the weekend?

This week and next week is Fairtrade Fortnight and there are a number of events on throughout the borough in connection with this. Amongst other things, Oscar's Cafe on Ladywell Road are giving away free fairtrade tea or coffee to their first 50 customers tomorrow (Friday). S if you haven't been along and sampled Petra's delicious cake yet, tomorrow might be a good time to do so.

Saturday is the last day of voting for this year's 'Who do you love' competition to find the best independent business in Lewisham. It would be great if a Ladywell or Brockley business won, but of course I'm biaised! Yes, we have a problem with run-down and empty premises, but we also have some great businesses in the area. You can cast your vote here.


Friends of Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries are having another workday this Saturday, in conjunction with Nature's Gym. Meet by the old chapel (near Ladywell entrance) at 11am. All welcome, wear comfortable old clothes, tools will be provided.

A bit further afield, in Bethnal Green, there is a very interesting line-up of speakers and discussions organised by a coalition of NGOs. The day is called 6 Billion Ways and the blurb says it is a a day where the arts meet ideas, discussion and action to explore the causes and find solutions to the interlinked global crises with financial markets, energy price rises, food riots, violent conflicts and environmental disasters. More details here. All sorts of interested discussions, a great line-up of speakers, and a big party in the evening.

Finally, if anyone fancies a bit of 'political green gym' (aka delivering our newsletters), I have thousands of our latest edition of Lewisham Green News arriving at my flat in the next day or so. If any readers are willing to deliver them to their street please get in touch, it would be most appreciated and not only does it give us councillors more time to get on with casework, getting a life etc, but it might also mean I get to see my lovely new floors again some time this side of Easter . . .

UPDATE, FRI AM: I forgot to mention Frog Day at Devonshire Road Nature Reserve this coming Sunday!

Fairtrade Fortnight 25th Feb- 9th March - Lewisham Events

Lewisham Council are in the process of updating the Lewisham Fairtrade Directory . Please take a look to see if the shops/cafes/pubs you know in Lewisham that sell faritrade products are mentioned and e-mail any additions/changes that you are aware of to Shola Ojo. I've already suggested she add Sheel Pharmacy, Shop on the Hill, Dandelion Blue and Mr Lawrence Wine Bar.
Fairtrade Fortnight starts on 25th February and there are a number of events happening in and around Lewisham:

28th March - Free showing of Blood Diamond film in the Broadway Theatre (but no more tickets available unfortunately - the event is free and has sold out very quickly)
1st March Lewisham Fairtrade stall in Lewisham shopping centre - Information and free prize draw .
6th March Talk by Sophi Tranchell from Divine Chocolate at Church of the Good Shepherd, Handen Road, Lee, 7pm. Fairtrade products available to sample and buy.
7th March - Fairtrade Music Competition in Blackheath Concert Halls (Recital room) 7pm. Entry free - please come along and support local musicians who have entered this competition to make a song about Fairtrade.
8th March - Lewisham Oxfam Campaigns Fairtrade Stall in Lewisham Shopping Centre, 9am onwards.

Plus there is also a big London launch event on Southbank on Sunday 24th February : Fairtrade Fairground, 11am - 4pm, Coin Street on the South Bank, London, see flyer for more info.

If you would like to get more involved in campaigning on fair trade and trade justice issues, you may be interested in joining Lewisham Oxfam Campaigns or Lewisham Trade Justice Movement. The latter is a coalition of a number of local groups and individuals, including, Oxfam, World Development Movement and Christian Aid, who work together to promote fairtrade and campaign against unfair world trade laws that trap producers in developing countries in poverty.

Song Competition: Help Lewisham celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight

Lewisham Council are launching a song competition, open to all who live work or learn in the borough, about fairtrade issues. Win a day in a recording studio and the chance to perform at People's Day 2008. Email lewisham4fairtrade@lewisham.gov.uk to register your interest by4 January 2008. Closing date 1 February 2008.

This is not a plastic bag

Following hot on the heels of Anya Hindmarch's highly-sought after designer bag and the announcement that Modbury in Devon has just become the first plastic bag free town in Europe, Lewisham town centre management team are about to launch a range of cotton bags, with the double aim of both promoting local shops and reducing waste.

The idea started out as a Green budget proposal. When we first discussed the idea with town centre managers, they liked it so much that they decided to spend a small amount of leftover cash from last year's budget on it straightaway. The first batch have just arrived back from the manufacturers and will be hitting shops soon. I believe the first bags are earmarked for the bigger shopping centres in Lewisham (ie Lewisham, Catford, Brockley), but as our budget proposal also went through, more bags (this time in fairtrade (and I think organic) cotton, as stipulated in our budget agreement) have been ordered, which I believe are going to be aimed at smaller shopping centres (I'm hoping this will include Ladywell, but I have no say over this).

The town centre managers will be offering the bags to shopkeepers at just above cost-price , who can then sell the bags onto customers at £2 each. This means that the scheme should be self-financing (ie sustainable in more ways than one!), as well as making the shops a small profit, and any profit made by the town centre managers will be ploughed back into buying more cloth bags or on other improvements to shopping areas.

So buy them quickly before they are snapped up and put on E-bay for extortionate prices. Could soon be the must have accessory for all shoppers in Lewisham!

Fairtrade Fortnight Part 2

The end of another successful Fairtrade Fortnight is drawing to a close in Lewisham.

The fashion show at the Albany last Friday was packed out and a huge success. It was billed as an ethical fashion show, so in addition to some of the bigger fairtrade companies such as Traidcraft and Think Fairtrade, there were also a number of local designers whose products were in some way ethical. Mela Boev, Rezia Wahid and Inkeri Medley are all based at Cockpit Arts. While the first two produce unique handwoven garments, Inkeri specialises in transforming second hand clothes into new items under TRAID's Re-made label. Other local designers included Fathema Wahid, Mankai Saxons, Chelline International Fashions and Robert Clayton. The clothes were modelled by students from the LABAN and other volunteers. Well done to Peter, Shola and all those who put so much work into it.

Last night I went to a reception to promote fairtrade to local business at the town hall. Although there weren't as many local businesses there as we had hoped, Ladywell ward was very well represented, with Brockley Kitchen doing the catering and Lloyd from Brockley Kitchen speaking about why fairtrade was good business for him. Clement from Cafe Neu and John from Moonbow Jakes were also there. There were also speakers from the Fairtrade Foundation and Sher Ghazi, director of a Pakistani company that grows the only fairtrade-certified apricots in the world gave an inspiring talk. These apricots are among the Traidcraft food items that I sell to other teachers at breaktime at work, so it was interesting to see where they were produced and how fairtrade has helped farmers send their children to school, invest in better tools, water storage etc. More info here.

Fairtrade Brockley!

Fairtrade Fortnight (26th February-11th March) kicked off yesterday and there are a number of events planned in Lewisham to celebrate it, including an ethical fashion show at the Albany, a Brazilian band at the Horniman Museum, a mayoral reception with local businesses and a fairtrade afternoon at Wavelengths.

Brockley Road is doing quite well for fairtrade, with Brockley Kitchen, Moonbow Jakes, Cafe Neu and Toad's Mouth Too all selling a range of fairtrade products (Moonbows have recently expanded their range). Lloyd Shackleford from Brockley Kitchen is passionate about fairtrade and is one of the speakers at the mayor's reception next week. Clement from Cafe Neu has more reason than many to support fairtrade; when I was talking to him it turned out that he used to work as a cocoa farmer in Nigeria so knows at first-hand what it feels like to work hard for a year then get next to nothing for what you've grown.

Pictured: Lloyd and Maurice from Brockley Kitchen. They have posters around the shop promoting fairtrade and Lloyd says that lots of customers tell him they have come to Brockley Kitchen specifically because they sell fairtrade tea and coffee (and flapjacks, hot chocolate . . .), so fairtrade makes good business sense for him as well as being the ethical thing to do.

Local shops seem to be lagging behind cafes somewhat, and from speaking to the shopkeepers, this may be because the cash and carries they use don't stock fairtrade. I think the cash & carry firms are missing a trick here. It is important that they start to stock Fairtrade goods so that small shops can do so. Many people who want to buy Fairtrade would also prefer to support local businesses, but at the moment small shops are losing fairtrade business to supermarkets.

Talking of small shops versus supermarkets, Traidcraft are doing a survey at the moment to find out peoples' views of supermarkets, the way they operate and how it relates to fairtrade.

Anyway, the fairtrade events in Lewisham are:

Friday 2 March 7-10pm: Fairtrade Ethical Fashion Show, The Albany Centre, Deptford SE8
Featuring Traidcraft, Chelline International Fashions, Think Fairtrade, Fathema and Rezia Wahid, Rosamond Robertson, Melanie Wilson, Zoë Hamilton-Peters, Mela Boev, Inkeri Medley and other local designers. (tickets are free but need to be booked in advance at the box office)

Sunday 4 March 1-2pm and 3-4pm: Fairtrade Rhythms, The Horniman Museum, Forest Hill, SE23. Get moving to the Brazilian rhythms of Viramundo to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight.
(Free admission)

Thurday 8 March 6pm - 8.30pm: Fairtrade Reception, Civc Suite, Lewisham Town Hall
Catford SE6. Reception hosted by Steve Bullock, Mayor of Lewisham for local businesses in support of Fairtrade Fortnight. By invitation, but contact Shola if you would like to go.

Saturday 10 March 11am - 3pm: Fairtrade Stalls at Wavelengths Library, Deptford SE8, Drop-in

Dreaming of a green Christmas?

Press release we issued today in response to a request from the Mercury. Interesting article in the Guardian today on a similar theme.

Everyone knows that turkeys can’t fly very far, so you might be surprised to learn that your Christmas dinner may have travelled a staggering 30,000 miles before it gets to your table.

From European fowl and African vegetables to Australian wine and American cranberry sauce, the ingredients of the traditional yuletide meal can notch up enough air miles to circumnavigate the globe.

But if that is worrying for the growing number of us who want to do what we can to help prevent climate change, local Green Party councillors have been spreading the message that you can still have a fantastic Christmas without it costing the Earth.

Councillor Ute Michel said: “There is no need to turn into Scrooge in order to help save the planet at Christmas time. By shopping at farmers' markets and local shops, watching our waste and reining in our spending we can enjoy a very Merry Christmas without sacrificing our Happy New Year."

The Greens have been brainstorming and have come up with ideas to make your celebrations more carbon-neutral:

Christmas dinner
Think local, think fair trade, think organic. With all the money being spent at this time of year, it is a great opportunity to support your local community by buying from small shops and market. Buying local produce also cuts down on those all-important ‘food miles’ – why buy Zimbabwean beans when great British produce is on our doorstep? You can find out about your local food suppliers on the Soil Association website.

Councillor Sue Luxton said: "By eating locally grown food we not only enjoy fresher, tastier food but we can spread Christmas cheer by supporting our local economies - and cutting out some of the greenhouse gas emissions produced by the aviation industry."

Presents
With UK households already owing more than £1 trillion, festive spending risks pushing thousands deeper into a spiral of debt - a terrible worry hanging over many people at Christmas, spoiling what should be a joyful time. Giving Secret Santa presents means no one goes without, and adds some fun and mystery to Christmas morning. Or why not give home-made or edible gifts instead of spending unnecessarily? If you’re not the craft or baking kind, check out local flea markets and vintage clothing shops – you’ll be giving something beautiful and unique, and recycling without even realising it!

The Christmas tree
Save money and save resources – why not use a tree with roots? You could watch it continue to grow all year round.You can find out more about container-grown trees at www.christmastree.org.uk. Each year, 6 million trees end up in landfill sites. So if you do go for a regular tree, check out the council’s tree recycling service – there should be a drop-off place close to your home.

Cards and wrapping paper

Each year, 200,000 trees are cut down to supply the UK’s 1.7 billion Christmas cards, and enough wrapping paper is used to wrap the island of Guernsey. So don’t forget to recycle yours! Or, as your grandparents probably used to tell you, reusing is even less wasteful – why not help your children to show off their creative sides by turning those old cards into decorations for next year? Learn more here: Woodland Trust.

Christmas waste
When you go shopping, cut down on yet more waste by taking your own shopping bags with you – and avoiding presents with lots of unnecessary packaging. All those vegetables that go into the roast don’t need to come in plastic packaging – buy loose! And when your clueless auntie gives you that present you know you’ll never use, don’t throw it away – join your local Freecycle group and give it away to someone who will appreciate it. You never know what you yourself might get for free when you become a member – and it all helps to avoid adding to our bulging landfill sites.

Going abroad for Christmas?
Consider taking the train to destinations within Europe - it’s far less polluting than air travel, the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases. And if you know where to look – Seat 61 is a great place to start – it can be cheaper and quicker than you think. With no check-in, baggage reclaim, stale cabin air or cramped seating, avoiding the airport is really a Christmas present to yourself, and the amazing views from your train window are the best way to get know the continent on your doorstep.