Author: rainbowturtle2002

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Back to School

rainbowturtle2002

Schools in Scotland have been back for a good while now, and the rest of the UK is following suit this month, so it’s a good time to think ahead to how we can continue to include Fair Trade in the curriculum over the coming months in these challenging times.

To celebrate September’s Global Citizenship month Highland One World have launched their Wee Flags for Change challenge to design a flag based around a commitment to one positive action on a global issue (perhaps Fair Trade?) and share a socially distantanced campaign video.

September is also the month of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum’s annual awards to recognise and celebrate the achievements of individuals, groups and organisations who make Scotland a Fair Trade Nation. If your school’s Fair Trade group has done something really special over the last year why not nominate them here by Monday 14th September. The awards will be presented virtually in November.

An easy and fun way for pupils to learn about Fair Trade is to screen some short films, such as the recent series on a family of cocoa farmers produced by the Fairtrade Foundation. These are suitable for viewing in school or at home and include an activity pack.

World Cotton Day is coming up on 7th October, which is a good opportunity to investigate a Fair Trade product that isn’t one of the usual suspects like bananas or chocolate! The Fairtrade Foundation have collated information and activities here.

If you would like more ideas or help with Fair Trade activities in the classroom you can contact our Education Officer here.

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Guest Blog

rainbowturtle2002

This week we have a guest blog from one of our trustees (who wishes to remain anonymous), reflecting on this difficult period we’ve just come through.

What can we learn from this crisis?

What have been your experiences during this crisis? How have you found strength? What might be some lessons we could learn? What would be your hopes for the future?

At Rainbow Turtle we have come through the shop being closed and our educational activities curtailed. There was no scope for normal business. Shutters and doors remained closed. None of our customers, volunteers or staff could be there to bring life to the shop. “Business as usual” had disappeared. It was a time of not functioning.

Yet, after a time, a spark of hope emerged, thanks to people and to technology. Management and volunteers worked together in outreach to customers online. And our customers responded with enthusiasm. We have learned that while things have changed, there is still deep generosity in people and a real desire to be part of making things better.

Some people hope for a return to “business as usual” and to go back to the way it was before. Some people hope for more change so that society can be transformed. We cannot predict what will happen but we can be part of a fresh start. Rainbow Turtle is one place where we can do this. Your purchase is part of making things better. You contribute to stability of income for producers and to caring for our environment. Both of these are crucial for the well-being of people and planet. You are our hope for the future.

Further reflection:
Radio 4 Analysis with Margaret Heffernan: Thinking for the Long Term
BBC Radio4 Khamal Ahmed in Mohammed and the Market
Or for “online conversation with leading public thinkers”

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Support from SFTF

rainbowturtle2002

You may remember that in June we promoted a Crowdfunding campaign from the Scottish Fair Trade Forum to support Fair Trade suppliers (like us!) to survive the Coronavirus pandemic. We’re very pleased to update you all that the campaign raised a total of £9000 and Rainbow Turtle successfully applied for a portion of this money. So far, we’ve used the funding to make our shop a bit safer for volunteers and for customers with a protective screen at our counter, and we’ve restocked the shop with lots of Fair Trade treats!

Many thanks to the Scottish Fair Trade Forum for organising this campaign, and to all who donated.

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Click & Collect Still Available

rainbowturtle2002

Remember we’re still operating our click and collect service! Just order before midnight on Sunday here and collect on Wednesday at an agreed time. The shop will also be open on Wednesday between 11 and 2 so if there are gaps in our collection schedule you can pop in for a browse! All we ask is that you first have a look through our windows to check if there’s another customer in already, and follow our simple guidelines.

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Click & Collect Service Up and Running

rainbowturtle2002
Volunteers Roisin, Duncan and Eleanor (disguised as a customer) modelling our new C&C service

Rainbow Turtle successfully launched its click and collect service at its Paisley shop today. The shop is now open on a Wednesday for customers who have ordered through the website.

Each customer is allocated a 15 minute interval between 11am and 2pm to pick up their order. Needless to say, they can also add to their order at the time or get refills for their Ecover cleaning products.

For more information, please visit our online ordering page.

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100% Cotton Reusable Fair Trade Face Masks

rainbowturtle2002
  • Floral Pink
  • Blue Stripe
  • Floral Blue
  • Blue Check
  • Floral Mix
  • Plain Dark Blue
  • Floral Green
  • Floral Grey

With our new click & collect service beginning, we thought that it was time to seek out new products that are useful for the unusual times we’re living in. These 100% fair trade cotton reusable face masks are the perfect ethical and environmentally friendly alternative to disposable masks and are just £4.99 each. They also look great! The different pattern names are below (reading from top left) and you can order your favourite, along with all of your food, drink and cleaning essentials, here.

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Click & Collect/Delivery Starts Next Week!

rainbowturtle2002

As you might know, Rainbow Turtle is almost entirely run by our lovely volunteers. Many of our volunteers are still vulnerable to coronavirus, and so we’ve decided that we aren’t quite ready to reopen fully yet. Instead, we’ll be taking orders here for click & collect and delivery starting next week! The deadline each week will be Sunday midnight, and orders will be collected/delivered on Wednesdays. We’ll be in touch to arrange a collection slot or payment for deliveries. We hope that this will be a good stepping stone to reopening, and that lots of you will be willing to support us in this way, and get access to great Fair Trade products again!

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Nestlé Rejects Fairtrade

rainbowturtle2002

This week the chocolate and sweets giant Nestlé announced that they would no longer be buying Fairtrade cocoa or sugar, meaning that some of the UK’s favourite treats like KitKats will no longer feature the Fairtrade logo. This move has been widely condemned, with the Fairtrade Foundation noting that:

The move will mean a loss of almost £2 million (£1.95 million) in Fairtrade Premium each year for co-operatives in Côte d’Ivoire, Fiji and Malawi, representing 27,000 small scale producers. This income is a real lifeline for some of the world’s poorest farmers.

Fairtrade Foundation

The Scottish Fair Trade Forum have also released a statement expressing their disappointment, as well as their concern for producers in what is already a difficult time. Rainbow Turtle would also like to add our voices to those condemning Nestlé for their actions and asking them to reverse their position. To show your own support, you can sign this petition and share it widely.

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Support Scottish Suppliers

rainbowturtle2002

The Scottish Fair Trade Forum’s crowdfunding campaign to help Fair Trade suppliers in Scotland (like us!) survive these difficult times is about to go into its final week and still has a bit to go to meet their goal. Can you help at all? Fair Trade suppliers in Scotland play a critical role for justice, equity and sustainability in trade and even the smallest of donations will help us all to continue supporting producers in need.

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Volunteers’ Week 2020

rainbowturtle2002

It’s Volunteers’ Week this week, a time to celebrate the amazing contribution volunteers make and giving an opportunity to say thank you. The Rainbow Turtle shop and charity wouldn’t be able to function without our enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers, and we really do thank each and every one of you for everything that you do. Even though Rainbow Turtle isn’t able to carry out most of what we do right now, our volunteers are still keeping our spirits up with their lovely emails and video chats, and lots of ideas for the future. Thank you!

Under more normal circumstances we would have organised something this week to thank our volunteers properly – last year we had a lovely night of sandwiches, cake, and chatter! – but of course that’s not possible right now. We hope to be back together very soon, and we can postpone our celebrations until then.