We recently had a review of Rainbow Turtle to determine if what we were doing was still needed and if we should change the focus on what we do. Out of that process we had another look at our Mission Statement, Vision and Values:
Mission statement
Our purpose is to help alleviate inequality and financial inequity across the world as part of the global Fair Trade movement. We help educate and empower Renfrewshire citizens to understand and act upon global inequities to lead to a fairer world for everyone.
Vision
An equal world where everyone is paid a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work.
Values
Equity, Equality, Education, Global and Local Empowerment.
We thought you’d like to make a “leap” into Fairtrade Fortnight this year with a fundraising ceilidh for Rainbow Turtle. Starring the renowned ceilidh band, Haud Yer Lugs, this year’s ceilidh will be held in the Wynd Centre in Paisley on Saturday 29th February at 7pm. Tickets will be on sale in the Rainbow Turtle shop, priced £5 or £20 for a family. Tea and coffee will be provided.
Thanks to the Paisley Daily Express on the 2nd of December, a lovely article was written by Alison Rennie about our delightful Christmas window, designed and installed by the students of Mary Russell School in Paisley. Come and see our shop window and buy something different for the special person in your life, knowing that your purchase supports producers and their families in developing countries.
We’re excited to announce that the winner of our lucky Christmas draw for Friends of the Rainbow Turtle charity (drawn by our impartial volunteers!) is one of our volunteers Brother Barnabas! We hope you enjoy your Christmas hamper!
Time is ticking on and it’ll be Christmas Day before we know it. How are you getting on with your shopping for presents? If you’re anything like us there’ll be a last minute rush so we’ve compiled this handy gift guide to easy present shopping with a conscience!
Christmas Banquet Box, £20.00
This flavour-packed box squeezes in everything you need to make your Christmas dinner zero waste by turning leftover turkey into a tasty fair trade curry!
Coffee & Chocolate Pairings, £7.99
Traidcraft’s Q Arabica Graded coffee consultant has paired up ground coffee and bars of chocolate for the ultimate taste experience!
Friendly Bars Gift Set, £9.99-£14.99
Friendly’s ethical bars (4 in each set) range from simple shampoo to multi-purpose hair/face/laundry, meaning you use fewer harmful chemicals and no plastic in getting clean this Christmas.
Lip Balms, £8.00 & Balm Duo, £14.00
These Fairtrade and handmade beauty products will leave your skin feeling soft and you feeling virtuous.
Recycled Sari Bags, £4.99
Offcuts of colourful saris have been repurposed into these beautiful and practical bags which unfold from their handy keyring pocket. Perfect for last minute shopping trips!
Bombangles, £7.00
Made in Laos from metal salvaged from unexploded bombs dropped during the Vietnam War, each of these simple bangles comes in a pretty gift bag with a copy of the terrible story behind them.
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This week we had the fantastic pupils from Mary Russell School in our shop to install a Christmas window for us which they had designed and made themselves (with a bit of help from their lovely art teacher Miss Ferguson) on the theme of sustainability. Just by using things you might find around the house (lampshades, waste paper…) the pupils managed to make a really creative and eye-catching display for us this festive season. We hope you like it as much as we do!
P.S. Keep an eye out in the Paisley Daily Express early next week to see if you spot any familiar snow people…
Are you part of a church or community group who would like a private shopping experience in Rainbow Turtle this Christmas? Get in touch and we’ll see what we can do!
Have you ever wondered how much of an impact you could make just by switching one everyday item to a Fair Trade equivalent? Well, the Fairtrade Foundation have made it easy for you with this calculator to celebrate 25 years of the Fairtrade Mark. You simply choose your favourite Fairtrade product (I went with coffee!) and let them know how much of it you consume (I have 2 cups, although sometimes a bit more…) and the handy calculator works out just how many bathtubs that would fill in 25 years, and gives you some really interesting information on how your Fair Trade purchase helps farmers and producers. This is what I learned:
How many bathtubs of coffee do you drink?
Hugo Guerrero is fighting for the future of his family coffee farm. The climate crisis and plummeting coffee prices is making life harder at the Peruvian cooperative his father founded. Extreme weather is making plant diseases more common and more destructive, while market prices for coffee are the lowest in decades.
But thanks to Fairtrade, he is hopeful. ‘Without Fairtrade, we would not be growing coffee. It would not be profitable.’
Cafedirect are one of the companies buying the Guerreros’ beans on Fairtrade terms, meaning they get a much fairer deal and a better price.
Hugo, who studied Agronomy at university, is also introducing new organic farming methods to tackle the climate crisis. And he’s sharing this knowledge with the rest of his cooperative and the local community, leading to positive change across the region.
The Guerrero family can only succeed if we continue to buy Fairtrade coffee – so let’s drink to that!
