MEDIA RELEASE For Immediate Release
Change in a coffee cup
Beat the winter chills and venture out for a free cup of tea or coffee on World Fair Trade Day, Saturday May 14. Serving
free fair trade drinks on Saturday morning from 10 till 12 are Trade Aid shops throughout the country in an effort to
set the record for New Zealand’s Biggest Morning Tea held simultaneously in different locations.
Leading cafés and organic stores are joining the thirty Trade Aid shops by serving Fair Trade tea and coffee on Saturday
as part of the record setting attempt. Fair trade is now available in all good supermarkets and cafes throughout New
Zealand and you can guarantee it’s going to be a quality cup.
Why drink coffee from the equivalent of a factory sweatshop when you can have an organic fair trade coffee which has
left the grower with enough money to feed his family and invest in environmental controls? With the cost of coffee on
the world market often dropping below the price of production, Fair trade is the sustainable alternative to developing
the coffee farming countries whose communities are traditionally some of the poorest in the world.
Joining the world in Fair Trade celebrations, Trade Aid, Oxfam and the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New
Zealand are bringing fair trade into the spotlight for Fair Trade Fortnight which takes place from May 7 to 21.
Throughout the fortnight there will be further opportunities to taste great coffee and enjoy free live music at Fair
Trade Fiestas in Dunedin and Christchurch on Friday May 20, and in Wellington and Auckland on Saturday May 21. During
the fortnight a coffee farmer from Costa Rica, Guillermo Vargas Leiton is visiting Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington and
Auckland, to speak about the positive impact that consumers have had on his community by choosing fair trade.
Fair Trade Fortnight calendar
Biggest Morning Tea locations
All 30 Trade Aid shops around the country will be taking part in the Biggest Morning Tea. In addition, the following
businesses have confirmed they will be promoting Fair Trade as part of the Biggest Morning Tea promotion:
Upshot Coffee Company, Station Road, Heathcote Valley, Christchurch
Vivace Café, Hereford Street, Christchurch
Mondo, High Street, Christchurch
Cup, Cashmere, Christchurch
Underground Coffee Company, Colombo Street, Christchurch
Mandala Restaurant, Bar and Coffee House, Westport
Pomeroys, Hardy Street, Nelson
Golden Bay Organics, Takaka
Peoples Coffee, Newtown, Wellington
Post Espresso, Newtown, Wellington
Colville General Store, Coromandel
Esquires Coffee Houses, Christchurch, Nelson, Wellington and Auckland
For an up-to-date listing, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.oxfam.org.nz" www.oxfam.org.nz.
Speaker Tour
Guillermo Vargas Leiton, a coffee farmer from Costa Rica, is speaking about the impact that Fairtrade consumers are
having on his community at the following public venues, together with speakers from Oxfam and Trade Aid:
Sunday 15th May, 7.30pm – Church of Christ, St Andrews St, DUNEDIN
Monday 16th May, 1.00pm – Union Building, Otago University, DUNEDIN
Monday 16th May, 6.00pm – Te Whakarukahau Li Otautahi/Community House, 141 Hereford St, CHRISTCHURCH
Tuesday 17th May, 1.00pm – Kelburn Campus, Victoria University, WELLINGTON
Thursday 19th May, 7.30pm – Parnell Anglican Cathedral, AUCKLAND
Friday 20th May, 10.00am – Old Choral Theatre 1 (OCH1) Auckland University, AUCKLAND
On Wednesday 18th May, the Honorable Marian Hobbs, Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade responsible for
Overseas Development Assistance, is hosting a reception for Guillermo Vargas Leiton at the Beehive. Guillermo is
speaking about the impact that Fairtrade consumers are having on his community in Costa Rica. Barry Coates (Executive
Director of Oxfam New Zealand) and Geoff White (General Manager of Trade Aid) are speaking about the global Fair Trade
movement and what is happening in New Zealand. This event is open to the public. RSVPs by 11th May are essential –
please email HYPERLINK "mailto:fairtrade@oxfam.org.nz" fairtrade@oxfam.org.nz if you would like to attend.
Fair Trade Fiesta
Try delicious free Fairtrade coffee, enjoy great music and find out more about Fair Trade at our Fair Trade Fiestas:
Friday, 20th May – George Street, DUNEDIN (time to be confirmed)
Friday, 20th May, 12 – 2pm – City Mall, Cashel Street, CHRISTCHURCH
Saturday, 21st May, 2 – 5.30pm, – Aotea Square, AUCKLAND
Saturday, 21st May, 12 – 3pm – Cuba Mall, WELLINGTON
For complete up-to-date information about Fair Trade Fortnight or to find out more about Fair Trade, visit HYPERLINK
"http://www.oxfam.org.nz" www.oxfam.org.nz, HYPERLINK "http://www.tradeaid.org.nz" www.tradeaid.org.nz or HYPERLINK
"http://www.fta.org.nz" www.fta.org.nz
Fair Trade Fortnight 2005 is being coordinated by Oxfam, Trade Aid and the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New
Zealand, with the support of NZAID.
ENDS