Yesterday I talked about Fairtrade products in general, but today I want to highlight one particular area, and that is Cotton. Over the past 10 years or so cotton prices have risen and fallen. In 2002 prices fell to $0.92/kg, the lowest price in some 30 years. The reason for the low prices can be linked to government subsides granted to US and EU cotton farmers. In 2005, US cotton farmers were paid almost  as much in subsides as they made selling their crop. This has created inequalities of the global market, and caused real hardship amongst smallholders worldwide.As many as 100 million families are involved in cotton production, in places like Mali and Senegal. By extending Fairtrade Certification to cotton is one way to change the balance of power. For farmers who sell their cotton with Fairtrade Certification, means they get a better and more stable price for their crop and will benefit the people economically so they use the extra money to improve the education of children in their villages for example.

Only a few weeks left of this great project. I am busy organising press releases linked to the project for the final day in late August.I hope to create alot of positive publicity for the project and the sponsors, so stay reading.

CO2 Report - 24 miles travel by car