East Riding of Yorkshire Council has pledged itself to supporting the Fairtrade mark and to promoting ethical goods.
The council will support the use and sale of goods with the Fairtrade mark in its premises, including leisure centres and tourist attractions.
Fairtrade is a trading partnership with the developing world reaching 7.5million people, small producers of goods like coffee, tea and fruit.
The decision has been welcomed by the Fairtrade East Riding Network (FERN), made up of representatives from community Fairtrade groups in Beverley, Cherry Burton, Driffield, Goole, Hornsea and Pocklington.
Councillor Symon Fraser, portfolio holder for environment, housing and planning, said: “The Fairtrade ethos is one of support for local produce. Much of the efforts of FERN focus on local producers in far off lands and what we can do to support them.
“Locally, of course, we are also very supportive of our own producers, so this decision is in line with our support for our own local, East Riding producers.”
John Turner, chairman of FERN, said:
“We live in a global world and are dependant on small producers in the developing world to stock shelves in shops in Beverley or Bridlington.
“The council is a big employer and their example in supporting Fairtrade will encourage other groups, like businesses to become involved.
“With the council’s support we can now move forward with an application for Fairtrade status for the East Riding area.”
Supporting Fairtrade ensures those producers are given a fair price for their produce, which covers their production costs and gives them a living wage.
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
