Fairtrade Fortnight - all over the show

We think one of the most awesome things about Fairtrade Fortnight is the way it brings local communities together.

Throughout the fortnight, we loved hearing news of Swaps and tea parties and get togethers happening all over the country, like these:

Nether Stowe School pupils exchanged their usual break time refreshments for Fairtrade tea.

FAIRTRADE coffee made in Uganda proved a hit with visitors to Bury Unitarian Church.

Dundonald Primary School welcomed Hella Alikuru, an advisor to Fairtrade workers in Uganda, who visited the in an effort to teach the children and their parents about fair trade products.

Fairtrade Fortnight 2010

Well Fairtrade Fortnight has come to a close and we're going to spend the next week sharing the highlights of the past two weeks with you.

The Big Swap site is still buzzing with swaps and of course you can still download Cadbury's exclusive album with Paolo Nutini. 

What have you swapped this Fairtrade Fortnight? Did you attend any tea parties? We'd love to hear from you.

The Invasion of the Tea Ladies

We don't think there's anything better than promoting a great cause and having loads of fun while doing it. 

Fairtrade's Tea Ladies were out in force doing just that, check it out in the video above.

Have you swapped a regular item for a Fairtrade one this Fairtrade Fortnight? Don't forget to download your free Cadbury Music album at cadburymusic.com.

TWENTY SEVEN THOUSAND and counting!

 

So far we've had around 27,000 downloads of our exclusive album with Paolo Nutini.

If you haven't downloaded it already, it couldn't be easier, all you need to do is go to cadburymusic.com and tell us what Fairtrade item you bought this Fairtrade Fortnight and it's all yours.

Cadbury Big Swap Songs

Paolo Nutini fans and fans of Fairtrade are sure to love this full length promo. It's full of colour and charm. As the lyrics say: "nothing's going to bring me down". Enjoy.

Leeds and Manchester go head-to-head

Fairtrade campaigners in Leeds have challenged people to out-swap Manchester for the final week of Fairtrade Fortnight.

On Friday the swap-o-meter put Manchester in the lead with 781 swaps, while Leeds has only 705. Leeds was the first city in th region to gain Fairtrade status in 2004, so it's no wonder they're pulling out the stops to take the lead in the Big Swap. Fairtrade Leeds are hoping to top 1,500 swaps by the end of the forntight this Sunday. 

We wish both cities the best of luck and will keep an eye on the proceedings.

Read more about it, here.

Strictly Fairtrade Dancing

We loved watching all the pictures come in on Twitter of the Strictly #Fairtrade dancing in London. Fairtrade's Barbara Crowther tells us more about it.

For more Fairtrade news as it happens, follow @fairtradeuk on Twitter. Here are some of our favourites.

The Tea Ladies hit Downing Street

Sarah Brown shared this great picture with her followers on Twitter today, following a visit from the Fairtrade Tea Ladies. It was also written about on the Prime Minister's official website.

Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of Fairtrade UK, also wrote all about it on her blog 'Inside Fairtrade'.

A gang of campaigning 'tea ladies' danced their way round London, with an inflatable giant tea cup in tow. They looked fantastic in their pink and blue pinnies and head scarves made in India from Fairtrade cotton by committed company, Bishopston Trading. I also danced along, together with Mr Henriksen from Chamraj tea estate in South India, and we ended up popping in on Sarah Brown at No 10 where Maggie Darling joined in the fun too.

to read more go here.

So what is the Big Swap anyway?

The Big Swap is a big deal. It's the way the nation is celebrating Fairtrade Fortnight - and this year, everyone involved in Fairtrade wanted it to be bigger and better than ever before.

That's why we recorded a whole album just for it. The album includes an exclusive track with Paolo Nutini and loads of great covers of British classics recorded by some of Ghana's hottest talent.

All you have to do is go to cadburymusic.com and select which item you swapped this Fairtrade Fortnight and the album will instantly be yours to download. It's super easy and our way of saying thanks for supporting Fairtrade.

Let us know what you think.

Big Swap Songs

Love Fairtrade? Love music? Well you're going to love Big Swap Songs.

Glass and a Hall Full Records had masses of fun with Tinny recording Zingolo to celebrate Cadbury Dairy Milk's move to Fairtrade. And now, for Fairtrade Fortnight it's even more exciting. The team have partnered with Paolo Nutini and a bunch of brilliant Ghanaian musical talent to bring you an entire record of musical joy.

And all you have to do to get it is swap any product for Fairtrade and let them know over on cadburymusic.com.