Owens Coffee event helps kickstart Ivybridge Fairtrade Town Status campaign

On the 8th of March 2023, during Fairtrade Fortnight, a group of residents and businesses from Ivybridge, and the surrounding areas, came together to celebrate all things Fairtrade.

This event helped kick start Ivybridge’s campaign for the town to regain its Fairtrade Town status, with the hope to join over 600 other Fairtrade Communities in the UK. Owens Coffee is proud to be supporting the town in partnership with Fairtrade Devon and Devon Development Education. This important initiative will help to promote ethical and sustainable business practices and encourage local businesses to support Fairtrade products and the Fairtrade system.

As expected, the evening was a huge success with over 40 guests in attendance. Owens Coffee were delighted to be joined by Mayor Sara Hladkij, Alison Derrick of Fairtrade Devon, Kath Hendrick Engagement Coordinator for Co-op, Jabo Butera and Liliane Uwimana of Plymouth’s Diversity Business Incubator, Madam Thérèse Nyrangwabije, President of the Twongerekawa Coko Cooperative – a small, mostly female cooperative based in Northern Rwanda – and its Managing Director, Vincent Nsengiyumva.

The attendees showed a lot of interest, along with others who couldn’t make the event, in forming a Fairtrade Town group for the town of Ivybridge. The next steps are to be confirmed, however, in the meantime, Owens Coffee would be delighted to hear from those within the community who would like to get involved.

If you are local to Ivybridge and are interested in becoming involved in the Ivybridge Fairtrade Town group, please contact Owens Coffee at info@owenscoffee.com. More information about the campaign can be found here: owenscoffee.com/blogs/news/fairtrade-towns-and-ivybridge