Fair trade: ebern does the same as eltmann

Imitating something is generally considered to be perverse, unoriginal and uninspired. But by no means: exactly this idea of "imitating" ebern’s mayor, jurgen hennemann (SPD), took up the cause on tuesday evening in the frauengrundhalle at the former federal military base and wished that as many municipalities as possible in the habberge district and the region would do the same. Because ebern wants "fairtrade-becoming a city and thus setting an example in terms of "fair trade and "living sustainably.

Another sign, because: the baunach alliance with its eleven members from three counties (including six habberge municipalities) already has a pioneer in its own ranks. The town of baunach in the district of bamberg already holds the title of "fairtrade town," and "if ebern follows suit, we might get the other communities to do the same, so that we might become the first fairtrade alliance," he says, said hennemann at the launch event.

But first things first. There is not yet a single official fair trade town in the habberge district, and like "one world regional promoter shiloe mokay-rinke from the "one world network of bavaria" association on tuesday evening, the district of habberge declared that it is the only one in the government district that does not yet have a fair trade municipality in its ranks. But she did not mean it in a reproachful way, because she also said that many of the local communities and cities already fulfilled most of the criteria to be awarded the title. More on these criteria later.

The "untitled the state of the district will change very soon anyway, because eltmann is already one step ahead of ebern: in mid-may, the town in the main valley was officially awarded the fair trade seal, and is currently still in the process of verifying the criteria to be fulfilled. Like eltmann’s mayor michael ziegler (CSU) our site explained "we have gathered all the documents and submitted the application", next week the city should receive the news about it. It is not just a matter of adorning oneself with a title, but rather the principle of sustainability and fairness "should be lived out permanently, we want to remain a fair trade city in the long term, says ziegler.

In any case, the worthiness of the title has to be proven every two years "rest" it’s not about that: it’s about bringing the awareness of responsibility for a common world into society and living accordingly. Of course, ziegler says, "it’s a very long way. But he feels that many burgers are rethinking consumer behavior, responsible use of resources, sustainability and fair trade.

Jurgen hennemann thinks very similarly to his eltmann colleague and emphasized on tuesday that the fairtrade initiative must take place globally as well as regionally: "we want to set out to become a globally sustainable municipality", he says. "This also means: buying seasonal and regional products." Because resource-saving trade also has to do with short distances and direct marketing, especially when non-seasonal products have to be transported to the region from far away. "One-world-region-promoter" shiloe mokay-rinke summed it up like this: "think globally, act locally." Local, regional, seasonal – that’s a good guideline to follow. And the fairtrade seal on imported products such as chocolate or coffee is a reliable indicator of the absence of exploitative labor and trading conditions in the global trade in goods.

According to jurgen hennemann, it is a logical step for ebern to take the step it is now striving for, because the city has already been meeting some fair trade criteria for a long time. For example, the dr.-ernst-schmidt-realschule has been dealing with the topics of environmental protection, sustainability and fair trade for years now.

Likewise the association "one world ebern" is very active, who has been setting the tone for fair trade and responsible, fair interaction for years with his volunteer-run world store. Peter ruppert, chairman of the "one world ebern" association, he was also the one who approached the city of ebern. "He was the real initiator of the fair trade cause", said hennemann. The city administration was happy to take up the idea.

Ebern now has to pass a council resolution for the title fairtrade city, in which the council commits itself to the support of fair trade, including the requirement: "at all public meetings as well as in the office of the mayor, fair trade coffee and another product will be served."

Furthermore, a local steering group of at least three people has to be established, which will manage the activities on the way to becoming a "fairtrade-town" the project is to be coordinated and remain active in the coming years, making suggestions and developing further ideas in order to achieve the set goals in the long term.

The local gastronomy and retail trade must also be involved; in ebern, measured by the number of inhabitants, three shops are necessary that must have fair trade products in their assortment. According to hennemann, this criterion has already been met, but more merchants and restaurateurs are to be won over to the idea.

The fourth criterion is to involve schools, clubs, churches and public institutions, and also to implement educational activities on the topic.

Finally, the local media must report on the municipality’s fair trade activities. CONGREGATED. Ebern is therefore on the right track and, according to hennemann, hopes for many "copycats.