Fairtrade Fortnight to be marked in Orkney

For this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight, Orkney Fair Trade Group are organising Treasure Hunts “aroond the toon” in Kirkwall and Stromness.

Fairtrade Fortnight kicks off this Monday, February 26 and runs until March 11. First launched in 1995, the campaign is designed to encourage people to buy products bearing the Fairtrade logo, thereby helping farmers in some of the world’s poorest countries.

This year’s fortnight will see the Orkney Fair Trade Group hold treasure hunt events in Orkney’s two biggest towns, with local business hiding special mugs, which, if found, lead to prizes.

The Kirkwall event, organised together with the Kirkwall BID, will see twenty local businesses hiding a Buy Fair and Buy Local mug somewhere in their store or service area. Customers who find a mug can turn it over to reveal a Fairtrade product sticker.

The rules as that the product stickers are listed on a special entry form, along with completing a tie-break sentence. Those who do this will have a chance of winning one of the prizes, with there being categories for primary and school-age children and adults. There will be a similar opportunity in Stromness too.

Entry forms and full details are available from the Kirkwall and Stromness Libraries and participating businesses where you see the “Come on in to Fairtrade” Mug Hunt sticker.

Watch out for Fairtrade window displays and displays instore too, special events in Orkney’s schools and churches, and see St Magnus Cathedral lit in blue and green on Friday March 2 in celebration of the two weeks of activities.