Koolskools Fairtrade Educational Tours: A Labour of Love!

The Early Days

It was way back in 2009, almost before Koolskools was born, when we befriended Alison Neasom. Alison is one of the increasing army of Fairtrade-friendly teachers in the UK. She invited us in to speak to Wildern School students about our dream of building a Fairtrade-licensed ethical school uniform business.

Koolskools at Wildern school in 2011 presenting a cheque for our Mauritius factory’s workers’ welfare fund.
In those days we were still searching for an ethical manufacturing base. The search started in the Dominican Republic. It then migrated to India from whence we now source all our Fairtrade cotton. We ended up in the beautiful Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, where our manufacturing has been carried out ever since.

Koolskools Fairtrade Education is Born

Parsons Green Primary students, Edinburgh, receive a special certificate from the Lord Provost of Edinburgh on the adoption of Fairtrade school uniform.
Those early forays into schools to talk about our nascent Fairtrade clothing project set us thinking…
Does it really make sense for us just to sell Fairtrade uniform into schools?
Should the students not be learning in parallel about their roles as global citizens when they wear our Fairtrade school uniform?
The answer was a big fat “YES” they should!!
We have since discovered that students love learning all about where the raw cotton comes from in their clothes and the factory workers that make them. They can then identify with their clothes. They like the affinity this gives them with the polo shirts and sweatshirts that they wear most days of their school lives 😊
Our Mauritius factory Managing Director, Vishwaraj, is thanked by students at Corpus Christi Primary, Glasgow, for visiting their school.
One of the winning entries of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum/Koolskools “Design a Fairtrade Hoodie” Competition.

Koolskools Fairtrade Education Now In Demand!

From those humble origins at Wildern in 2009, hardly a day now goes by without a UK school contacting us about our Fairtrade education programmes, and requesting a Koolskools visit!
The brilliant Moorside Primary Fairtrade Group after a Fairtrade Q and As Session with Koolskools.
Koolskools has visited many hundreds of UK schools over the past 9 years building this unique brand of Fairtrade education. We run Fairtrade Assemblies, class work-shops, Fairtrade competitions. Our Fairtrade talks are also in demand at Fairtrade Conferences, Fairtrade Schools events, ECO/Sustainability Conferences, and so on.
Koolskools has always tried to innovate. For example, our Fairtrade-licensed factory workers and managers have been to the UK and shared in our Fairtrade education in schools. This really brings the entire ethical chain to life for the students!
So if you are a school teacher, student or parent reading this and you would like Koolskools to pay you a Fairtrade educational visit, please contact andy@koolskools.co.uk and we can hopefully set something up!

 

Koolskools
26 April 2018

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