Apologies to Koolskools regular monthly blog readers for the radio silence! It has been a really busy period with 2013/14 new school year ordering season in full swing. Fairtrade Fortnight 25 February – 10 March also found us travelling the length and breadth of the country, visiting schools in Scotland (congrats to all at the Scottish Fairtrade Forum and to Scottish schools, towns etc for becoming a Fairtrade country!), England and Wales, and offering our unique presentations on Fairtrade, Fairtrade cotton and ethical trading, further to raise Fairtrade awareness across the UK. Much has happened on the Koolskools front in the first few months of this year. For example, we are delighted to announce that Koolskools reached another milestone in its fair trading history on Friday 8 March, when we won the “Best Fairtrade Supplier” Gold Award in the South West Fairtrade Business Awards 2013. This is not something we could have achieved without the on-going support and friendship of our client schools, corporates and the Fairtrade network, for which we are very grateful.
The Awards were presented by entrepreneur and chef, Levi Roots, who as can be seen from the photo below has a little more hair than Mike and Andy do! Levi is also a Fairtrade Ambassador. The Awards ceremony took place at the Colston Hall in Bristol and was attended by 160 business leaders in the region. Levi has recently visited Fairtrade cocoa farmers in Ghana and told the audience how inspired he was by the difference Fairtrade makes to communities.
The ceremony was opened by the Mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson, and the event presented a unique and valuable opportunity to network with like minded, Fairtrade orientated businesses. The aim of the Awards is to increase sales of, and support for, Fairtrade amongst businesses in the South West region, by promoting those businesses that support Fairtrade and encouraging others to do more.
46 businesses across the region achieved bronze, silver and gold Awards, and Koolskools were delighted to have participated in such a high profile Fairtrade occasion.
Look out for our next blog on a fantastic Koolskools event involving a Fairtrade sugar producer, a group of Southampton school children and an exciting morning at Southampton Football Club courtesy of the Saints FC Foundation!