“Koolskools” are delighted to announce the 2011 launch of their unique Fairtrade cotton school clothing project website, underpinned by the goals and ethos of the Fairtrade movement.
Koolskools is the brainchild of Hampshire businessmen Mike Trodd and Andy Ashcroft. Mike has been involved with Hampshire community sport for many years and has put community engagement at the top of his business agenda since taking on the Holt and Haskell sports shop chain. Andy, an ex-British diplomat, served in many developing countries before becoming the British Ambassador to the Dominican Republic (DR) and Haiti from 2002 to 2006, after which he left the Foreign Office to pursue a second career in business.
The dynamic and pioneering Hampshire business duo wanted to create something revolutionary in the field of school clothing supply. Something that “puts something back”, said Mike, “into the developing countries that are producing Koolskools top quality Fairtrade cotton garments while offering schools a more rewarding school uniform deal”.
So, when working with the schools, Koolskools engages teachers and students, in parallel, on the up-lifting Fairtrade story.
Koolskools offer comprehensive, educational power point presentations to all ages of students on Fairtrade and their Fairtrade cotton story, as well as inviting the schools to take a page on the educational/e-commerce Kooolskools website, where their students can read all about the Fairtrade story and test their Fairtrade knowledge by doing fun-packed Fairtrade quizzes. This is proving to be a very powerful model – an effective and enjoyable way to spread the Fairtrade word.
Since its inception, the Koolskools project has enjoyed phenomenal support from the Fairtrade Foundation. Many Fairtrade and aspiring Fairtrade schools and organisations throughout the UK, from the Scottish Fair Trade Forum to Fairtrade schools on England’s South coast, have already signed up to work with Koolskools.
The purchase of products made with Fairtrade Certified Cotton ensures small-scale cotton farmers in developing countries receive both a fair price and the additional Fairtrade premium for social, economic and environmental projects.
Speaking to a group of students at a Fairtrade school recently, Andy said: “…….having served and managed development projects in several developing countries – including Zimbabwe and Haiti – I am aware of the amazingly positive effect that small amounts of hard currency can have, especially when communities are actively engaged, as they are in Fairtrade commodity producing co-operatives……”
Visit www.koolskools4u.co.uk to find out more about the truly inspirational Koolskools story.