1. Introduction –
Say who you are and, if you are not from the school, where you are from
Explain that you are going to talk today about where our favourite products come from and the people who grow and make them. There will be a special focus on one particular product that we all need – clothes! 1

2. What did you have for breakfast this morning?
Ask the audience -
What did you have for breakfast this morning? (list the things they mention)
Where did your breakfast come from? (ask them to guess)
Things like milk, bread and eggs will probably have been produced locally by farmers in this country but what about cereal, juice, tea, coffee, or bananas? 2

3. You Are Here Tea: India Bananas: Dominican Republic; Windward Isles
Cereal (Nuts): Bolivia
Oranges: Cuba
Coffee: Uganda
Why does lots of our food come from other countries?
Many things only grow in hotter climates, in places such as Africa, South America, India etc.
They need very hot sun to grow. 3

4. No Bananas!
Without these countries, there would be NO BANANAS!

5. No tea!
No tea!

6. No Chocolate! And no chocolate!
Hands up here how many people have eaten chocolate before?
Did you know that we need cocoa beans to make chocolate?
Cocoa beans come from countries in Africa and south America such as Ghana and Brazil.
We rely on other countries for a lot of our food!

7. But it’s not just food Clothes too!
But it’s not just food, it’s clothes too.
How many countries do you think this pair of jeans has come from?
Answer: It can be as many as 10 or more.

8. As you can see just one pair of jeans journeyed through many countries (this is just one example).
Cotton grown in Uzbekistan
Spun in China
Thread is dyed in the Philippines
Jeans woven in Poland into one large roll of fabric.
Labels are made in Portugal
Buttons are from Australia.
The fabric and all parts are then sent to India to be sewn together.
The jeans are then sent to the wholesaler in the UK and sold in the shops there.
Sometimes jeans that are no longer wanted can be sent to African countries e.g. Ghana

9. Cotton growing, India ©Simon Rawles (see www. fairtrade. org
Cotton growing, India ©Simon Rawles (see
We’ll now look at the first step to making jeans. What do you think this would be? Growing cotton! Everyone in the room is likely to be wearing an item of clothing which is entirely made of cotton or has cotton in it but has anyone ever thought about where that cotton has come from?
What do we usually think about when we buy clothes? What they look like? What they cost? How well they fit? Usually we have no idea of where they have come from, or how they are produced. 9

10. Location: Mali Location: Uzbekistan
Unfortunately many cotton farmers do not get much money for their work.
This is Bakary, he is a cotton farmer in Mali. Mali is one of the world’s poorest countries. Despite working long hours in the fields, each year he and his family earn less and less from their cotton. He struggles to pay for the basics of life, like healthcare and education for his children. He fears he will not be able to buy clothes for his family. He says, "If we don't earn money from cotton we won't be able to buy food. If any of our family members fall ill we won't be able to take care of them.”
In Uzbekistan children often work in the cotton fields. Ask the children how old they are. Ask them to stand up if they’re older than 7. All those standing up would be working in cotton fields for 13 hours a day, picking cotton! You might only get paid 25p per day (which would barely cover your food). You might get shouted at if you complain. You have to work hard and you are not treated very well.
Location: Uzbekistan 10

11. How can we make it fair?
Ask the audience ‘What is the difference between these two t-shirts?
Ask them to think about the size, shape, weight and colour. These are all things they can see, but what about the things they can’t see? Suggest thinking about who produced the t-shirts, where did the cotton come from? Who are the workers that picked the cotton?
(If you have a Fairtrade cotton T-shirt you can use this plus a non Fairtrade t-shirt and do this activity asking volunteers to look at both T-shirts and see if they can spot the difference between them.)
When they spot the Fairtrade Mark ask them what they think this means? 11

12. No children forced to work Money for the community
Safe places to work
Help the environment
A fair price
No children forced to work
Fairtrade is one way that people are trying to help farmers -
When you see the Fairtrade Mark it means:
Farmers get a fair price for what they make or grow so they can afford to feed their families, send their children to school and
Farmers also get extra money for their community to help build more schools, dig wells for water and build health centres.
Farmers are given clothes to protect them so they don’t harm themselves when working with crops.
A greater respect for the environment. The Fairtrade mark is only given to farmers who look after the environment.
No children are forced to work to make Fairtrade products
Money for the community

13. Narmaben
Narmaben is a cotton farmer in India. She is able to send her grandson to school. She can afford to do this because of the good and FAIR price she receives for her cotton. She is now able to afford to feed her family, and can look forward to the future. She works hard and receives a good price. She works under good conditions and is not subjected to dangerous pesticides.

14. Build Schools Build Wells Community projects
The extra money for the community received by Fairtrade farmers is spent on community projects such as schools, building wells, providing medical centres etc. The community decide as a group where the money should go. So Fairtrade helps individual farmers, but it also helps the whole community.
Build Wells 14

15. Fairtrade!
And it’s not only cotton, the Fairtrade Mark is on over 4,500 products: bananas, fruit juice, tea, coffee, cereal, even footballs!
Think about favourite food to eat? Why not find out more about where it comes from and the people who make it? You might be surprised! 15