Fair Trade

We're proud to support fair trade by offering Fairtrade tea and coffee on all trains. This year, we celebrated Fairtrade Fortnight by supporting the Love Zimbabwe charity.

As we take forward our plans to transform the transport network in Wales, TfW is committed to following a sustainable and ethical approach that brings benefits to this generation and those to follow. We work to embed this ethos in the work we do and throughout our supply chains and we engage with suppliers in a way that promotes behaviours that support the requirements of the Well-being of Future Generations Act.

We support fair trade and the Fairtrade Foundation, which ensures better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. Transport for Wales is proud to offer all tea and coffee as Fairtrade certified on our trains. This year, TfW celebrated Fairtrade Fortnight, which ran from 24 February to 8 March.

During these two weeks, thousands of individuals, companies and groups across the UK came together to share the stories of the people who grow our food and drinks and who grow the cotton in our clothes, people who are often exploited and underpaid.

To kick off the fortnight, TfW hosted Martha Musonza Holman from the charity Love Zimbabwe. She spoke of her experiences and the benefits Fairtrade brings to communities and the difference it makes to the lives of people worldwide. Martha, originally from Zimbabwe but now living in Wales, is the founder of Love Zimbabwe, which works to further fair trade development and education in Wales and Zimbabwe whilst fostering global awareness and common unity. The talk generated a valuable discussion which encouraged TfW staff to consider how everyday products are made and the positive impacts Fairtrade brings directly to the farmers at the beginning of the supply chain.

As part of the event, Martha brought along some crafts made by women in Zimbabwe and the Sustainable Development Team raffled a Fairtrade goodie basket. Both the crafts and raffle raised almost £150 for Love Zimbabwe.

I really enjoyed the talk ... to celebrate the start of Fairtrade Fortnight. It was a really inspiring talk about strength through adversity and the importance of thinking before we buy. I think that Martha's personal experiences really brought the talk to life.

Kayleigh Meek

Commercial Projects and Administration Officer

Download our case study (PDF)