Fairtrade highlighted by new Co-op bag designs

Sunday 08 September 2019

Two of Guernsey's school children have designed bags highlighting the importance of Fairtrade products for the Co-op.

The bags, designed by Kobi Nagy, 10, and Ramsay Elson, 13, are now available to buy in the company's shops around the island, with the aim of drawing more attention to Fairtrade.

The Society's ‘Design a Fairtrade Bag’ competition, which ran during this year’s annual Fairtrade Fortnight, and both of the winning designs 'illustrate the positive effects that buying Fairtrade products can have'.

Kobi’s design features an image of the globe with a pot of coffee and a bar of chocolate. Whereas Ramsay’s bag design features the Fairtrade logo with a number of Fairtrade products around the outside. Each islander will have their design printed on 250 bags which will be sold at the Grand Marché stores in St Martin and St Sampson. 

The competition was launched as part of the Society’s continued efforts to reduce single-use plastics across all its stores, while at the same time highlighting the importance of supporting Fairtrade.

Kobi said: "I was surprised to hear that I had won the competition. I can’t wait to see my bag in Co-op stores. 

"Supporting Fairtrade is really important because it means growers get good pay and shops pay a fair price for their goods."

The Fairtrade Foundation was formed in 1992 to support producers working in developing countries. Being Fairtrade means creating better prices for products, making sure working conditions are as good as they can be and providing fair terms of trade for both farmers and workers in the developing world. Fairtrade requires companies to pay sustainable prices – which must never fall lower than the market price. 

Mark Cox, the Society’s Chief Operating Officer, said: "As the largest supplier of Fairtrade goods in the Channel Islands, the ‘Design a Fairtrade Bag’ competition is a perfect example of us working together with the local community to promote the importance of supporting Fairtrade. We are so pleased that so many young people entered this competition to show what supporting Fairtrade meant to them. 

"Both Ramsay’s and Kobi’s designs are fantastic and we can’t wait to see the bags in stores. This competition was a great opportunity for our younger generation to not only promote Fairtrade, but to help us reduce our impact on the environment by reducing the amount of plastic we use."

There were two winners of the competition in Guernsey and two from Jersey. In both islands one winner was from a primary school and the other was a secondary school student. The four winners all received a goody-bag of Fairtrade items, as well as having their designs made on to the bags.

Pictured top: L-R Kobi Nagy, Mark Cox and Ramsey Elson.