THE 30th anniversary of when Fairtrade products first appeared on supermarket shelves was marked in Craven with a competition for schoolchildren and an afternoon of celebrations in Embsay.

In May, the Fairtrade Skipton group launched a competition for schools in Craven and in Harrogate to design and make a banner or card to celebrate 30 years of Fairtrade and getting fairer prices for farmers, workers and communities.

Many schools took part, with the winning entries coming from Richard Taylor CofE Primary School in Bilton; and also Lothersdale, Glusburn, and Embsay primary schools.

In Embsay the village's Fairtrade group worked with Embsay Primary school and organised an afternoon of celebrations. There were colourful banners created by the school's years two, four, five and six children, a large 30th anniversary cake, and tea and cake in the school hall for parents and the community.

Every child received a commemorative badge to mark the occasion.

Behind the Fairtrade label, a global community of millions has been working towards more responsibly produced and fairly priced goods, as part of a fairer world for everyone.

It includes more than two million farmers and workers in 58 countries, supply chain partners, some of the country's most loved brands of tea, coffee and chocolate, and towns, cities, schools, places of worship and supermarkets.

Liz Roodhouse, chair of Fairtrade Skipton, said there was still much to do and called for a more sustainable future for food production.

“Despite the success of Fairtrade – there are now over 5,000 products available in the UK - our global food system isn’t fair," she said.

"Farmers are part of a chain in which power is unfairly distributed. They are frequently forced to sell their crops for less money than they cost to grow. The climate crisis is making conditions more and more challenging for farmers everywhere and especially in countries where the climate crisis is having the most impact. We all need to work together to build a fairer, more sustainable future for food production. Let’s be the change and make the future fair.”

Skipton Fairtrade Initiative was formed in early 2013 in order to work towards Skipton being recognised as a Fairtrade town. Skipton became a Fairtrade town in July 2014 and since then the group has renewed Fairtrade town status and continues to work towards raising awareness of the issues around unfair trade practices.

Preparations are already underway to mark this year's Fairtrade Fortnight, which will taker place from September 9 to September 22.