WINCHESTER is officially a Fairtrade City.

Members of the city's Fairtrade Network found out on Friday (March 14) that their bid for Fairtrade Status had been given the green light by The Fairtrade Foundation.

Winchester will now join Hampshire's other Fairtrade centres, Andover, Romsey, Ringwood, Fareham, Portsmouth and Southampton, in having the accolade, which means it is dedicated to giving farmers and producers a fair deal for their produce.

The Winchester City Fairtrade Network had been on tenterhooks since January as it waited to find out if its bid had been approved. The application document took four years to complete and had to prove that the city was completely dedicated to the issue.

Among the strict criteria it had to fulfil was that the City Council served Fairtrade tea and coffee at all its meetings, offices and canteens. It also had to show that a range of at least two Fairtrade products were available in shops and cafes and that local workplaces, churches, schools and businesses also were using them.

Robert Hutchison, chairman of the network, said: "For many years a group of people in Winchester have been working to increase understanding of why fair trade is important and to promote the sales of Fairtrade products in the city. It is encouraging that their efforts have been acknowledged in this way; though there is still a lot to do to broaden and deepen understanding of why fair trade is important."

He added that the group would not rest on its laurels and added that the steering group would continue to monitor the availability and use of Fairtrade goods and maintain its links with schools to make sure that the Fairtrade message stayed on the curriculum.

It will also continue to organise events to advertise Fairtrade products as well as continuing its campaign to publicise the benefits that the Fairtrade system brings to poor and marginalised farmers in the developing world.

The network, which plans to have an official ceremony to celebrate gaining the status, recently co-ordinated and publicised Fairtrade Fortnight, an annual event which aims to educate people about the issue.

Among the events that took place in Winchester were clothes shows, coffee mornings and a talk at the University by coffee producers from Mexico and Uganda.

The Fairtrade mark is an independent consumer label, which appears on products as an independent guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal.

For a product to display the Fairtrade mark it must meet international Fairtrade standards set by Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International.

The Fairtrade Foundation, a UK independent body, is responsible for licensing the Fairtrade mark.