| Home for business / Focus onÉSustainability Scotland pays fair Edinburgh is leading the way for Scotland to become a Fair Trade Nation. E dinburgh became a Fairtrade City in March 2004, following a campaign led by the Edinburgh Fairtrade City Initiative, a group comprised of councillors, local Fair Trade activists and members of the retail community. Each Fairtrade Fortnight, the Initiative hosts a Fair Trade breakfast sponsored by Scotmid Co-op where the Edinburgh Lord Provost Fair Trade Awards are given to recognise outstanding individuals and organisations. To become a Fairtrade City: ¥ Edinburgh City Council had to pass a resolution supporting Fairtrade and agree to serve Fairtrade coffee and tea at its offices and canteens. ¥ A range of Fairtrade products are made readily available in the areaÕs shops and catering establishments. ¥ Fairtrade products are used by a number of local work places and community organisations such as churches and schools. ¥ Media coverage and popular support is sought for the Fair Trade campaign. ¥ A local Fair Trade Steering Group regularly convenes to reinforce commitment to the CityÕs Fair Trade status. A growing understanding Fair Trade is a concept familiar to most people and research shows that 70% of the UK public recognise the most common Fair Trade branding, compared to 50% in 2005 and only 25% in 2003. Evidently, there is growing understanding that consumers can improve the lives of some of the worldÕs poorest producers simply by buying Fair Trade products. Fair Trade works because it guarantees producers in the developing world a fair price for their products, from tea to bananas, footballs to clothing. Producer communities are also given a Fairtrade Premium, which they designate for specific projects like school buildings, medical facilities and even micro-renewable understanding of the relationship consumers and businesses in places like Edinburgh have with producers in developing countries. Edinburgh Fairtrade City Initiative welcomes members of the business community to help support ScotlandÕs Fairtrade Capital City status and the larger task of working towards becoming a Fair Trade Nation. www.edinburgh.gov.uk/fairtrade Edinburgh Lord Provost Cllr George Grubb and Kenyan Fair Trade tea farmer Julius Ethang'atha power generation. Next stop Ð A Fair Trade Nation? All cities in Scotland are now Fairtrade Cities. EdinburghÕs place as a Fairtrade Capital City is especially important as Scotland works to become one of the worldÕs first Fair Trade Nations, led by the Scottish Fair Trade Forum. Becoming a Fair Trade Nation means meeting another set of criteria. It also means working to embed in Scottish society an