News From SUSSED

SUSSED is open for you 11am - 2pm every Saturday 

TAKE TO YOUR SEWING MACHINES WITH OUR PORTHCAWL FACE-MASK MAKERS

Keep your family and the SUSSED family active

Join these crafty volunteers who are fashioning a double-layered face-mask to help Porthcawl residents keep healthy and safe. By purchasing one of our masks not only are you protecting yourself and your family, you are helping us stay open.

Drop off mask donations during our Saturday opening hours. Check out these instructions for making a mask.

Cwtchable Creations, who make our Cwtch/Cariad cushions and aprons, have also provided a selection of masks for both men and women.

Home-made cloth masks are quickly becoming commonplace providing a degree of protection against Covid 19 infection, when combined with frequent hand washing and social-distancing measures.

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Reports show that the virus can live in droplets in the air for up to one to three hours after an infected individual has left an area. Covering your face and mouth will help prevent these droplets from getting into the air and infecting others. 

Our masks are priced from £2.50. Availability is limited - once they’re gone, they’re gone.

LOCAL HONEY

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A spoonful of sweetness helps the medicine go down.

While the rest of us have been on the go slow, the bees of Bridgend have been busy.

Mêl-y-Bryn have hives all around the county producing excellent quality honey, and there is plenty of it in stock at SUSSED for only £6.25.

Local bees forage near-by. Since many seasonal allergies are caused by local pollen, eating honey that contains that pollen can combat those allergies. The purer the honey the stronger the medicinal properties, with anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial benefits to boot.

Bees importantly help to pollinate other plants beneficial for biodiversity and thus other wildlife. As bees are now seriously endangered, it’s even more vital that we support local beekeepers.

Shopping local has tremendous environmental benefits supporting town traders. When it comes to honey you’re helping the planet and also yourself.

Bombus terrestris in Porthcawl this April

Bombus terrestris in Porthcawl this April

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

I currently volunteer with SUSSED because I share their values of ethical fair trade and reducing my impact on climate change. I have always shopped here because it’s one of very few places where I can currently shop locally for organic, eco-friendly and plastic free produce, which is very important to me and my family.

Volunteering has allowed me to contribute to my community, gain some new skills and meet a range of really interesting people who are also committed to a sustainable Wales.

Volunteering also affords additional opportunities for local people to gain practical experience and employ ability skills not only in retail, but also by getting involved in other initiatives run from the shop and the Green Room.

Day to day I run Karma Seas CIC, a Porthcawl based not-for-profit surf therapy, yoga and mindfulness social enterprise, where we aim to provide the great benefits of these activities to people who are currently socially and economically excluded. http://www.karmaseas.org.uk

Julia Thomas

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Fairtrade Fortnight 2020

Help Sustainable Wales & Sussed Celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight And Watch Out For The ‘Story Bombs’! (1)

The annual, hugely popular UK FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT takes place in 2020 February 24 – March 6.

To celebrate, Porthcawl-based charity, Sustainable Wales will champion with food, fashion, stories and stalls.

Their community cooperative, SUSSED, will offer students, parents and shoppers free samples of fairtrade chocolate, tea, coffee and sugar at stalls held in schools and in the Porthcawl street.

A small new range of dresses/skirts made from recycled saris will also be available for the ethical, eco-chic fashionistas amongst us. Alongside these will be displayed a wide range of fairly traded gifts.

Fairtrade Fortnight 2020

Fairtrade Fortnight 2020

On 29th February, the charity will hold a Fairtrade/ St David Day’s Pop Up Café, 11.00 – 4pm, at 5,James St. Porthcawl CF36 3BG. Diners will be able to select from a menu chosen to celebrate Wales, whilst showing support for people in developing countries.

Throughout Fairtrade Fortnight, shoppers will discover at SUSSED, Porthcawl’s fair trade shop, several ‘storybombs’ (in English and Welsh).

These ‘storybombs’ will tell some extraordinary stories from women producers and help us understand their need for a ‘living income’. The ‘storybomb’ can then be placed somewhere else for others to uncover and so on. (Read Me, Share Me, Hide Me Again.)

Co-ordinator, Margaret Minhinnick says: ”Shoppers increasingly question where their products come from, how they were made, and how the people involved were treated and paid.”

“The public do not want exploitation to be part of the price of their goods.”

“For example, the UK chocolate industry is worth at least £4 billion each year, but Fairtrade cocoa represents a mere fraction of this.”

“The average cocoa farmer inn Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, where 60 percent of all cocoa is grown, makes less than 75p a day. This is well below the extreme poverty line of around £1.40 and is less than the price of a Latte which can’t be right, it just isn’t fair”. Margaret said.

More information: 01656 783962 Contact

(1). Typical Fair Trade ‘Story Bombs’
On top of this the climate crisis is already wreaking havoc on global food production. Farmers are battling less predictable seasons, more plant diseases and weather extremes, leading to a lack of produce, struggling to harvest crops and working longer hours, for lower prices.

For women, the situation is even more unfair. In Côte d’Ivoire, for example, women carry out more than two thirds of the labour involved in cocoa farming. They work in the fields, look after children, carry water, and help bring the crop to market. And yet they often have fewer rights than men, and often earn less than a quarter of the money generated.

To change this story, we need more people in the UK to understand the power they have as consumers and to choose Fairtrade as much as possible..

We need to show companies that people in the UK expect them to go much further to pay a living income prices to farmers – and Fairtrade is the most trusted way to show it.

NOTES:
Only Fairtrade is campaigning publicly for the right to a living income for farmers – men and women:-
Price: The Fairtrade Premium and the Fairtrade Minimum Price are driving real change, right now. Fairtrade farmers and workers have a safety net that protects them from low prices for their crops.

Premium: Fairtrade farmers and workers choose how they spend the Premium, which they can use to make their farms and communities stronger. It also allows them to invest in different ways of making money, so that they are less reliant on the unpredictable cocoa market.

Women’s empowerment: Fairtrade is also supporting more women cocoa farmers to take the reins and stand tall alongside men. Fairtrade Standards make sure that they have a voice in their community, are represented in decision-making and benefit from Fairtrade. We know that independent income in the hands of women brings positive change to communities even faster.

Environment: While you can’t protect the planet without protecting its people first, rigorous Fairtrade Standards support farmers to protect the environment and the Fairtrade Premium is enabling them to invest in climate resilience and adaptation.

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SUSSED helps mark 25 years of The Fairtrade Mark with a fashion show

Fairtrade Fashion show

SUSSED joined in the celebrations of the 25 years anniversary of the Fairtrade Mark held at Trinity Church Porthcawl on Saturday 9th November 2019. SUSSED provided the clothing from Namaste, Thought, Patchouli Fair and Gringo as well as running a stall selling fairtrade goods. Thanks to the volunteers who helped run the event and our fabulous models. Roger Clatworthy provided live music before the show to help set the mood.

Organised by the local Porthcawl Fairtrade Partnership with proceeds to Traidcraft. Many thanks to Madeleine Moon MP (Bridgend) for attending; giving a great speech regarding the importance of Fairtrade in our daily lives and of course cutting the birthday cake!

Nirmala’s Story

Did you know that when you buy a Goodweave certified rug or cushion at SUSSED you’re helping the millions of children like Nirmala? Hear the story of rescued child laborer Nirmala, who found a path to freedom and education through GoodWeave. Nirmala’s story shows that behind every number is a name, a face and a story. We believe every child deserves a childhood – the freedom to laugh, play, and learn.

The GoodWeave label means that no child, forced or bonded labor was used in the making of a certified product, and that your purchase supports programs that educate children and ensure decent work for adults. Here’s how it works.

Fairtrade Fortnight 2019

With Fairtrade Fortnight approaching, here’s an overview of this year’s campaign from Fairtrade Wales:

Check SUSSED’s facebook or twitter feeds for our activities starting next week:

Fairtrade Fortnight 2019: 25 February - 10 March 

Fairtrade fortnight is nearly here! This annual two-week event sees thousands of individuals, companies and groups across the UK come together to celebrate the people who grow our food. This year we have placed a focus on the people, in particular the women, who grow the cocoa in your chocolate. These people often live in some of the poorest countries in the world and are often subject to exploitation and bad wages. Our aim is to ensure that these cocoa farmers are paid fairly and able to live a dignified life. If you love ethically sourced cocoa as much as we do, come and join in at one of our many events. 

This year marks the start of a three-year campaign based around living incomes. A living income is the minimum income required to pay for essentials such as school, clothing and medicine. We believe that this is a basic human right and essential in being able to live a dignified life. With your support, we aim to increase the numbers of people achieving this living income.  

This year’s campaign theme - Living Incomes

This year’s campaign theme - Living Incomes

How to join in - support Fairtrade Wales

There are many ways in which you can join in. Our social media channels are a good way of finding out about events near you. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . When attending events, be sure to tweet at us @fairtradewales and through #shedeserves and #fairtradefortnight