High Wycombe was awarded its Fairtrade Town certificate this week.

This award is given by the Fairtrade Foundation when a town meets a number of goals.

These include the passing of a resolution of support by the council, retailers and caterers offering a specified number of Fairtrade products and support from local businesses, voluntary bodies, faith groups and educational establishments.

On Monday, Councillor Lesley Clarke, chairman of Wycombe District Council, was presented with a certificate giving Fairtrade Town status to High Wycombe.

Fairtrade concerns paying farmers and producers in the developing world a fair price for their crops and products which covers the cost of production plus an extra premium which communities can invest, for example in healthcare or education projects.

Fairtrade foods are largely tropical crops such as tea, coffee, bananas and cocoa.

The presentation event took place at Bucks New University and followed six years of campaigning work by the Wycombe for Fairtrade steering group to raise the profile of Fairtrade within the town.

The evening included talks by Ruth Gunstone, director of Student Experience at the University, Margaret Dykes from the charity Traidcraft, one of the original groups behind the Fairtrade movement and Richard Perry from Peros, a Wycombe-based company which is the largest independent distributor of Fairtrade to the foodservice sector in the UK.

High Wycombe joins more than 600 other towns in the UK who have gained this award.

Councillor Trevor Snaith said the town’s Charter Trustees are trying to obtain the budget to install signs on the main routes into High Wycombe.