LOWESTOFT showed its commitment to Fairtrade last weekend with a special event held at the Stella Maris Hall.The Lowestoft Fairtrade committee's annual event on Saturday, was attended by Waveney MP Bob Blizzard and Lowestoft mayor Malcolm Cherry.

LOWESTOFT showed its commitment to Fairtrade last weekend with a special event held at the Stella Maris Hall.

The Lowestoft Fairtrade committee's annual event on Saturday, was attended by Waveney MP Bob Blizzard and Lowestoft mayor Malcolm Cherry.

Both expressed their support for fair trade, as numerous stalls sold crafts, cards, food and drink, household goods and clothing.

With Lowestoft having held Fairtrade status as a town since 2004, interest in Fairtrade has increased over the years with many local schools and businesses getting involved.

The Denes High School are currently working towards Fairtrade School status, while many other schools are increasing awareness with assemblies and tuckshops, while the Seagull Theatre and Carlton Colville cinema both now offer Fairtrade refreshments.

As well as increasing the profile of Fairtrade in the town by selling the numerous items at the weekend, a number of fairly traded goods were represented on various stalls And along with sales of refreshments, bric-a-brac and cakes, nearly �500 was raised on the day - and these monies will be sent to support street children in Uganda.

This year's theme for Fairtrade fortnight was The Big Swap, and with over 2,000 products now carrying the fair trade mark, and several outlets in the town, it's easy to swap regular purchases for Fairtrade goods, with the directory of fair trade outlets available from Waterstone's in London Road North.

'The committee would like to thank all who attended on Saturday, and special thanks go to everyone who helped man stalls, serve food and collect donations,' a spokesman for the committee said.

If anyone would like to get involved, has any ideas for promoting Fairtrade in Lowestoft, or if your business sells or uses Fairtrade goods and you would like to be featured in the Lowestoft Fairtrade directory, please email jowilde@btinternet.com