The Rhine-Main area has been recognized as a fair metropolitan region. The city of Darmstadt also belongs to the network of municipalities and institutions.
DARMSTADT – (red). The City of Science Darmstadt has been a certified Fairtrade City since September 2013. In the meantime, the recognition has been renewed several times. During this time, projects to promote fair trade were successfully implemented and supported.
Most recently, for example, the issue of the convertible map – a sustainable and fair city map that is also a shopping guide – attracted attention. All those involved hope that other activities such as the Bio-Regio-Faire summer fair at Hofgut Oberfeld will soon be possible again.
Basically, the status as a Fairtrade city is a statement by the entire city and citizens in favor of more global distributive justice and for better living and working conditions in the global south. Since the first informal meetings, Darmstadt has also been involved in talks about expanding Fairtrade recognition from the municipalities to the entire metropolitan region. This network of representatives from cities, municipalities and institutions in the field of fair trade now works as Rhein.Main.Fair eV
In cooperation with the regional association Frankfurt-Rhein-Main, the association applied to Transfair to award the region as a Fair European Metropolitan Region, which has also been certifying the Fairtrade cities in Germany since 2009. Rhine-Main is the third fair metropolitan region in Germany after the Ruhr area and the Nuremberg region. The ceremony for the presentation of the certificate took place digitally.
The Fairtrade metropolitan region will do its part to ensure even more awareness of just and fair products in daily consumption. That always includes the aspect of ecological and, where possible, regional production. Gisela Stang, Chairwoman of Rhein.Main.Fair, adds: “The award is an important recognition for all districts, cities and municipalities in the region that have started to make their own actions more sustainable and fair. In times of a pandemic, in which progress can only be achieved together, the award is a clear sign of global solidarity and responsibility. ”
Frankfurt-Rhein-Main is the only one of the Fair European Metropolitan Regions in Germany that extends over three federal states (Hesse, Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate). An important criterion for the Fair Metropolitan Region award is that more than two thirds of the residents live in Fairtrade cities or districts. In addition to 600 committed municipalities, there are already over 700 Fairtrade schools and 30 Fairtrade universities in Germany.
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