HUDDERSFIELD went bananas for Fairtrade products in a special campaign.

As part of the national Fairtrade Fortnight, groups across town swapped their usual products for those with the Fairtrade mark of approval.

At the Phoenix Community Centre in Holmfirth, banana farmer Nioka Abbott spoke about how Fairtrade benefits people in her home of the Windward Islands.

She said: “There’s been big changes since the 1970s.

“Now it’s just more expensive to produce bananas. It’s more work and less money.

“I harvest every week or fortnight. Bananas are better than any other crops for regular harvesting.

“You get an income all through the year. That’s why banana is so popular as a cash crop. It would be hard to find a replacement.

“The good thing about being involved in Fairtrade is the social premium we get.

“I ask people to buy more Fairtrade bananas and start putting pressure on supermarkets who don’t buy Fairtrade.”

At Linthwaite Methodist Church, children learnt about the benefits of Fairtrade tea.

The group arranged plastic cups on the floor spelling out ‘170 million’ in order to symbolise the number of cups of tea drunk in Great Britain every day.

Meanwhile, shoppers at the Co-operative store in Honley found staff dancing in the aisles.

The staff dressed in dance competition outfits to waltz around the store asking people to convert to Fairtrade.

The store sells Fairtrade 99 Tea which is produced in Malawi as well as a range of ethical chocolate, fruit, nuts, cereals, cakes and wine.

Store manager Chris Smith said: “We don’t mind doing the Cha Cha if it helps encourage our shoppers to support Fairtrade and choose Fairtrade products over other brands.”

Huddersfield University had a packed schedule of events promoting ethical shopping.

The university was awarded Fairtrade status last year and have teamed up with mayor of Kirklees, Clr Julie Stewart-Turner, and Kirklees Council to help achieve Fairtrade status for Huddersfield too.

Kirklees Council community workers Keith Melbourne, Ros Evans and Sam Atkinson set up a stall in Queensgate market and were on hand to answer people’s questions about all things Fairtrade.

Keith said: “Some didn’t know about the ethos behind it, so they were asking about that.

“Others were talking about what products they had swapped for Fairtrade products.”