The ongoing campaign to encourage people to switch to Fairtrade products aims to raise awareness across Birmingham, already the single biggest city, town or village in the UK to have been accredited by the national Fairtrade Foundation.
The accreditation is in recognition of the number of shops, cafes and businesses within the city who are selling Fairtrade goods and using Fairtrade products.
The hope is that the city's enthusiastic supporters will encourage even more to get involved and offer their support.
This Thursday's day-long extravaganza, organised jointly by Birmingham City Council and FAB is being staged to raise awareness of the ethical and moral reasons why members of the public should always ensure goods they buy have been fairly traded.
As well as enjoying the entertainment and enjoying free samples of fair-trade foods, visitors to Victoria Square will also get the opportunity to speak to a banana grower from the Windward Isles who will explain the importance of Fairtrade to farmers in the West Indies.
To obtain Fairtrade status goods produced in the developing world must be done so in an environment with decent working conditions, environmentally friendly techniques and fair market prices paid to farmers.
The aim of the Fairtrade movement is to address injustices within conventional trading which can sometimes lead to exploitation of producers from poorer areas.
Councillor Paul Tilsley, Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: "As one of the more advanced countries in the world we have a clear social and moral responsibility to lead the way in ensuring all the goods we buy have been ethically sourced and produced."
Across Birmingham, Fairtrade products are available in more than 150 shops including the Midlands Co-op stores and through a range of cafes and restaurants.
Supportive companies include the hotel chain Radissons, that promotes the use of Fairtrade products in its hotels. Starbucks at the Bullring will be stocking its latest Black Apron Exclusives, one of Columbia's finest and rarest coffees, grown in soil enriched by the ashes of nearby Volcan Galeras in south-west Colombia and there are limited stocks.
Starbucks grants $15,000 to the community that produces each Black Apron Exclusives coffee to help improve the quality of life and the quality of coffee in that community. Past awards have helped to positively impact local education, health, transportation, coffee-processing facilities and the environment.
To find out more about Fairtrade Association in Birmingham go to the website at www.fairtradebirmingham.org.uk
