Click on any of the images below to see a larger photo. For dozens more photos from the day, see our gallery

On Saturday 3rd June 2006, the Redditch Green Fair was held at St Stephens Church in the town centre, timed to coincide with World Environment Day on Monday 5th June. It was the first event of it`s kind in Redditch, providing residents with a mixture of green, organic, ethical products and eco-friendly information. A hot, summers day ensured a steady flow of visitors throughout the fair, all of them made aware how simple changes to their daily life can make a real difference to the future of the planet.

Redditch Vegetarians & Vegans(RVV) volunteers were busy all day long - aswell as our double stall offering FREE vegan food samples/information, we were also responsible for serving vegan, fairtrade refreshments throughout the event. Our free food samples turned out to be the biggest attraction of the day, with crowds flocking round to sample delicious, eco-friendly vegan food. RVV volunteers also offered food to passers by in the street, in order to entice them in to sample loads more! The RVV message of the day was simple, "There`s no such thing as a meat eating environmentalist!!!" The global appetite for meat and the industrial techniques of the meat industry are destroying the Earth. Read more on our Why Vegetarian? page.

Other stalls at the fair included virtually every Redditch environmental/social justice group - Friends Of the Earth, Green Party, Freecycle, Trade Justice Network and the recently formed anti war group, Redi4Peace. Also there, were Red Kite Health Foods and Real Nappiness (both from Bromsgrove) and Organic Solutions, the shop planning to open in the area very soon.

Stalls boasted a wide variety of products and information, including fairtrade goods, waste reduction solutions, organic food, renewable energy supplier info, ethical cleaning products, campaign materials, real nappies & eco-baby products, info re Mooncup - the environmentally friendly sanitary protection for women, lots of recycling freebies from Worcester County Council and lots, lots more....

Free alternative therapy was on offer all day, as was facepainting and hair braiding to keep the children amused. On top of all that, a local teenage band played peace songs etc on the green outside. And with the big green fair banner flying in the wind, Redditch shoppers couldn`t fail to notice the event. The fair succeeded in showing the general public that sustainable, eco-friendly living is something we can all achieve.

Along with Friends Of the Earth and Redditch Freecycle, members of RVV were instrumental in helping to organise & promote the fair. We formed the Redditch Green Alliance, which now plans to stage the Redditch Green Fair on an annual basis.

Don`t forget to take a look at our Gallery of loads more great photos from the event. Also, see the local press articles