Oxford Brookes University officially became the world's first fair-trade university last October after a campaign by academics and postgraduates. Next week, members of the university are telling others how to do the same in a conference on achieving fair-trade status.

Several other universities have followed Oxford Brookes' example, including Birmingham and Edinburgh, while others, such as Leeds, have set in motion the accreditation process.

Joanna Brown, a campaigner at Leeds, describes fair trade as being concerned with "tackling the underlying roots of third-world poverty".

Buying and selling products priced to ensure farmers are paid a living wage with money invested back into local farming is a practical way of addressing inequality, she adds.

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Given the ethical basis of the fair-trade movement, universities have become ideal targets for generating support. "As large institutions, the potential volumes of fair-trade products to be consumed are enormous," says Harriet Lamb, director of the Fairtrade Foundation.

The foundation awards fair-trade status when five minimum criteria are met, including ensuring that fair-trade foods are on sale in all campus shops and that they are used in cafes, restaurants and bars.

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At Wolverhampton University, Susan Warrender, head of catering, launched her institution's interest in fair-trade products with a week of events including a fair-trade breakfast. During the week, prices of fair-trade items were reduced but Warrender says sales have not dropped subsequently, with coffee and tea being the main sellers.

It can take a while to achieve fair-trade status. Oxford Brookes took two years. Louisa Lyne, one of the initial campaigners, says there are marketable benefits to running ethical associations - being a fair-trade university fits with their commitment to the international community. "It's a good selling point for the university and it goes with their ethos."

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