Its a fair crop Guv
And about time too! More and more suppliers and retailers are adopting a Fair Trade attitude and are increasing the range and quantity of FT items that they stock.
The Fair Trade system was brought about to try and prevent the growers and producers of goods in Third World countries having their prices driven down to the point where they were actually becoming victims of exploitation.
Growers and producers in poorer parts of the world can get buyers to give them prices for their products which are sustainable and enable them to improve their own situation.
The only way to really get the Fair Trade system to work is to buy Fair Trade marked products whenever you can, especially when you know your products have come from poorer or third world countries. If the price of the item is cheaper compared to a Fair Trade product from the same country, chances are it’s because the buyer reduced the price given to the producer to an unsustainable level and therefore reduced the living quality of those involved in production.
The success of the Fair Trade scheme means that we can now get a much wider range of FT badged products and believe it or not, it’s not just bananas.
Here are a few examples of some of the more unusual items that you can now buy:
- Beer (Freeminer Brewery)
- Men’s Shave Gel (Bulldog)
- Clothing (made from FT cotton)
- Flowers (various producers)
- Honey (Equal Exchange)
- Molasses (Meridian Foods)
- Pasta (Traidcraft)
- Earl Grey Tea Bags (Café Direct)
- Footballs (Ethletic)
- Pear drops (Traidcraft)
It’s worth bearing in mind though, the choice between buying Fair Trade and buying local. Buying Fair Trade products from the other side of the world, when you could buy locally produced items might not necessarily be good from the point of view of the environment and by purchasing local products you are still likely to be supporting a small producer trying to get established.
If you would like to know more about the Fair Trade system, visit the Fair Trade Foundation website at: www.fairtrade.org.uk