Of all of the days, weeks, fortnights and months celebrating and raising awareness of specific issues, Fairtrade Fortnight is certainly one of the most resilient. It has captured the imagination of the public in a way that National Chip Week perhaps hasn’t. However, this is a difficult time for the ethical consumer. When money is tight, purchasing decisions are often made on the basis of price, rather than ethics.
What I hope Fairtrade Fortnight can emphasise this year is that ethical buying doesn’t mean expensive, and it certainly can mean better. Fair trade is not a compromise anymore. Look at our new toy range, for example. We have beautiful, soft, organic cotton toys like this rabbit, which are far superior to factory-made products and have a lovely individuality to them too.
Fairtrade needs to get back on the front foot. We must take heart from the areas where Fairtrade has now become mainstream – in tea, coffee, bananas and sugar – and think how much further we can extend this. Why shouldn’t we look at all the things we buy in the same way? A coffee producer is no different to a factory worker. Both have families to clothe, feed and support. By making the right ethical decisions – not just in Fairtrade Fortnight, but always - we are in the best position to ensure that while things are tough, we still do the right thing and because of it, we end up discovering something fantastic too.
This Fair Earth – Beautiful, Handmade, Ethical Jewellery and Homeware.