nuts4chic - lifestyle
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by Jo Gifford It is Monday morning, your train is late and your hair is frizzed from the perpetual early spring drizzle. Time for a coffee for keep you going for the day. When you reach for the caffeine, does the buck or the bean cross your mind? Jo Gifford explores the fairer sex consumer and Fairtrade. In March we had the Fairtrade Fortnight, which ran from Monday, March 6 to Sunday, March 19. The fortnight was mainly celebrating and highlighting the 'Fairtrade Revolution', which has seen consumers across the UK put ethics before cost and become more aware of the sacrifices made in order to shave off extra pence from their shopping lists.
Fairtrade practices have been in place since the late 80s to ensure farmers in the developing world are guaranteed a minimum price for their crops with the aim to ending spiralling global poverty and exploitation from the capitalist consumer society. But how does this affect our daily lives? On a basic level awareness is the key factor. This is the simple understanding that making subtle changes in the way we purchase will impact greatly on the lives of others. The Fairtrade Foundation ( http://www.fairtrade.org.uk ) gives further information and guidance on encouraging your family, school, office and environment to be Fairtrade aware and to buy products endorsed by the Fairtrade Mark. Historically, coffee was the first product to be subjected to Fairtrade standards but today Fairtrade rules affect chocolate, bananas, honey, rice, cotton and even roses and footballs. And the good news is the number of endorsed products is on the rise.
Social responsibility and ethical purchasing is playing a greater role in the high street as cash-wielding consumers become more and more concerned with the traceability of products and global sustainability. Marks & Spencer have recently launched a Fairtrade clothing range made from Fairtrade cotton. Their Look behind the Label campaign is a great example of consumer demands being reflected in the retailing efforts of our old favourites. And if Marks and Sparks can do it, then so can we! Choosing Fair Trade can have some glamour too. Sienna Miller is reportedly a fan of People Tree clothing (www.ptree.co.uk), who will launch a Topshop concession during awareness week in March. No longer is Fairtrade clothing still reminiscent of scratchy Guatemalan cloth trousers in Oxfam, but we see a funky, sexy range of clothes mixing to match both your conscience and your style. The Co-op have led the way in being the first retailers to stock Fairtrade coffee and tea, and the first to launch a Fairtrade chocolate product in conjunction with The Day Chocolate Company ( www.divinechocolate.com ). The Co-operative Bank also supports the Trade Justice Campaign, so you can do your bit whilst swiping your card, yes, shopping has never felt so ethically right. So, there we have it....make sure your Starbucks is the Fairtrade featured coffee of the month, make like Sienna and adorn your person with organic cotton, and check those supermarket labels for the Fair Trade mark. It might be conspicuous consumption, but ethical chic is no bad thing. Simple changes here and there can make the world of difference –literally. |
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