Real Ideas Organisation

Playing Fair in Troubled Times

Doing the shopping at Asda last week I noticed the dearth of Fairtrade products in the tea and coffee aisle.

Where was my beloved Café Direct and Percol? What had happened to Clipper? Not to be outdone by a global supermarket giant I decided to head to…another global supermarket giant to pick up my ethically produced hot beverages. But stood between the cereal and biscuits in Tesco, I was left pondering their apparent lack of Fairtrade products too, which got me thinking – how is Fairtrade coping with the credit crunch? Are consumers cutting back on products with a clean conscience to save the pennies in these difficult times?

A quick bit of googling found that a lot of people have been thinking the same thing, and although I could find no definitive figures or answers, Giles Robertson, interim marketing director at the Fairtrade Foundation, seems to think Fairtrade is weathering the storm.

Quoted on Shared Interest he explained that because Britons are beginning to question the way the economy is run amid the collapse of trusted organisations there could be a resultant explosion in people buying Fairtrade products as they see it as “a real opportunity to make a development impact.”

On the flip side, Safia Minney, founder of ethical clothing brand People Tree raises an interesting point in her blog that it’s not just about whether consumers will continue to shell out a few pence more to buy Fairtrade products – producers at the other end are being affected by the global recession too.  She argues that many Fairtrade organisations have reported how producers are having difficulties raising finance and loans locally in the developing world. As banks run out of money Fair Trade groups are starting to struggle to meet demands for growing working capital. She closes by saying the Fair Trade movement needs public and government support to raise working capital for Fair Trade businesses around the world.

All definite food for thought. But no answer to my own ethical shopping dilemma about why the shelves are Fairtrade bare in my neck of the woods. Still, no real bother – I outplayed both supermarket retailers with a quick trip to my local health food store. Supporting Fairtrade and the local economy in one fell swoop.

Now there’s a cup of coffee I can be proud of.

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