please empty your brain below

Erm. I can see some of the merits of the idea... but does anything like this >really< ever change anything?
Surely, so long as there are people - at the consumer end - who want to go out and spend their money on stuff like, say, mahogany toilet seats (and there are retailers happy to supply to that demand), the whole idea of creating >a better world< is consgned to being little more than an idealistic dream?

Croydon is true blue at the moment but I suspect that it originally got its Fairtrade accreditation under the former Labour controlled regime.

Roger - If you're an orange grower or a cocoa bean farmer, rather than a Nestlé shareholder, then I suspect London's Fairtrade policy does indeed change something.

A minor correction re. purples: There are many claims that can be made of LB Haringey, but being under Conservative control is definitely not one of them.

dg writes: Ah, sorry, I meant 'pink and red boroughs', not 'purple and red boroughs'.

Perhaps one needs to investigate how much it costs organisations to join, and then remain a member, of Fairtrade before one thinks it's a fantastic idea.

There is an awful lot of hype about this organisation, who spend an awful lot on glossy publicity and unnecessary systems (both for producers and retailers).

It's not as good as it should be. Why? Because our 'friend' consumerism and making a fast buck off the back of a good idea got in the way.

Agree with you BW. Bexley have got it right.

& what's wrong with the Kentish farmers? A fine body of folk I'm sure.

Not so keen on Gold Blend mind you....

Blue Witch - care to expand, with references? It's very easy to throw these ideas out there and poison the well and then discover that the knockers are themselves funded by big business and lobbyists (see also: climate change sceptics).

In general, I think it's better to buy fair trade if you can but without being fooled that you're at all solving the problem; the main problem with it is that prices for coffee and other commodities with low barriers to entry are always going to race to the bottom as more producers pile in attracted by any temporary rise. Fair trade props up a few of these farmers, so it's good in that way, but can't help all of them. Longer term, something like an appelation controlee for products like coffee and chocolate would do more to raise quality and prices by making the best of them less of a commodity. Interestingly, it's exactly that sort of approach which Starbucks are fighting tooth and nail (attempting to brand Ethiopian coffee for themselves for instance) whereas they're happy to promote fair trade.

As Kentish farmers aren't known for their coffee or cocoa growing, I can't see how Bexley justifies supporting them instead of a Fairtrade approach. Anyone buying something predominantly grown in developing countries should choose a Fairtrade version if they can at all afford it, because otherwise they can pretty much guarantee that the producers are getting the worst possible deal. Doesn't mean we shouldn't prioritise home grown as well though - my local supermarket had plenty of Fairtrade honey the other day, but none from the UK. Seems a shame that people/businesses/boroughs feel they have to plump for supporting either global or local.

Bexley's long had a reputation for being a mean, stingy council.

Where I am in America they've barely even heard of Fair Trade! Shame on them.

disgruntled - DYOR. Start with the annual accounts on the Fairtrade website, and go from there. You could even ring them up and ask them what they charge. When I first heard about this from a close friend who sells to the on-trade, I could not believe it, and this is what I did. Then start looking at Traidcraft.

And me funded by big business and lobbyists? That's nearly as funny as being called a sheep by someone else here, last week.

To be fair I have to point out that when Redbridge decided to go Fairtrade it was Conservative controlled and remained so when it gained accreditation.

However, I am with Bexley in supporting Kentish breweries - as he sips a pint of Spitfire.











TridentScan | Privacy Policy