The case for Sunday shopping

Joy Paul talks about her commitment to being a Fair Trader

by Joy Paul 4th March 2011

Looking back, I have been trying to be an ethical shopper for a long time. Back in the 1970s I was buying that Nicaraguan coffee that people still groan about. My efforts became more focused after we returned from Voluntary Service Overseas in Malawi, having seen for ourselves the workers’ conditions on the tea estates and, incidentally, having come into contact with Quakers for the first time. Moving to Newcastle shortly afterwards helped me on my way. The Traidcraft shop in the city centre was a veritable Aladdin’s cave, and I had a friend down the road who was a Traidcraft ‘rep’ and supplied me with the basics.