The case for Sunday shopping
Joy Paul talks about her commitment to being a Fair Trader
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.
We moved to Nottinghamshire at the end of 1991, having in the mean time spent three years in Zimbabwe. Practically my first question to Friends in Worksop Meeting was ‘where can I buy my Traidcraft?’ They didn’t know – but suggested that if I became a rep (or Fair Trader, as we are now), they would support me. That was it. Ever since then I have been carting my battered old shopping bag around to Meetings in Worksop and Doncaster setting up stalls. The small but steady turnover from Meeting sales has kept me going and ensured that I have not had to feed my family too many time-expired products!
Becoming known as a Fair Trader has opened doors over the years, with requests for stalls and talks from groups and churches. I currently supply a monthly stall for my local church and am involved with the Fairtrade for Bassetlaw group, which has achieved Fairtrade status for our district. We have also just set up a Traidcraft cupboard in the recently refurbished Meeting House in Doncaster, which is being used by a wide range of groups – sales being overseen by a Friend who now has his office base in the building. I see all this as a useful, if low-key, form of Quaker outreach.
As someone who enjoys food, I find I think about everything I buy and where I buy it. Ethical challenges abound, compromises inevitably have to be made, and there may not always be a ‘right’ answer. Using Fairtrade products is a fundamental commitment that at least ensures that my daily cups of tea and coffee are not exploiting producers and are helping to support poor communities. This is such a simple act that I struggle to understand why so many other people just don’t get it, and that is why I carry on selling my Traidcraft, telling (and reminding) people about Fairtrade, and campaigning on the issues.
There is one final reason why I think I shall be hawking my wares for many years to come, and that is, paradoxically, the proliferation of Fairtrade products in the supermarkets. Of course this is to be welcomed, but supermarkets vary in their commitment to principles as opposed to profits, and there is no doubt that the benefits to producers and the impact of the ‘Fairtrade premium’ passed on to communities can be much reduced by businesses viewing Fairtrade primarily as a marketing tool. Do please remember this, and if you have a Traidcraft stall at your Meeting, support it. If you haven’t, why not set one up?
Comments
Living in a small market town with a high street full of struggling independent traders, my commitment to ‘fair trade’ also includes remembering to support livelihoods in my local community.
By Sarah Colloby on 9th March 2011 - 14:51
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