Great ‘Cheapest Way to Go Fairtrade’ Hunt

Thanks bargainbabe, you took the words right out of my mouth. I am an MSE enthusiast but try very hard not to let my ethics get in the way of my purchases.

If anyone is particularly concerned with only FairTrade, much as I hate to advertise for massive corporations, Tate & Lyle has gone FT certified. I think they can be generally cheaper than even the supermarket own brands.

I do try to buy from other better ranked producers like Whitworths but I also dabble in cake decorating and as such, was most relieved when one of the major sugar manufacturer's went Fair Trade.

If you are more concerned with the rest of the concerns like environmental and other misc ethical issues, I would refer again to competitionscafe's link to the ethicalconsumer site which ranks companies by more than FT. Or buy the paper version of that guide - The Good Shopping Guide - which is my bible to shopping.

Ethical threads are a good site for organic, fair trade cotton t-shirts:

http://www.ethicalthreads.co.uk/index.aspx

A_fiend_for_life wrote: »

Ethical threads are a good site for organic, fair trade cotton t-shirts:

http://www.ethicalthreads.co.uk/index.aspx

And also from that site:

"...Any surplus profits help finance grass-roots trades unionism and ethical campaigns around the world."

Well at least it's only the 'grass-roots'. That'd be ok then!

valiant wrote: »

This from The Economist on 7/12/06 : (full article is 'paid' content on The Economist website).

"Fairtrade food is designed to raise poor farmers' incomes. It is sold at a higher price than ordinary food, with a subsidy passed back to the farmer. But prices of agricultural commodities are low because of overproduction. By propping up the price, the Fairtrade system encourages farmers to produce more of these commodities rather than diversifying into other crops and so depresses prices—thus achieving, for most farmers, exactly the opposite of what the initiative is intended to do. And since only a small fraction of the mark-up on Fairtrade foods actually goes to the farmer—most goes to the retailer—the system gives rich consumers an inflated impression of their largesse and makes alleviating poverty seem too easy."

At least do a Google on Fairtrade and inform yourself before wasting your money on left-wing idealism.

Please don't tar all Fairtrade initiatives with the same brush. I have recently done some volunteer work for Cafedirect and had many long conversations with one of their growers from Africa. He assures they get paid MORE than a fair price for their coffee.

Reverbe wrote: »

Please don't tar all Fairtrade initiatives with the same brush. I have recently done some volunteer work for Cafedirect and had many long conversations with one of their growers from Africa. He assures they get paid MORE than a fair price for their coffee.

No one is arguing that Fairtrade growers don't get a 'fair' price for their coffee. The issue is whether giving them a 'fair' price distorts the market, resulting in over-supply and putting their competitors out of business.