Recently, one of the most often asked questions we get from our members and ambassadors is how the credit crisis and the downturn in the economy are affecting Shared Interest and fair trade. I will address the specifics of how they are affecting Shared Interest in future blog post, but I would like to shed some light on how they are affecting fair trade.
In a nutshell, the current economic situation has not affected fair trade sales in the least. In fact, sales of fair trade goods continue to increase along the same trajectory path. I think that this is reflective of the cultural change that we are seeing whereby people are more actively choosing to do business with businesses that are socially conscious.
The following article about the Ethical Superstore in yesterday’s Journal is further evidence of this cultural shift.
AN ethical retailer has witnessed record festive sales, dispelling the myth that the credit crunch is forcing consumers to trade down to budget lines.
Ethicalsuperstore.com, the Gateshead- based ethical retailer, recorded sales of £500,000 in December, which is a 50% increase on sales during December 2007 – and 2009 has also started well with sales up 60% to date.
The strong growth is across its range of 4,000 ethical gifts, eco-friendly gadgets and organic, fairtrade food and drink.
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