Fighting the Banana Wars

Posted by Patrick

February 19, 2009

I just finished listening to a great podcast from LSE about Fairtrade. You can listen to the podcast here. The following is the event description from the LSE event website.

Date: Tuesday 17 February 2009
Time: 6.30-8pm
Venue: Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Harriet Lamb
Discussants: Adam Brett, Dr Teddy Brett
Chair: Professor Stuart Corbridge

Only 14 years ago you couldn’t buy a Fairtrade product in Britain. Today almost £500m worth of goods bearing the Fairtrade mark are sold annually, including tea, coffee, bananas, cotton, flowers and even footballs. At the heart of this revolution in our shops is the Fairtrade Foundation, which was established in 1992 by CAFOD, Christian Aid, New Consumer, Oxfam, Traidcraft Exchange and the World Development Movement. Starting small but with big ideas, it has turned a grass-roots movement into a phenomenon of our time – changing not only the way in which corporations deal with their suppliers and how consumers shop on the high street, but also transforming the lives of over 7 million farmers, workers and their families.

Adam Brett is a Fairtrade entrepreneur, director of Tropical Wholefoods and Fullwell Mill Ltd. Dr Teddy Brett is associate programme director, Development Management MSc in the Development Studies Institute at LSE.

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