Christmas Shopping for Fair Trade way to trade

I spent this weekend in Wales with a Shared Interest stall at the Wales World Trade Fair. In Cardiff on Saturday and Abergavenny on Sunday I joined many other fair trade organisations in the third annual Wales World Trade Fair organised by Love Zimbabwe. I was helped by our Ambassadors Edward and Judy Evans on the Saturday and rain did not dampen spirits as many came to find out more about Fair Trade in Wales as well as make some early Christmas purchases, such as lovely fairtrade chocolates from Plush Chocolates and gorgeous fairtrade tea from Trumpers Tea.

The fair was opened by Harriet Lamb who talked of the hardship faced by producers during the tough economic times we are all experiencing. She spoke of this period and how it is difficult for us but even more so for those producing the cup of tea we may enjoy as a ‘pick me up’ when feeling down. Talking about the difficulties these producers face she spoke of the difficulty in accessing the credit they need to continue to do business, the vital role Shared Interest plays in sustaining fairtrade. This message also reminded me of the plight of Dezign Inc from Zimbabwe, for whom we could consider the financial situation to be a big grey cloud in an already stormy sky, and the role of Shared Interest in helping Dezign Inc get into business again (click here to read full story).

Support of fair trade is even more important when we want to challenge the financial and market based society which helped us to the current position. If we are looking for a better way to do business and to conduct trade there must be a lot already good in fair trade we can learn from.