Guilty Expression :: Rants and raves inspired by a passionate, frustrated love for God.

Re: Fair Trade and Middle Class values (Score: 1)
by Midge (-) on May 02, 2006 - 09:38 PM

I agree with you pretty much. I'm glad that Fair Trade products are available and increasingly prominent, that I have the choice of buying coffee that wasn't bought at the cheapest possible price from the growers but a price that was agreed in advance so they could plan for the future.

But like with other 'charity' things, it's not much good if we stop there. It's easy to send money and food to help poor people, and salve your conscience, and not do anything to try and change their situation more permanently.

And like that TV documentary said, some supermarkets seem to see it as a good opportunity to take an extra slice of profit out of us. On the other hand, are Fair Trade products really that much more expensive than other ones? I hadn't noticed much difference. E.g. Fair Trade chocolate - you can get much cheaper chocolate, but if you want something of the same quality, you have to pay about the same price.