Start the year as an ethical shopper
04 January 2008
 Image courtesy of Sven Torfinn/Panos Pictures
This year, you can help to fight world poverty by making the right choices
about what you put in your shopping basket. By checking labels and buying
products from poor countries, you can do your bit for the economies of those
countries, and for the livelihoods of the farmers who grow the products.
A survey of adults in Great Britain has shown that ethical shopping is now seen as the
number one way to help people in the developing world. Many people now recognise
that they have the power to make a positive difference through the choices they
make as consumers. When asked how they can help people in poor countries, buying
ethically was even rated more highly than giving occasional donations to
charity.
Think how you shop!
 Image courtesy of Crispin Hughes/Panos Pictures
Currently, British shoppers spend more than £1 million a day on fruit and
vegetables from Africa, and it's estimated that almost a million people in
Africa depend at least partly on these UK purchases. Last year alone, developing
countries earned almost £3 billion from selling food, clothes and toys to UK
supermarkets.
By thinking carefully about how you shop - selecting products from poor countries,
including those that carry the
 Fairtrade logo, and asking retailers about how
they source their products - you can help bring about real changes to people's
lives. A farmer who gets good prices and steady demand for his crops has a
better chance of sending his children to school and affording healthcare for his family.
- Think how you shop!
Visit our online guide for more information about how you
can make a difference by buying honey from Zambia, tea from Tanzania, South African
oranges and other ethical products.
- To find out some of the places where you can but ethically in your
area, go to the web directory of the
British
Association of Fair Trade Shops, which lists over 80 fair trade
shops around the UK.
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Trading fairly, shopping ethically
 Image courtesy of Fernando Moleres /Panos Pictures
Encouraging trade is crucial for the long-term development of poor countries.
Through trade, poor farmers can earn their way out of poverty, becoming able to
fend for themselves rather than staying reliant on hand-outs. DFID is committed
to fighting poverty through trade, and supports the efforts of developing
countries to sell their goods more freely around the world, and at a decent
price.
Earlier this month, Gareth Thomas, UK Minister for Trade and Development,
announced a £2 million
fund that will help bring more ethically produced goods from Africa to
British shelves. The Food Retail Industry Challenge Fund (FRICH) will build
closer links between African farmers and UK retailers, enabling them to work out
new ways of doing business that are fairer and more profitable.
DFID is also calling for more British firms to join the
Ethical
Trading Initiative (ETI), which promotes better working standards in
developing countries. UK retailers must ensure that their providers in the
developing world are paying their employees a wage that they can live on, and
that they are not forcing them to work in dangerous or unhealthy conditions. In Bangladesh,
the ETI has helped to almost double the national minimum wage, and in India it
has provided health and safety training for around 1,900 workers. More British
companies are needed to strengthen the Initiative and UK shoppers too can play
their part, by checking with retailers that products have been responsibly
sourced.
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Helping to create a fairer world
Trade is essential for fighting poverty. DFID is continuing to push to make
trade work for the world's poorest countries. Recent and ongoing efforts to
support the Doha trade talks
and
Economic Partnership Agreements reflect this. But we all have the power to
support trade in the developing world. This Christmas, and into the new year,
each of us can help make a difference by finding out where the goods we buy come
from, by buying more goods from poor countries, and by asking questions about
the living and working conditions of the people who produced them. As more and
more shoppers are realising, "positive purchasing" is one of the best ways in
which we can build a fairer world.
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