Easy to only buy Fairtrade?

from The Manchester Evening News

Helen Tither

DOING the weekly shop used to be so easy. Chuck in a bag of frozen chips, a jar of coffee and a pack of loo rolls, with nothing more to worry about than whether the wheels on your trolley would stick. Now, it's an ethical minefield.

Firstly - should you even be in there in the first place? Or should you be boycotting the superstores in favour of your local butchers and bakers?

That frozen food is a no-no, as we all know what Jamie Oliver thinks about those processed meals. As for loo rolls, well, they should be recycled, shouldn't they? Washing up liquid needs to be eco-friendly, fruit and veg should be organic and locally-sourced if possible. And heaven forbid you should take it all home in a carrier bag.

This week is the second of the annual Fairtrade Fortnight, an event designed to raise the profile of ethical shopping with fair prices going to producers abroad. For stressed out shoppers it could be the (eco-farmed) straw that breaks the camel's back. So, we asked one volunteer to try shopping Fairtrade for the full two weeks, just to see how hard it is - and how much more expensive. Mary Chapman, a breast cancer researcher for the Genesis centre at Wythenshawe Hospital, was eager to take up the challenge.

"I like to think of myself as quite ethically-minded," says the 28-year-old, who lives in Chorlton with her fiancé, John. "I do my bit buying Fairtrade coffee, juice, and tea. But I wanted to see how hard it would be to create a whole menu with Fairtrade products."

Mary's first stop was the Fairtrade Foundation website, the body which licences the use of the Fairtrade mark on products across the UK. A not-for-profit organisation, they have a list of all the different types of products you can buy, from flowers to fruit, and where to get them. They've also got a page of recipe ideas to tempt even the most hardened consumer into trying something a little more ethical, like Jane Asher's chocolate cake (which we've re-printed in a related article link).

Choice

Encouraged by the supposed wealth of choice out there, Mary drew up her list and set out on her mission. Only to find, sadly, things weren't quite as easy as they appeared.

"It was pretty easy to find things like tea, coffee, and chocolate in most supermarkets," she explains. "But finding more variety was harder. I knew, for instance, you can buy Fairtrade rice and nuts but the supermarkets I went to didn't stock them.

"I found you really have to shop around. I went to local health shops, Oxfam for their Traidcraft options, and Eighth Day which had a broad choice."

Luckily, Mary didn't mind going that extra mile to fill her basket. However, she admits it could be a tad too time consuming in an ordinary working week. On the cost front, however, she dispels the myth that buying Fairtrade means a big hike in your shopping bill.

"I would say I didn't even spend £10 more in total. In fact, I found the Fairtrade products no more expensive than the supermarkets' own-brand premium lines. So for some people it wouldn't cost any more at all." After scouting far and wide Mary found the most Fairtrade friendly supermarket to be the Co-Op, with Oxfam having one of the widest ranges. One of the Fairtrade mark founders, the charity chain stocks 60 certified food products.

Campaigning

Here in the north west the group has been campaigning hard to raise awareness throughout this fortnight. And, while Manchester-based Oxfam campagner Serena Tramonti acknowledges there might be a little cost implication by buying Fairtrade, she says it's still worth it.

"Fairtrade is about providing a better deal for disadvantaged and marginalised producers in developing countries," she says. "All they are asking is to be paid a fair price for their work.

"By buying Fairtrade products, consumers are supporting farmers and growers to trade themselves out of poverty. It's not about charity, but about social justice."

Mary, at least, is convinced and is now even hoping to make her forthcoming summer wedding Fairtrade after stocking up on ethically-sourced wine this week.

And she's so enthused by her experiment she's even thinking of how to make improvements to the rest of her habits - wearing a Fairtrade t-shirt from Topshop for our pictures.