Inflikt

Stroll around your nearest branch of Morrissons, and you’re observing the wonderment of globalisation. One can purchase almost anything at very low cost. It might be spices from Thailand or cornflower oil from Peru - it’s for sale throughout the year. This is by far the greatest time in the history of humanity to be a consumer! This has come about by just in time stock control, large scale production, strong competitive forces, and possibly most importantly, the fact that most produced goods are located, and often manufactured, in second and third world nations.

The final reason is rather important, and controversial. While western consumers are buying food, drink, clothing and other items located from second and third world nations at low costs, workers and business organisations in these producing nations are frequently short-changed in the process, and have no real sustainable business model since they are the last stop of a very lengthy line of middle-men who determine what they make, how much, and how often. This lengthy string of middle-men all require their share too - so there’s not much cash left for the end-of-line producer.

Still, there’s assistance for such impoverished individuals and companies. Fairtrade is a cause which attempts to empower such end-manufacturing business organizations in the poorer nations of the planet. It looks to get rid of these middle-men, and renumerate the end-producer a fair price for a product in a much more targeted way. You might have discovered Fairtrade items in your local supermarket. Sometimes they’re a tad more expensive, but by buying such ethical products or even ethical gifts - for example fair trade products - you will be happy to acknowledge the producer is operating in a sustainable way that not only pays them evenhandedly through a much more direct revenue flow, but it also provides them to put this extra money into their business through greater profits, which genuinely contributes in a positive way toward these poorest parts of the planet.