When we shop, do they drop?

Shopping is no longer escapism. Gone are the therapy days. The recent ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign is just one of many ways in which the issue of Fair Trade has been highlighted to us as consumers.

Going to the supermarket or browsing along the high street with these issues ringing in our ears makes the experience very different. We are told in the Bible that ‘blessed is he who is generous to the poor’ (Proverbs 14.21) yet inadvertently many of us have probably bought goods that have been produced by people who are exploited and abused. Being interested in the equal treatment of all mankind means that the shopper needs to make ethical decisions as they make their purchases.

Persuaders

Advertising and marketing techniques offer us many different reasons as to why we should give certain companies our cash. It’s fat free! It’s good value! It’s the latest! It’s going to make you more attractive! Yet the choices that we make as consumers don’t just have an affect on us as individuals. They affect world trade and the decisions of multinational companies.

During the late 1990s, newspaper headlines and pressure groups increased public awareness of the terrible working conditions faced by those making our trainers and T-shirts on the other side of the world. The widely popular book, No Logo, written in 2000 by Naomi Klein, brought to light many of the loopholes that companies were using to exploit their overseas workers and push down their production costs. As a result, famous high street names came under intense pressure from consumers to ensure that every stage of the production process gave workers decent pay and conditions.

Ethical businesses

The Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI) was set up in 1998 to work alongside these companies in identifying and promoting good practice. Among many other stipulations, members of the ETI must conform to the implementation of a living wage for workers (which in many countries is higher than the minimum wage), as well as stringent health and safety measures in factories.

The good news is that over 30 well-known UK food and clothing companies, with a combined £100 billion turnover, are members of the ETI. This means that consumers can be confident that the products of ETI member companies have been produced by workers who are paid enough to live on and who are working in safe environments with regular breaks.

The list of ETI members can be found at http://www.ethicaltrade.org under ‘about ETI’ and ‘who we are’ and it includes Tesco, Next and Marks & Spencer. Interestingly, Gap is also a member, possibly after having received particular criticism from Naomi Klein and others in the 90s.

Shopping loudly

So should Christians just shop at ETI approved stores and avoid the others? In their book, Lift the Label, 2004, David Westlake and Esther Stansfield argued that if we are really concerned about the issues of fair trade then boycotting certain names isn’t really the answer. A boycott could be damaging to the livelihood of workers and may cause factories to close, forcing workers out of jobs. Instead, they urge us to carry out personal ‘Don’t Shop Quietly’ campaigns, using our powerful positions as consumers to put pressure on managers and CEOs. They urge us to ask shop assistants and managers whether or not the company is a member of the ETI and to fill in comment cards expressing concern that more of the goods should be fairly traded.

A surprising number of companies are highlighting the moves that they are taking to ensure that their products are ethically produced and consumer pressure would help this to continue. Many of them are gaining the fairtrade label for their products which ‘guarantees a better deal for producers’.

In his letter of 1 Timothy, Paul charges the rich Christians in the church ‘not to be arrogant, nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain.’ Instead, he tells them to ‘put their hope in God…to do good, to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share.’ If this means paying extra for Fair Trade goods, or taking the time to fill in a customer comment card in a non-ETI shop, then shopping loudly, rather than therapeutically, may need to be our new priority.

Eleanor Margesson

© Evangelicals Now - August 2005
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