Are groceries previously seen as staples now luxury items, and how can we shop ethically during the cost of living crisis?

Local TV

We speak to the Head of Campaigns at Fairtrade on how it's still possible to source ethical foods at reasonable prices during increasingly difficult financial times.

Transcript

00:00Ahead of Fairtrade Fortnight this year, we ran a consumer poll.

00:04And what that told us is that 86% of people in the UK would value more transparency

00:09and more visibility of how the people behind the things that they enjoy every day are treated.

00:16Fairtrade sales of tea have grown over the past five years.

00:20Do you see that as a sign that people are willing to pay a little bit more for fairness,

00:23even during the cost of living crisis?

00:25Yeah, and actually, we've done a few of these consumer surveys over the years,

00:29and they always show that people are prepared to pay a few pence more

00:33if they know that it means that people have been treated ethically.

00:37Having said that, I do appreciate that in the UK at the moment,

00:41people are dealing with the challenges of a cost of living crisis.

00:43So I think it's also important to note that Fairtrade is actually available

00:46at lots of different price points in the UK.

00:49So you can buy it in Lidl and Aldi, as well as being able to buy it in your Waitrose and your M&S.

00:54Or if you're out on the high street, Greg's is a really good example

00:57where all of their tea and coffee is Fairtrade certified.

00:59So you don't necessarily need to pay a much higher price to be able to make a better choice.

01:05How do you persuade people to stick with Fairtrade when they're counting every penny?

01:09As I said, actually, every time we run these surveys,

01:12people tell us that they are actually prepared to pay that tiny bit more.

01:17And I think that's because our values as a country are that we recognise

01:23that we need to support solidarity and equality with people on the other side of the world

01:29as much as we do with people on our own doorsteps.

01:32And so the reality is there's not really much of an argument to be made about it.

01:38Fairtrade has huge awareness in the UK, huge support for the last 30 years.

01:42And that is because people do really care about other people.

01:47So we don't really need to do that much convincing.

01:49I think it's more, like I said, about helping people to understand

01:53the range of different places that they can purchase Fairtrade at.

01:57But we also recognise that there are roles for other people.

02:00So more businesses need to be doing more and sourcing more Fairtrade products.

02:05And then we're also calling on the government to bring in a human rights

02:10and environment law, which would level the playing field for businesses.

02:14So then it's not about the business choosing to source things more ethically,

02:18but there'll be a law in place that compels them to,

02:21so that it isn't always on individuals to make that choice.

02:24There's actually legislation in place to make our trading system fairer.

02:29So, let's do that.

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