Fair Trade Feedback » Group

Some of you may have seen the ads - McCafe is now using rainforest alliance certified coffee.

While this is a good change i am still dubious about McDonalds.  It seems they have been using rainforest alliance coffee in the UK and Ireland for a while.  Now here in Australia, check out this link for some interesting feedback.

I guess this is a form of tongue in cheek, it is a great way to give feedback to a major company that is digging it's heels in. 

However there is also a Nike Campaign on the Global Exchange site, that shows the more serious side of this sporting goods supplier. 

Still Waiting For Nike To Do It

I sure don't think the swoosh is so swish anymore, and I won't be gearing up in their gear until they clean up their act.

 

Some supermarkets are now stocking fairtrade products... This increased buying power will hopefully make some products more affordable, and the convenience may raise the profile of these products.

If your particular supermarket isn't stocking fairtrade products, yet the buying chain sources them, write to them, or speak to the manager.  Find out what you can do to encourage them to supply products that are fair trade. 

http://www.kushtush.com/Be_Fair.jpg

Lucky enough to have a supermarket or major chain supply of fairtrade products in your area?  Give some feedback back to the management and ecourage them to continue with this and similar lines.  Let people know that these products are available, and where they can purchase them; every effort you make is worth while.

 

As per this report on Tree Huggers - they were awarded a conscience award from the "International Brands With A Conscience Awards".  Great stuff!  This is the link to the article.

The Chocolonely web/blog is also a good one to bookmark and read, it updates all the time and although the topic is serious, the articles and links are very humorous. : )

A few weeks back I was grocery shopping and came across some tea boxes that had an "ethical" trade or similar It said Ethical _ .  I can't remember the second word,but it was stating that they picked and paid the workers fairly and treated the process ethically.  It was really nice to see it here and that it shows how our mindsets in the US are being based on truth and not propiganda. 

I know the US has lots of rules and regulations for labor and outsourced products.  But how is it other places?  For the Fair Trade there in AU how does that work?  I'm in the US and I know that it's illegal for any company to use labor that are not up to certain standards nor be able to under pay farmers, whether here or abrod or they face federal charges.  This is new to me, and I want to learn more about it.  I think what you are doing, bring this to a widely diverse community is a great thing.

 

from Megan Van Oirschot <megan@chocoholicsanonymous.com.au> to Lui <@gmail.com>,
date Thu, Mar 20, 2008 at 3:36 PM subject RE: Chocolate Supplies   hide details Mar 20 (6 days ago) Reply  

Hi Luisa,

Thanks for your email.

I am very much aware of the concerns that surround the cocoa plantations and child labour.

As we are a reseller and don’t deal in raw ingredients I cannot say for sure as to the ethical sources of the chocolate we buy in so we could not guarantee that there are any victims to our knowledge.

We do have one product, the Cocolo chocolate bars which hold the Fair trade label. This ensures you that the cocoa farmer has been paid a fair price for the cocoa beans. It emulates that the farmer does use that money towards the community.

That is as much information as we can provide you. You are welcome to look on www.fairtrade.com.au if you like.

Thanks

Megan

At the end of the working week, only 4 out of 10 companies contacted below have even bothered to respond.

One can only assume that they are so over run with work right now, that they aren't able to handle their consumer enquries... Either that, or they haven't had time to pen a standard reply to fob people off.

I will give them a few more days, though I think that they have had ample time.   Has anyone else tried any of them?

Speaking of which, do help to make a list, I am not really a major choccy or lolly consumer, so I am not that familiar with the brands.

imagessalon.com - the chocolate story.

consumer.services.asia.pacific@ap.csplc.com to me show details 9:39 AM (8 hours ago) Reply   Dear Miss Foliaki

Thank you for taking time to contact us and for voicing your concerns which
Cadbury Schweppes shares in relation to Human Rights and Fair Trade.

Information  regarding  Cadbury  Schweppes commitment to ethical trading is
found on our global web site www.cadburyschweppes.com, under
 'Society & Environment'.

We trust this proves helpful.

Kind regards
Judy
Consumer Services
Ref : 1055281

Cadbury Cocoa Partnership - a historic alliance to secure the future of cocoa farming. Visit www.cadburyschweppes.com to learn more

Please support our Purple Goes Green commitments and consider the environment before you print this email

-----------------------------------------

This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
may contain privileged information. It is intended solely for the
use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If you
are not the addressee it may be unlawful for you to read, copy,
distribute, disclose or otherwise use the information in this e-mail.
If you are not the intended recipient please notify
postmaster@ap.csplc.com

----------------------------------------- Reply   Forward               Your message has been sent.         Lui to consumer.servi. show details 6:29 PM (1 minute ago) Reply  

Dear Judy

Thank you for your response, however I did not find it helpful at all.  I do not find an answer to the specific question that I asked:

I am currently a consumer of your products and as such, I would like to verify whether or not your cocoa products are supplied by ethical sources.

Are you able to guarantee that none of the laborers working on the cocoa plantations / farms that your products come from are victims of human trafficking, child labor, bonded or forced labor?

I found your HRET policy quite vague in respect as it says you support Human Rights and Ethical Trading, however it does not outline how you ensure this is actually happening in regard to your supply chain.  Not does it confirm that your products are indeed free from the fruits of slave labour. 

It was because of this that I originally emailed your company, and I did expect a more in depth response to a particularly tasteless practice.  I am part of a parenting website, and as consumers, and role models for our children, we think it is vital that we are conscientious consumers.

Regards

Luisa Foliaki

- Show quoted text -

On Fri, Mar 14, 2008 at 9:39 AM, <consumer.services.asia.pacific@ap.csplc.com> wrote:
Dear Miss Foliaki

Thank you for taking time to contact us and for voicing your concerns which
Cadbury Schweppes shares in relation to Human Rights and Fair Trade.

Information  regarding  Cadbury  Schweppes commitment to ethical trading is
found on our global web site www.cadburyschweppes.com, under
 'Society & Environment'.

We trust this proves helpful.

Kind regards
Judy
Consumer Services
Ref : 1055281

Cadbury Cocoa Partnership - a historic alliance to secure the future of cocoa farming. Visit www.cadburyschweppes.com to learn more

Please support our Purple Goes Green commitments and consider the environment before you print this email

-----------------------------------------

This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
may contain privileged information. It is intended solely for the
use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If you
are not the addressee it may be unlawful for you to read, copy,
distribute, disclose or otherwise use the information in this e-mail.
If you are not the intended recipient please notify
postmaster@ap.csplc.com

-----------------------------------------


  --

I thought I would share some of my thoughts and stances.

Chocolate, Coffee, Clothes and Toy's. Only the tip of the Iceberg, as the say. Who allows this and why? The answer is simple, we do. The consumer allowes it to happen and we allow the Companies to get away with it. Not as simple as saying No?  I understand we wish to have affoardable goods and income dicatates very much on what we can buy.

However do we really need to have the amount of stuff we own, is the latest pair cool of trainers really necessary to our childrens welfare. Does not having Disney's Pooh Bear or Princess T- Shirt psychologically damage our children. No it does'nt, and children are the most accepting people on the Planet. If we tell them Why we would rather not buy from Disney: http://www.chinastudygroup.net/index.php?action=blog2&type=view&id=54 , our children will accept it and spread the word through their peer group.

If we explain the abuses that take place in the factories that make the latest Addidas trainers then our children will say, no Mummy, Daddy that is wrong: http://www.cleanclothes.org/campaign.htm. They will talk to their friends, and just maybe by saying no, the next generation of consumer will bring about the change that this generation has helped to support. We are all guilty of turning the other cheek, but what if this was our children,Parents and Family. We think this would not happen to us, but the world is not static, and things alter, economies fail, become too greedy, and it does not take much for the First World to become a Third world. This could be us in time to come. I love Winnie the Pooh as you can see from my Avatar, but we do not own a Disney Winnie, we do have an original winnie, sourced in Britain and made through the original A.A. Milne estate, no Disney involved. It is possible to find an alternative to most things in life, and by taking the time to save and research, then the goods become so much more valuable and less likely to be thrown away and disguarded.

Luv, Winnie.xxxx