Here is a link to the Ethical Consumer Guide that is issued in Australia.  You can buy the guide to ethical supermarket shopping in print form, or download it for free.

The information and links on the site provide excellent information about what you can do as a consumer to change the way big companies operate; there are some great workplace initiatives as well.  I especially like the pdf chart, 'your dollar is your vote".

 

Hurray - Cadbury's Dairy Milk and their hot chocolate is going to switch over to Fairtrade by this summer. That is an enormous part of the UK and Irish chocolate market (and my favourite!). According tot he Daily Telegraph:

"The company sells 300m of Cadbury Dairy Milk bars in Britain each year and the move will increase Fairtrade's £700m of UK sales by 20pc."

See Traidcraft and Cadbury's statements.

I don't know how many are Canadians in this group but Superstore, which is Loblaws, has narrowed the gap between the organic prices and the regular stuff. Although it is a more expensive choice the quality is there!  Also Loblaws has increased the fair trade section and I am so glad to see this.  We still buy the green fair trade beans for coffee so I am going to venture into some other things.  The section still has no fresh produce but the packaged goods are increasing so all goes well there!

I have noticed shopping that there is a lot more fairtrade products in the supermarket.  I've always been conscious of organic and get it when i can, but have found the coffee rather expensive.  Last time i looked Coles had a couple of Fairtrade products (prices through the roof) now there is probably about six to choose from.  I'm sure it depends which area you are in but i have bought this one Scarborough Fair dark roast, Fairtrade, Organic, Arabica coffee.  It cost about $6.00 for a 200g pack and can be used for plunger, filter and expresso...too easy!! 

Scarborough Fair is a NZ company, and you can get their products here in Australia at Woolies and Coles, and online through Amazon USA.

I haven't tried the coffee yet but...... i think i will do that right now.......!

From Stop Chocolate Slavery - check it out ; )

Maybe you can even think of some that they could add to the list.

For anyone who missed Matthew's blog, there is a great promotion from World Vision to promote child sponsorship as they are struggling in today's current financial market to find sponsors for their children:

http://www.worldvision.com.au/childsponsorship/sponsorachild.aspx?souce=1168

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

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

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

So have we tracked down a good chocolatier?  Nestle is attempting to come good sometime after 1 July 2008.  Any others that we know are good?  I am sure it is out there somewhere...I just can't remember where I saw it...must be Lui's advice...

 

Blood Chocolate

Well... Maybe it is just me, but I thought the first reponse was a load of policitian type prattle that didn't actually address the question that I asked.  It was full of information, however not the information that I sought... The second response seemed to say to me, 'go away you nuisance, you are just some mother...'  Perhaps it was just my imagination, love to hear what anyone else thinks.

However they are members of the International Cocoa Initiative Foundation, and The World Cocoa Foundation... All very commendable, however I think it bears closer scrutiny and it will be great to see how they go after the new Government Certification is implemented.

Consumer,Service,RHODES,Consumer Services to me show details Mar 10 (2 days ago) Reply  

Hi Luisa,

Thank you for contacting us regarding your concerns about child labour.

Nestlé does not own cocoa farms anywhere in the world nor employ workers on farms. We are working with other cocoa and chocolate industries, governments, labour experts and international organisations to encourage the growing of cocoa in a responsible manner. This global partnership between industry, local aid agencies and West African governments aims to deliver Certification. Certification is a program that will improve the lives of farming families by improving farmer incomes and knowledge of safe labour practices. Certification is a continuous process that identifies problem, puts remedial actions in place, and finally checks on progress and will be delivered by 1 July 2008.

Nestlé is naturally concerned about working conditions in cocoa plantations and hence is a founding participant in the International Cocoa Initiative Foundation as well as a member of the World Cocoa Foundation which works to improve cocoa growing practices in cocoa growing regions. 

Nestlé is also funding a three-year sustainable cocoa project with three co-operatives of about 3000 farmers on the Ivory Coast. The scheme, which is run in conjunction with other international  non-government organisations, aims to improve cocoa farmers' incomes, protect the environment, combat child labour, improve school attendance and increase HIV awareness. AIDS deaths have been responsible for a huge rise in the number of children left orphaned.

You may like to view our international Nestlé website at www.nestle.com under all about Nestle Business Principles for more information on the subject.

Should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact our Consumer Services department on 1800 025 361 during business hours.

Sincerely,

T. MIDDLETON
FOOD ADVISER

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Lui to Service,RHODES. show details Mar 10 (2 days ago) Reply  

Hi

Thank you for your very long informative email, and the link to your website, which I have already seen, I used it to contact you.

While I commend you on your three year project and found the accompanying information interesting, I feel that you have not answered the question I asked, which only requires saying yes or no. 

Please indulge me as I repeat the same question below.  I am but one of a group of parents on a parenting website who eagerly await your response.

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 labourers working on the cocoa plantations / farms that your products come from are victims of human trafficking, child labour, bonded or forced labour?

Regards

Luisa Foliaki
Consumer and Mother

Hi Luisa,

Thank you for your reply email.

As previously mentioned in our email to you, we are currently working with organisations including government bodies, suppliers, aid organisations and farmers to improve practices in these areas and deliver certification. As you would understand to implement certification several government bodies are required to approve the program and this will be delivered by 1st July 2008.

After the 1st July 2008, once certification has been implemented we will be able to guarantee that the cocoa in which we use is supplied by ethical sources.

We appreciate your contact with our Company.

Sincerely,

J. MCCABE
OPERATIONS MANAGER - CONSUMER SERVICES

[This e-mail is sent as confidential and intended for the use of the individual or entity whom it is addressed.  If you have received this e-mail in error notify the sender and delete the message from your computer - Thank you]

Good Afternoon

Thank you for clarifying that information further, and I commend you on your efforts and look forward to companies like yourselves being able to guarantee that your cocoa comes from ethical sources.

I hope that other companies follow suit, and I am sure that other caring consumers would join me in commending your actions.

Regards

Luisa

 

Dianne Baise to me show details 3:19 PM (23 hours ago) Reply  

Good afternoon Luisa  

Thank you for your enquiry regarding Gloria Jean's Coffees position on Fair Trade.   We are actively involved with the Rainforest Alliance which certifies only coffee farms that are managed according to the highest environmental and social standards.  It is a world cause that not only provides fair pay to farmers,  helps conserve rainforests and protects wildlife habitats, but also helps coffee growers with agricultural education, health care and even housing.   More information can be obtained from our website: www.gloriajeanscoffees.com.au   Go to News - click on "Media Centre" (Archives) - left hand side of the page and view previous releases - Rainforest Alliance Partnership Launches.   As coffee has been our main focus, we are still working with our suppliers towards getting Rain Forest Alliance certification on other ingredients such as tea and cocoa.   We trust that this assists and thank you for your interest.  

Regards
Dianne Baise
Guest Relations   Gloria Jean's Coffees
11 Hoyle Avenue
Castle Hill NSW 2154
AUSTRALIA
Phone: +61 2 9846  0900
Direct: + 61 2 8853 0679
 
E-Mail: dianneb@gloriajeanscoffees.com.au Web:  www.gloriajeanscoffees.com.au  

CAUTION: This message may contain privileged and confidential information intended only for the use of the addressee named above. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, distribution, or reproduction of this message is prohibited.  If you have received this message in error, please notify Gloria Jean's Coffees immediately.  Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of Gloria Jean's Coffees.

Lui to Dianne show details 2:20 PM (2 minutes ago) Reply  

Good Afternoon Dianne

Thank you so much for your feedback, I am a member of a parenting website, and I am sure that many people will find that really interesting.

Kerry Birse from Marantha Import/Exports also sent me some information regarding your involvement in the Rainforest Alliance.  Perhaps it would also be a good selling point?  Is it already?

Regards

Luisa Foliaki

 

Dianne Baise to me show details 2:25 PM (17 minutes ago) Reply   You are most welcome Luisa.   With the increase in awareness regarding the welfare of whole communities involved in the procurement of our coffees, many of our guests are very happy to purchase our coffees.   We wish you much luck with your website and thank you again for your interest.   Regards
Dianne Baise
Guest Relations   Gloria Jean's Coffees
11 Hoyle Avenue
Castle Hill NSW 2154
AUSTRALIA
Phone: +61 2 9846  0900
Direct: + 61 2 8853 0679
 
E-Mail: dianneb@gloriajeanscoffees.com.au Web:  www.gloriajeanscoffees.com.au   CAUTION: This message may contain privileged and confidential information intended only for the use of the addressee named above. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, distribution, or reproduction of this message is prohibited.  If you have received this message in error, please notify Gloria Jean's Coffees immediately.  Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of Gloria Jean's Coffees.