Green Tipster

Fair or Free?

Fairtrade Fortnight is now well under way and Elaine from Aberdeen has written in with a great question:

What is the difference between Fairtrade and Free Trade and which is worth supporting more?

Now that is a meaty question and one I will not be able to do total justice to without writing a 50 page research paper. But I can give you a brief summary of both and my take on how they interact.

Fairtrade is in essence a certification to ensure that a product you buy has been produced by people being paid a fair and sustainable price. In practice this means that people get a stable price for their hard work and can plan ahead accordingly. We all get paid stable amounts but imagine if we were paid against a fluctuating market price...try getting a mortgage on that basis. Fairtrade seeks to extend to others something we therefore essentially take for granted.

Free Trade is the committment to a market free of barriers i.e. subsidies. Many economists believe Free Trade to be the answer to societies ills as the market will naturally heal all if left to do so. It is only when we interfere with the market and place obstacles to regulate, direct and control the market that causes it to act unnaturally.

How do they connect?
Most economists fall into either the Fairtrade or Free Trade camp and very rarely do they cross-over. The reason for this dichotomy is that Fairtrade is fundamentally an interference in the market. Not many will disagree with that point to my knowledge. But those who believe in Fairtrade see it as a neccessary interference, a positive amendment to an already broken market.

On the contrary those committed to Free Trade argue that no interference with the market can be good. In their eyes two wrongs do not make a right.

The final word?
As you can tell this is a complex issue. My take is that the market is broken and imperfect. I wish we did live in a world where a perfectly free market were possible but ultimately we do not. When faced with the reality that the free market is an abstract impossibility one is morally obliged to relieve the negative impacts of the market through the use of adjustments, which in this case we call Fairtrade.

Got that?

Until next time...

Keep it green...

Al

Greening the office

A common desire expressed by many people who have managed to be a little greener in their own lives is how to convince their MD at work to actively care more about the environment and take the business itself down a greener path. When it comes to business one has to make the business case to achieve change and this is often daunting.

Priya from Brixton asked me that exact question. This is the answer I give nowadays:

There are a few key areas you can focus on and all of them get the best results when management spreads the word and sets a good example by leading the way. Make your bosses job easy by doing the research and giving him the answers he needs.

Energy
There are many alternate energy suppliers able to offer a business alternative energy. Check out Good Energy & Ecotricity. Lots of companies, big and small, from newspapers to football clubs, are making the switch.

Food & Drink
What goodies does your kitchen or canteen stock? Coffee, Tea, Milk, Fresh Fruit...much of what is purchased can be organic and/or FairTrade...at least they can offer a choice to assess what the staff want. If enough staff sign an email asking for a trial it is likely that the company will take note and act accordingly.

Stationary
How many mouse mats, pens, pencils, staples, Christmas cards, labels, flip-chart markers, paper and envelopes does your company use? Great green office alternatives here (note: shameless plug for my employer). Not saying it will all be cheaper but I will come onto the cost-benefit in a minute.

Personal space
One of the things that used to drive me wild was leaving the office at the end of the day and seeing stuff i.e. computer monitors left on overnight.

I used to wander round switching stuff off for a good 3 minutes every day. Get your colleagues to switch stuff off themselves to save the company electricity bill from soaring for all those appliances left on over night.

And make sure the office lights get switched off...there is nothing worse than an entire floor of lights left on over night for no good reason...and again it is a huge waste of company cash.

Business strategy
Ultimately we know that money is important to a business. Lets assume as much energy is saved as possible it might still be hard to calculate the saving quickly enough but going green is more than just about direct cash.

It is about understanding that the traditional bottom line of profit has two pals that have been ignored for too long: people and planet. Together all three make up what is now commonly known as the Triple Bottom Line. And there is plenty of monetary, and therefore even shareholder, hay to be made by those early adopting companies quick to go green.

Soon not going green will be frowned on by customers so those brave MDs who get stuck in now can make their companies look fantastic for a little extra green effort.

And if they want proof that there is green in traditional businesses going green then just tell them to check out what WalMart, Tesco and Marks & Spencers have all recently achieved in giving their companies lots of free PR and a great green competitive edge.

I am not saying those companies are perfect...but they are taking good steps in green directions and that is to be applauded and encouraged.

Until next time...

Keep it green...

Al

Small but mighty

Roxanne from Scunthorpe emailed me to ask perhaps the most important question of all:

Hi Al
What do I say to people when they say they are just one person and cannot make a difference?
Thanks
Roxanne

I hear this a lot and actually love to hear it in the knowledge of the answer I am about to deliver.

Gandhi is my inspiration for the answer - I believe it was Gandhi anyway. He once said:

If you think one can be too small to make a difference try sleeping in the same room as a mosquito.

Perfectly put and when delivered with understanding and support the results can be very rewarding.

Until next time...

Keep it green...

Al

Local, organic or fairtrade?

Another week and another great question. This time from Louise. Take it away Louise:

Hi Al,

I'm not sure there IS a definitive answer to this question, but it's one my partner and I struggle over endlessly! Which is better to buy: Fair Trade or organic?

Thanks for your input!

Louise

This is a great question and one I get asked a lot. Not sure there is a definitive answer though. And it gets murkier when you also include the local option too.

For example: would you pick the locally grown non-organic apples, the organic apples from the other side of the world or the Fairtrade & organic apples from the other side of the world?

Personally I would choose the locally grown non-organic apples.

Local wins for me because food miles, and the carbon emissions they produce, affect us all immediately with regard to Climate Change.

Next come the ethical option, i.e. Fairtrade or fairly traded, as that directly affects and improves the lives of generally less fortunate others.

Last for me is the organic option as that predominantly affects my own body first and then others and the environment in general where the produce was grown albeit to a lesser degree than ethical or local selections affect the bigger picture.

I am sure many would swap the latter two around and it is certainly murky and subjective.

How do you like them apples? Organic, Fairtrade or local?

Until next time...

Keep it green...

Al