I absolutely agree the Fair Trade label is becoming increasingly common in the Western world. But while shoppers seem keen to pay a little over the odds for fair trade products, some observers question how effective it really is in helping developing third world farmers.

In my view, the more the Western market is flooded and the more Fair Trade sold, then over time, the third world will surely reap the benefits in the end?

Surely, the more fair trade labelled items we buy, the more the third world produce and sell, and then the more we buy, the more the third world earn and so on…..and this can only be a positive cyclic relationship perpetuating greater wealth over time for impoverished societies?

The craftsmanship on fair trade crafts including wood carvings, embroider and jewellery is truly outstanding. Quite clearly the skills of the indigenous communities who produce such gems are passed from generation to generation so skills like wood carving, hand painting, hand screen printing and jewellery crafting do not fade. We are lucky to have accessibility to the products of great artisans so we can appreciate their unique beauty in contrast to mass produced generic products that are not, in sharp contrast, skilfully handcrafted and have no soul or originality.

As your examples show, banners and signs are throughout the supermarkets (grocery stores) showing consumers their choices. There are fair trade, organic, local and environmental choices in every supermarket. Food miles (unheard of in the USA) are totaled on nearly all imported products, so consumers can consider their global footprint.

Healthy choices are encouraged, consumers to reminded to eat at least 5 servings of fresh fruit/veg a day. “Superfoods” such as blueberries are labeled as such on banners – in the US it might say something like this on the small label on the actual product.

Environmental issues are also publicized. The use of plastic bags is far less than in the USA, and people are more inclined to walk or take the bus than drive to buy groceries.

From a country that had incredible success in changing the culture to prevent drunk driving in the 80s, and is winning in its public health and environmental campaign, perhaps we should send our governors over there for a few lessons.

Thats why I address these and other issues in my blog at http://www.fairfabric.org/wordpress