Recession caused by unfair trading says Church

Recession caused by unfair trading says Church, so buy Fair Trade

Consumers should not assume that because something is labelled Fair Trade it necessarily costs more, as some Fair Trade products are no more expensive than their unfairly traded competitors, says the Right Rev Dr Graham Redding, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Even when Fair Trade products are slightly higher in price, people still buy them, because they know that producers often earn less than $1 a day and are finding things a lot tougher than we are, Graham says. Greed and unfair trading practices are at the root of the financial crisis so that is all the more reason to support fair trading.

We need to take responsibility for the money we spend and question how as consumers we impact the world's poor. There are many of us who can afford to demonstrate that people are more important than the bottom line by buying ethically. Price should not be our only consideration; we have an obligation to take into account whether the producer of the goods received a fair price.

Fair Trade is a Christian issue says Graham and the Church needs to speak out on systems of trade that keep people in poverty. Economic justice for the poor is one of the key themes of Scripture.

God calls people to live justly and conduct their businesses honestly and fairly so as to not take advantage of the poor. Jesus' teaching was fully consistent with this biblical mandate.

This years Fair Trade Fortnight (2-17 May) has a theme of environmental justice, combining two issues of concern to the Presbyterian Church: In 2008, the Churchs General Assembly encouraged its parishes to study environment issues and take practical action, and in 2006 General Assembly encouraged all parishes to become Fair Trade churches. Many parishes, and the national Assembly Office, have switched to Fair Trade sugar, coffee, teas and hot chocolate.

Graham says that business need not be driven by greed and profit at someone else's expense, business can be a tool used to fight world poverty. We just need to give more thought to where the products we buy come from, and the working conditions of their production.

Notes to reporter:

International polls have found that two-thirds of those surveyed would be prepared to buy the most ethical and environmentally-friendly products that they could afford, even if it meant paying a bit more.

Fair trade is an alternative approach to conventional international trade, which aims to share the benefits of trade more equitably between consumers, producers and the environment. Fair trade is about fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world, producers being paid a fair price, decent working conditions and local sustainability.

The Presbyterian Church is the third largest denomination in Aotearoa New Zealand, with more than 400,000 people identifying as Presbyterian in the 2001 Census, and 30,000 regular church attenders

ENDS

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