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Items in shops such as tea or coffee may cost a
substantial sum of money. And yet workers who pick the tea or
harvest the beans are often paid a wage so low that they cannot afford
even to send their children to school. The Fair Trade movement aims to
give a larger proportion of the retail price to the producers, to help
raise them out of poverty.
The symbol on Fairly Traded goods is shown above.
Nowadays, many of the best known shops, including Marks and Spencers and
many of the common supermarkets, include high-quality fairly traded
products in their ranges.
Working with other generous hearted people,
Christians have been at the forefront of the Fair Trade movement. Jesus
was always concerned for the plight of the poor and we believe that this
would rejoice his heart. To this end, St Paul's District Church Council
has voted unanimously that we should be a Fair Trade Church. This means
that all the tea and coffee we provide is fairly traded.
The principle goes much wider than tea and coffee.
Cheap clothes made in eastern sweatshops often using child labour are
another serious area of concern. But our tea and coffee is a statement of
our concern. This link takes you to
several other internet links where you can learn more about the problem. |
