We are all so busy doing so many things.  It seems as though life has speeded up for everyone, these days.  Both my sisters, for example, live within 10 minutes of me, but we rarely see each other face to face and hardly eve all get together in the same room at the same time!  They have very busy lives and so do I.

This makes it all very difficult to actually get around to doing something positive to help people who produce our consumer products in very poor conditions.  There is something that you can do that would make a difference and it’ll only take a few minutes.  And I am going to make it even simpler.

Write a simple letter to a major supermarket telling them how much you value Fairtrade as a consumer choice and that you want the supermarkets to be ever more vigilant in making sure that suppliers treat their workers fairly. 

A handwritten letter will have much more effect than an email, and you might be surprised how much notice the supermarkets take of your letter.  Their reasoning is that there are many more customers thinking the same thing for each letter they receive.

To make it easy, here are some ideas for the letter:

Introduce yourself as a consumer

Say that you feel strongly about Fairtrade matters

Indicate that you consider Fairtrade an important issue when making purchases – more important, actually, than price.

Thank them for taking time to read your letter.

Be very, very polite.  After all, you are asking for a favour!

You can find a list of UK Supermarkets here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarkets_in_the_United_Kingdom

Click around the site to find their addresses – their websites are on the right hand side.

Please avoid the temptation to do a mail shot!  Printing letters makes it quick but the effect is less!

Now, how about sending one letter a week ……