by Louise Davies |
June 13, 2014
|
I've been thinking a lot about James Lovelock's talk at Hay Festival which left me angry and optimistic in equal measures. I've seen Lovelock speak a few times about his Gaia theory and at the Festival he talked more about the idea that the planet will adapt no matter what humans do. According to Lovelock, there is little point in spending time and money on things like recycling and energy efficiency - these make a tiny difference and the planet will survive regardless. He also used the term Green Propaganda, arguing that the green lobby have prevented nuclear power in the UK. Those are the bits that made me angry...
I take his point that it would be hubris to think that mankind can 'save the planet'. After all, we've only been here for 0.004% of the Earth's life, so it can cope pretty well without us! His view was that we should focus on saving - feeding and watering - the people on the planet. With 842 million people not having enough to eat, this is an enormous problem, and I can take on board Lovelock's thinking that this should be society's focus - not installing solar panels on homes for miniscule energy savings. At 94, he was surprisingly relaxed about the idea that there might be some 'collateral damage' when climate change really takes effect. The population may decrease, but mankind will probably survive in one way or another. What we need to do now is look out for the people who are here.
In some ways, this chimes with our thinking when setting up Eighteen Rabbit. We'd spent five years talking about the environmental impact of live events, seeing few results and no step change. We wanted to 'make a difference' (corny as that sounds) and felt that the biggest impact is to improve the lives of people. Trade is an obvious way to lift people out of poverty, enabling self sufficiency, and access to adequate food and shelter. Hopefully Eighteen Rabbit has made a small difference to some people's lives.
So, after digesting Lovelock's talk, I now realise there's much I agree with. Though I'll still be committed to sorting my recycling and using green energy!
Tagged:
hay festival
by Louise Davies |
May 25, 2014
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The recent SOAS study, as reported in The Observer today, was a disappointing read for all of us committed to the concept of fair trade and improving people’s lives through our spending habits. The four year study found that workers at Fairtrade coffee, tea and flower plantations in Ethiopia and Uganda were seeing few benefits – often wages were better in larger, commercial operations. Some of the cited examples are extremely concerning: where the Fairtrade premium has been used to build toilets, but these are only accessible by senior managers not general workers, and where children have been working from the age of 10, rather than attending school.
We have every faith that the Fairtrade Foundation will address these issues and ensure that their auditing process is robust, and that we can continue to trust their brand. Perhaps the huge increase of Fairtrade demand over recent years has impacted on quality control. Back in 2002, £23.1 million of UK retail sales of coffee were Fairtrade, whereas in 2012 this had increased to £192.4 million, and a quarter of all roast and ground retail coffee in the UK is now Fairtrade certified.
The products we sell at Eighteen Rabbit are not subject to Fairtrade certification. We don’t sell agricultural commodities, and there is no auditing process for artisan-made produce at present. We want to assure our customers that a purchase from us will really transform the lives of workers, and we have every confidence in our supply chain - that those at every point are fairly paid for their work, have access to safe working environments, opportunities to develop their businesses, and ensure a sustainable future for their families.
Take our clothing from Mata Traders for example. The team at Mata in Chicago design the clothes and spend time with the workers in India and Nepal to develop the range. They know the workers by name and visit them in their work environments, and have built up a trusting and fair relationship. All this is possible at this relatively small scale, and similarly Eighteen Rabbit, as buyers of the stock, can spend time investigating and asking questions about the supply chain. We believe it’s important to support companies such as Mata, who are challenging the cheap clothes mentality – see the recent Fashion Revolution project for more about this. Similarly, our homeware from producers in Thailand and Vietnam, our toys from Bangladesh, and our T-shirts made in India, are all produced by small, caring organisations, and we scrutinise their approaches and policies.
Our vision for the future is for a world without fair trade – where coffee growers in a non-Fairtrade certified plantation are paid as well as the Fairtrade one next door. To make that a reality we need to support the Fairtrade Foundation as they work to improve their systems, but also ask questions and challenge our supermarkets, suppliers and shops to make sure that fair really means fair. The worst possible outcome would be for people to think that Fairtrade wasn’t something worth supporting. We hope you agree that a fairer world is good news for all of us.
Tagged:
fair trade,
fairtrade
by Andrew Williams |
May 19, 2014
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It is nearly festival time, and Hay is gearing up for the busiest ten days of the year. From this Thursday we'll have the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts as well as How the Light Gets In on our doorsteps. A very warm welcome to everyone planning a visit to Hay over the next fortnight.
We already have some big highlights to look forward to. In our diaries so far are Billy Bragg, Carrie Fisher, Ben Watt, Toumani Diabate, Gruff Rhys, Tracey Thorn, James Lovelock, Katherine Hamnett and many more!
We'll be running a fair trade pop up cafe next to our shop at Hay Castle - we hope you'll be able to join us at Coffee on the Cobbles for a fair trade cuppa during the festival.
We wish you all an entertaining, inspiring, thought provoking and fair trade Festival!
Tagged:
2014,
eighteen rabbit,
fair trade,
fairtrade,
hay castle,
hay festival,
hay on wye,
how the light gets in
by Andrew Williams |
May 03, 2014
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As we approach (whisper it) the summer, there's still time to enjoy the wonders of spring. We're thrilled to be stocking a new range of fair trade jewellery online which has already been a huge hit in the shop.
The "April Showers" range is playful, elegant and stylish. Made in Tamil Nadu in southern India, each item is hand crafted by the Flowering Desert project which provides training and fairly paid work for women from rural communities.
There may still be the odd shower here in the UK, but these products are helping to brighten the lives of families across the globe. For a limited time we are offering you the chance to win a set of this lovely jewellery - just like or share our post on Facebook or sign up to our mailing list. Competition ends 12th May - good luck!
Tagged:
2014,
april showers,
fair trade,
fairtrade,
india
by Andrew Williams |
April 26, 2014
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We're currently enjoying Hay Bike Fest here in Hay on Wye, though to be fair I don't envy them the weather at the moment. It's a great chance for people to see the stunning scenery around the area, and also to meet other enthusiasts from up and down the country.
We've been getting in on the bike theme with a new delivery of our ever-popular accessories made from recycled inner tubes! These are made in Cambodia by our friends at Craftworks Cambodia, who also make our incredible Hope & Peace jewellery.
Online we have clasp wallets and laptop sleeves made from this versatile, hard wearing and eco friendly material. Whether your on two wheels or not, they make great gifts.
Tagged:
2014,
cambodia,
cycling,
fair trade,
fairtrade,
recycled
