Sharon Vipond's Blog

Look at this brand image. 
Does this brand factor into your shopping choice?  On the bag of coffee beans you just opened or
on the wrapper of the chocolate bar you just ate, were there fair trade symbols like this one? Or, did you not notice?
When you think about it, do you consider yourself an eco-savvy foodie who definitely prefers being fair?  Yes? Then all the more reason to notice this symbol and know what it really represents.  If you already know, and have foodstuff in your kitchen bearing this certification symbol, you really are taking a role in being eco‐friendly and sustainable; you are a part of the three-step approach to embracing the fairtrade movement.
First step: You are eating healthy food. The Fair Trade Foundation* (FTF) guarantees for food and health safety.
Second step: You are eco-aware. You are a member of the community consuming healthy wholesome food grown in pollution-free environments. The FTF include environmental standards and
sustainable practices as part of their certification process.
Third step: You’re fair! By choosing to buy products with the FTF symbol, you are endorsing fairness: fair trading opportunities, sustainability and ethical labor practices for farmers and producers in many developing countries. Why does this matter, you wonder?  Living here in Hong Kong, in our apartments in the sky, we often feel powerless to influence the quality of the conditions in which our food is grown. Nevertheless, we expect nutritious food from clean and natural cultivation. Choosing food with the fair trade certification symbol is a convenient and easy way to make the healthy and premium choice whilst endorsing the demand for food to be grown in clean environments and fairly traded. We need millions more like you to do the same.
Visit Fair Trade HK at http://www.fairtradehk.org.
Next time you are at the store, see how many products you can find bearing this logo. Not many? Then ask the manager why more Fair Trade items are not stocked.
* The Fair Trade Foundation http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/what_is_fairtrade/default.aspx  This logo is on at least 4500 products in supermarkets throughout