What is this blog all about?

Here in Australia, each one of us is a consumer of goods. We purchase packaged and branded food from the supermarket, labelled clothes from the shops, furniture to decorate our homes, products to clean our bodies, toys for our kids to play with, and technological gadgets to help us stay connected.  

A 2010 ABS survey[1] measuring household expenditure found that the average low-income earning Australian spends around $559 per week on goods and services, including food and alcohol, clothing and footwear, household equipment and furnishings, and personal care.  The average higher income earner, by contrast, spends around $2,160.  Compare this to a 2005 report released by the World Bank[2] which indicates that almost half the world’s population is living on only $2.50 per day just to survive, and I think it is fair to say a vast majority of us here in Australia have money to spend.  The question is, what are we choosing to spend it on and are we – as a nation blessed to have a seemingly endless amount of options of things to buy – spending it in a way that is supporting a just and fair working environment for those who make our wonderful products?

The sad truth is that a lot of the things we buy are not only made off shore, but in many circumstances are made under appalling, unjust, or even dangerous conditions.  

But how can we, as workers, parents, siblings, and friends, possibly make a difference as we go about our day-to-day living?  The problem may seem so huge and sometimes feel too mountainous to overcome but I believe that a difference can be made if more of us a willing to make a stand for what is right! The more who choose the ‘just’ option, the more the unjust will have to change.  We are the consumers, we determine the market.  Don’t let this be just a fashion or phase, but let it be our choice for life and let fair-trade become the new and only model of consumer products!

So join with me as I use this blog to share the how, where, and who for shopping and buying fair-trade*.  Share and review with me products you have used/bought so we can encourage others to make the choice!     

 

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[1] Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011, ‘6530.0 - Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2009-10’, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 06 September, viewed 1 April 2012, <http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/6530.0Main%20Features22009-10?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=6530.0&issue=2009-10&num=&view=>.

[2] Shah A 2010, ‘Poverty Facts and Stats’, Global Issues, 20 September, viewed 7 April 2012, <http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats>.

[*this is a Melbourne based site - so many of the organisations, products, and services mentioned are either local or Australian wide]