If it's not traded fairly then it's not in my basket! Death by Chocolate....

This is the first of my posts this year and let's say a kind of New Year's Resolution one...(I could change the posting date from March to January but I'm being honest with you now)
My resolution? Each week I will be looking at a product that I purchase and proclaiming...'if it's not traded fairly then it's not in my basket!' I hope after reading some of these posts you too will join me in the quest for a humane shopping experience?!

So this year Cadbury's have pledged to make their Dairy Milk Bar certified fairtrade and, as soon as they can, to convert the other brands of Cadbury's chocolate.
Well done Cadbury I guess....it's a good start to the year.
and after this happens a grand total of 15% of all chocolate bought in the UK will be fairtrade!!!

In 2001, after an international outcry and a warning from the United States Congress, the global chocolate industry signed an agreement known as the Cocoa protocol. At first they promised to have made serious inroads towards ending the problem by July 2005. But they missed their targets, and Congress gave them three more years.... (does anyone else work that out to be July 2008?!)

Anyway, in July 2005, International Labor Rights Fund filed suit against Nestlé in Federal District Court on behalf of a class of children who were trafficked from Mali into the Ivory Coast and forced to work twelve to fourteen hours a day with no pay, little food and sleep, and frequent beatings.
What was Nestlé's response to court questioning? "We are only buyers of a product.”

Shocking?? But then are 'we only buyers of a product' when we choose to ignore what we know about the product and how it was produced and take the slightly cheaper, more convenient option??

In 2007 a Dutch TV producer Teun van de Keuken decided enough was enough and that as 'the buyer of the product' he was just as guilty.
He ate 19 chocolate bars and then turned himself into police for knowingly buying a product made with slave labor, something he says is criminal under Dutch law. "At first, I just called the police and said I did a terrible thing. They said, 'Don't worry, we all eat chocolate, good-bye.' Then I hired a lawyer."

His attempt to prosecute himself was dismissed by the court, but Van de Keuken launched an appeal. In the meantime, he took his TV show to Burkina Faso to find some of the children forced to work on the cocoa plantations — kids, he says, who had never tasted chocolate until he gave them some. (They liked it.) Van de Keuken says recruiters from the Ivory Coast cross the border into the destitute country and lure children over with promises of money or even bicycles. Once they get there, he says, "they're forced to work, not paid, and not allowed to leave — the U.N. definition of slavery."
So... what did he do next.. no he didn't end up in prison.. he began producing his own 'slavery-free' chocolate!!!
Not something we can all do maybe, but it's a nice end to his story I guess!?

So, as consumers, the ball's in our court... we can boycott chocolate produced by companies who continue to buy cocoa from plantations that use slave labour and support companies that trade fairly with ethical cocoa suppliers OR we can choose to ignore the facts about how our 'little luxury' is produced and continue to show support to the darker side of the chocolate industry.... and my choice??
Well, if it's not traded fairly then it's not in my basket!

http://www.montezumas.co.uk
Get your free range organic eggs from montezumas this easter.... fairly traded chocolate of course!

Trick or treat??

So Halloween is fast approaching! I know this because every shop I pass in Boscombe is filled with weird orange plastic things (and they're not Sainsbury's carrier bags!) I notice also that we, the British, have followed the US in its celebration and commercialism of this event, including the large amounts of candy (sweets to us) that we are supposed to give out to "trick or treaters". Americans seem to purchase huge amounts of cheap sweets to reward the tricksters that ring on their doorbells all in the name of festive fun, us Brits have taken to this to stop or bribe the "little shits" from putting fire crackers through our letterboxes and setting fire to our homes!!
But this led me to think.... when we give out these sweets is that a treat or in fact a covert trick aimed at sending the kiddies hyper active, rotting their teeth and increasing the chances of them becoming obese!!
I did wonder if I purchased a large amount of Fruitina fruit bars (made from 100% dried fruits) from Urban Evolution in Boscombe and gave them out as a 'treat' to the tricksters who will be ding donging on my doorbell come the 31st October would this be classed as a treat (as i would assume) or a blatant trick (and therefore reaping the penalty of the 'gift' through my letterbox) or should I just buy sweets and although i would feel this was a trick, my halloween victims would be pacified and I would remain safe......
you know what? I'm just going to pretend no ones in and not answer the door... halloween has become far too complicated for my liking!!

No Plastic bags in Sainsbury's Boscombe??

Sainsbury's have a new policy where they do not offer you free plastic bags at the checkouts now, they are available but you have to ask for them..... except for the check out I went to in Sainsbury's store in Boscombe, Bournemouth where the check-out girl was enthusiastically demonstrating the usual 'heap of bag creation technique' so often seen in the supermarkets (I'm sure you know what I mean here... the checkout person tears of far too many bags, opens them all and creates some sort of messy heap at the end of the till, which invariably means you end up scrabbling for your groceries like a disappointing school fete lucky dip and leaving behind the essential items from your basket)
So.... very politely, I asked 'does Sainsbury's not have a new 'no plastic bag on the checkout' policy?'
The answer.... classic! "Yes but it's too much bother reaching down each time to get bags for the customers who want them"
So, Sainsbury's your effort is, for a company who's sales for 2007 were around £18 million, pathetic!

Shopping Bags!

Loving the new Boscombe Reusable Shopping Bag!! On one side it says, 'become fantastic - refuse plastic' and on the other side it says 'the Boscombe Shopper - you get out what you put in'.... how witty!! I'm a Boscombe Shopper and i'm glad that when I support independent local businesses I get back what I put in.... these businesses add so much to the local shopping experience and without them we'd be left with soul-less chain stores churning out the tonnes of the same old stuff! And these fab bags are being given away to Boscombe shoppers in some of the local outlets.
If you spend £10 or over in Urban Evolution, 3 Ashley Road Boscombe they'll give you one to take your shopping home in (which is good really because they're so ethical they won't give you a plastic carrier bag unless they've got some donated ones) but be warned £10 worth of shopping probably won't fit in just one shopping bag!!

What about this?

I love Boscombe and I especially love SourceD! A clothing shop in the Royal Arcade in Boscombe Precinct. They have so many lovely items of clothing and they differentiate themselves from the others by showcasing local design talent, up-and-coming brands and ensuring they are part of the local community.... I even saw them out for a stroll down the beach sunday afternoon!!
Anyway I just happened to look them up on the Boscalicious website, that's www.boscalicious.co.uk, and they are doing a fabulous offer at the moment! If you buy a full price top then you save 50% on any bottom!! well I thought taking 50% off my bottom sounded terrific so i'm off there tomorrow to see what their bottoms look like!!

Become REALLY green!!

Tried Wheatgrass yet?? No? well what are you waiting for?
It's like a whole meadow in a glass....
and what does the equivalent of chewing your front lawn do for your health?
well have a squiz at this list and tell me it's not worth a try..

The high chlorophyll content of wheatgrass juice causes increased Haemoglobin production in the body which increases the oxygen carrying capabilities of the blood. The increased capability of the blood to carry oxygen has a number of health benefits including purification of the blood, improving blood sugar disorders, helping combat toxins such as carbon monoxide and other traffic pollutants, cigarette smoke and heavy metals that can get into the blood.

The brain and other tissues function best when they are in a highly oxygenated environment.

Wheatgrass juice’s high vitamin content is of benefit to some skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis and also helps give healthy looking hair. Wheatgrass is also said to benefit dandruff problems.

Many people cite wheatgrass juice as having cancer preventing properties due to it’s carcinogen and toxin neutralising abilities.

Other wheatgrass health benefits include:

Improved digestion
Reducing blood pressure
Improved ability of the body to heal wounds
Chlorophyll found in wheatgrass can prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.
Helping prevent tooth decay
Has anti-ageing abilities and can keep the hair from greying.

Wow, call me vain if you must but I do rather like the sound of the anti-ageing abilities!! and improving the ability of the body to heal wounds?? How much do I need to drink before I become 'super hero' stylie?? Come to think of it...the new SUPER Street Wardens that patrol the streets of Boscombe have green uniforms, they must be full of wheatgrass.....see my brain is already functioning better!? and that's just after 35ml of juiced wheatgrass that I bought from Urban Evolution, 3 Ashley Road, Boscombe.

My favourite Shop!!!

Here's my favourite shop!!
Urban Evolution, 3 Ashley Road, Boscombe BH5 1LE
www.urban-evolution.co.uk
.......I spend all my time there!!! x