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Flying Fairtrade this Valentine's Day

Loved up and ethical

Wednesday, 13 February 2008

Roses are red, violets are blue, buy them from Kenya and you’ll feel good too. Okay so here at Real City Network we may not be too good at the poetic touch but according to the International Development Secretary Hilary Benn we may be ethically sounder if we buy our roses from Kenya. Shopping in the current eco climate maybe a label-filled state of confusion but according to Benn if we buy African flowers on Valentine's Day we could help make poverty history. “Just because flowers are flown in from Africa is no reason not to buy them on Valentines Day” Benn said today.

Although worries about air miles and climate change may make us refrain from buying from overseas, according to Benn there are sound reasons to get your romantic retail fix from Africa. "People want to buy ethically and do their bit for climate change, but often don’t realise that they can support developing countries and reduce carbon emissions. Recent research shows that flowers flown from Africa can use less energy overall than those produced in Europe because they’re not grown in heated greenhouses. So, this Valentine’s day, you can be a romantic, reduce your environmental impact and help make poverty history. This is about social justice and making it easier, not harder, for African people to make a decent living."

Where once Valentine’s Day was just an emotional minefield, is one or a dozen red roses the right gesture?, now it can feel a political one too. For the loaded there’s the question of ethical diamonds, did that ring finance a war?, whilst for the chocolate lovers there’s always the Fairtrade question. Add the use of pesticides on the flora we present to our loved ones and it can often feel best to let sleeping love’s lie gift free. But with Benn saying buy Kenyan and Oxfam and the like pushing Fairtrade it’s becoming clearer. Just. Still you can always avoid the urge to buy, even if it is Fairtrade, climate friendly or ethically sourced, and choose a truly politically correct option. You can always stay in bed.

Fairtrade Fortnight 25th February – 9th March 2008

www.fairtrade.org.uk