Tea-conomics

I've just bought 80 fairtrade teabags for 28p - Sainsbury's Basics range. So, how does that work then? If you can sell fairtrade tea for 28p - including the cost of processing, packaging, shipping etc. - just how much does the grower get for fairtrade tea? It doesn't seem like nearly enough. Do all fairtrade brands pay their growers the same, or is some fairtrade fairer than others? And if they all pay the same, how do some brands justify charging 10 times as much or even more?

Rotten to the core?

Despite ranking a creditable 5th in Greenpeace's Greener Electronics guide, Apple fares less well on ethical use of labour. Those paying premium prices for the new iPad might be dismayed to learn that it is built by workers in a military-style factory in China, which is now in the spotlight for its high suicide rate among workers.

300,000 people work at the Foxconn factory, where they are forbidden to talk on the production line, even during breaks; many have complained of feeling lonely and alienated. These conditions, combined with massive demand for products like the 2M-selling iPad, appears to have placed an intolerable strain on workers, who are quitting the Longhua factory at the rate of 15,000 a month.

Workers have routinely worked more than 70 hours a week to fulfill orders. However, Apple maintains that Foxconn, which is one of Apple's primary suppliers, is not a sweatshop. Nevertheless, Foxconn has just agreed to immediately raise the basic salaries of its workers by a third, from £90 per month to £120.

You can read more on this story here, and from a marketing viewpoint here.

Earth Day, 22nd April 2010

For Earth Day 2010, we're being encouraged to join a Billion Acts of Green, by pledging an action to reduce our environmental impact. The timing is poignant given that the European airlines have been grounded for most of the last week due to a natural disaster. A timely reminder that we have no control over the forces of nature, and perhaps it will stop us from taking air travel so much for granted in the future.

Walk to Work Week

Walk to Work Week runs from 26th to 30th April, a project of Living Streets. The theme for this year's event is 'Get fit without the hassle. Try walking to, from or during work.' They have set 5 challenges for employees:

1.Try walking all or part of the way to work

2.Try walking all or part of the way home from work

3.Hold a walking meeting

4.Walk all or part of the way to a meeting

5.Take a walk during your lunch break

An online tool will enable workplace organisers to track the impact of the Week, and will also allow individual employees to track their own progress. Prizes will be available both to partcipating employees and workplaces.

There are a number of free resources to help workplace organisers promote the Week and get their colleagues involved both leading up to and during the event.

Switch off for Earth Hour

8.30pm on Saturday 27th March sees the start of Earth Hour, when we are all urged to switch off unnecessary lights for an hour in support of resource conservation. Iconic buildings like the Empire State Building, Sydney Opera House and the Las Vegas Strip will go dark for an hour at 8.30pm local time. Seems like the perfect opportunity for a candlelit dinner.

Or why not go one further and switch off the TV, PC and gaming consoles too and play good old-fashioned board games or cards?

The WWF is encouraging participants to record their contribution by uploading photos to Flickr, videos to YouTube and tweeting with the hashtag #earthhour. You can find details of how to get involved here.

Climate Savers Computing is encouraging all its members to set their computer's power management settings to a more frugal setting for Earth Hour - a timely reminder that if you work in an office it's likely to be unoccupied for at least 70% of the time. Turning off computers and other office machines out of hours could reduce your energy bill as well as your carbon footprint, so reach for that off switch before you go home this weekend.

Fairtrade Fortnight The Big Swap

Today sees the start of Fairtrade Fortnight and this year the theme is The Big Swap. People are encouraged to switch to fair trade products and register their swap on the website, to count towards the target of one million and one swaps during the campaign. The website contains useful information on how fair trade products benefit those involved in their production and suggests categories of product where the switch can be made, from coffee to cosmetics.

Vintage - recycling in style

With fashion fads changing so quickly, the timeless appeal of vintage clothes gives them a longevity that today's clothing just can't match. But finding good quality vintage pieces can be difficult; most of us don't have the time to scour the fleamarkets in search of a bargain and vintage retailers are relatively rare. But buying online can be risky, as you're never quite sure what you're getting.

I'm impressed by online vintage retailer Love Miss Daisy. The clothes are gorgeous, condition is both categorised and supported by individual comments about any blemishes, and actual measurements are provided instead of just the size on the label. Vintage clothing is great from an environmental point of view, as it gives new life to garments that would otherwise end up in landfill. And it's the perfect choice for individualists who don't want to run into somebody else wearing the same outfit to the same event.