I found myself reading the latest report from the St Paul’s Institute, Value and Values: Perception of Ethics in the City Today.  It has attracted some media coverage, much more than it probably expected.  But I think for the wrong reasons.  We all know the media thrive on controversy.  So the controversy surrounding the handling of the Occupy LSX encampment on the steps of the cathedral has provided them with a great deal of fodder to pontificate, to condemn, to speculate, to completely misunderstand, and to feed upon.  And it was in this context that the report (publication of which was delayed for a couple of weeks) landed.

I was recently the guest of a local Fairtrade group.  The subject under discussion was ethical consumption.  It was brought about because of the understanding by the group that a simple answer, such as buy Fairtrade, is no longer a good enough response (other independent certification systems are available – he says in a BBC kind of way).  What does “buy Fairtrade” actually mean for today’s consumer?  And with more and more big brands using the Fairtrade label is all Fairtrade the same?