Shopping - your most political act

Usually when we think of political acts, we think of voting and elections and political parties and maybe even political protests. Well, I'd like you to think about this premise: that shopping is the most political act you will ever undertake.

What?? (or, as the Thai love to shriek, "array wah??!!")

Politics is nothing more than the system we make for managing and governing groups of people, whether that be at the local community level or on a national level. And right at the heart of the growth of a community and the health of a national economy is the age-old issue of the flow of money and resources.

The choice I make of where and how I shop profoundly affects people, whether I am conscious of this fact or not.

Let me share a living example from Chiang Mai, Thailand. In my local village, there is a Thai mini-mart that sells everything you could ever want, next door to a newly established Tesco-mini mart. The Tesco is brighter and bigger and has better aircon, but is actually more expensive and has less products to choose from; it is also part of a multi-national retail group which ultimately siphons the profits back to the UK. So if I spend my 1,000 baht at Tesco, after costs and taxes etc are paid, the profit goes to the UK, which enriches the UK economy in the longer term. If, however, I choose to spend that same 1,000 baht at the Thai mini-mart next door, the same profit will be spent here in Thailand by the lovely Thai people who own that business. And then they, in turn, have the choice to enrich another Thai business, which grows the developing Thai economy.

When you buy fair trade products, you are literally buying into an ethos about all people having the right to a fair livelihood and fair employment conditions. You are literally putting money into the hands of a responsible employer so that they can go out and make another fair job for another person, which removes the financial burden from the state in the longer term.

When you buy direct from the manufacturer or grower, you are likewise making the growth of employment far more likely. With every middle man and distributor and level of administration involved in a financial transaction, you are reducing the amount that is returned to that person at the end of the line, the manufacturer, who is making something valuable and paying people to help them.

When you buy natural products that use ingredients directly grown on small farms and landholdings, you are supporting rural people who often struggle to get by. Conversely, when you buy a chemically enhanced non-natural product, you are using your money to support multi-national business, questionable industrial practices and, in the long term, depleting the health budget as the longer term results of chemical use manifest in our bodies.

Who would have thought that the simple, mindless act of a little retail therapy could have such a far reaching effect?

Next time you reach for your wallet to go shopping, think about what you're doing. Choose to shop wisely for products that will enhance the world we live in, not deplete and damage it further. Choose products that will put money back into the hands of responsible employers, not the greedy owners of a sweatshop somewhere. Choose products that will give long-term sustainability to our communities, countries and the world we live in.

So live, shop.... enjoy exercising your political rights! :)

Sunday Night and Fair Trade

"Fair trade" is one of those terms that's used a lot but not well understood. Most people, funnily enough, seem to associate the term with images of rows and rows of poorly paid workers slaving over sewing machines in some hot, sweaty factory making athletic footwear. And sadly, in the developing world, this is still very much a reality.

In Thailand, the exploitation of workers is harder for western people to imagine and harder for us to address. The vast majority of Thai workers are indivuduals - housemaids, waiters, massage therapists, gardeners etc - working in unstructured employment with no union representation and no understanding of their basic rights. Often those businesses are not registered and pay no tax which, in turn, means the very modest social insurance premium isn't paid and the workers are not entitled to use the government sponsored health scheme.

Our Arun Thai Natural workers are registered for social insurance and therefore can access hospitals and medicines very, very cheaply (even though it does often mean half a day's wait at the hospital clinic). The part of "fair trade" that is so hard to grapple with and explain is all the unspoken, poorly defined expectations that workers (quite rightly) have. "My child is sick." Fair trade says yes, by all means take a paid day off because we know you have no alternative. "I have thong sia (broken stomach) and need to go home". Fair trade says workers can't plan to be sick and in this tropical environment, our not-very-well-educated workers are coming to us legitimately with this one, rather often. "Tomorrow is a Buddha day and I have to go to the temple." Fair trade says expression of religion is important and a basic right, and so do we, regardless of the ridiculous number of Buddha days on the Thai calendar. "My cousin died and I need to go to the funeral for 5 days." Culturally, this is a hugely important rite and very often the funeral does go for 5 or even 7 days, plus travel time to another province. Fair trade says "Take your time and would you like some help with the bus fare?" During the intense phase of the recent political unrest, fair trade meant giving staff paid time off as schools were closed and safety on the roads was questionable. And early last week, while we still were under strict curfew, fair trade meant letting staff leave early so they could collect children, go to the talaad and still be home in time without worrying.

Tonight, as I sit pondering the huge backlog of work and which staff are coming in tomorrow, fair trade makes no business sense at all. The number of hours worked by our people in the last 3 to 4 weeks was abysmal. Fair to them, but abysmal in business and accounting terms. No western company in a western country would or could absorb all those extra costs; somewhere there would be fine print about a limit on the number of times one could have thong sia, or that one had to make up extra hours if you took time in lieu to go to the temple. Many would say we should deduct wages, but in a subsistence culture like Thailand, that would be literally taking food off the table, which isn't fair.

I think back to the weeks of political unrest, curfews, the start of the school year and the major Visacha Buja holiday last Friday; every single one of those events was critical and needed to be allowed for. I try to think how I will make up for the extra costs at a time when our Thailand based sales are way down post red-shirt violence, and I know somehow I will find a way. Or not, which will just mean some creative accounting required. When the harsh practicalities of fair trade weigh me down on Sunday nights, I like to think of Pa Mon. She works for us chopping and slicing herbs for drying, and she pounds and ties the Thai Herbal Balls. She has very severe epilepsy and now, at the age of about 43 (she's not quite sure of her age) she is, for the first time in her life, getting regular seizure medication. She has mild brain damage from endless seizures her whole life, but she's an incredible worker who never gets bored. Last Friday when all the other staff took the day off for Visacha Buja, she wanted to come to work. She lives with an alcoholic younger brother and staying home in their small one roomed "apartment" was not a great prospect. So she came to work on a tuk-tuk and enjoyed working alone, drinking our coffee and singing along to the Thai luuk thung music (think country and western meets heartbroken pop). She recently had her first paid sick day ever and was quite offended when I brushed away her almost prostrated wai on pay-day.

Arun Thai Natural is proud of its position on fair trade and proud that every single thing we make is done in such a way that not only are people not exploited, they are actively supported and trained and empowered. We think it makes our products better, and we like to think you will appreciate that difference next time you buy and use one of our products.