MESH is at Fair Trade Forum India and WFTO Meetings

Twenty two countries and about 180 participants are gathered here beside the sea in Goa for a Fair Trade Asia Conference; so Fair Trade India and WFTO Asia's and WFTO's AGM too. Yesterday was a series of plenary sessions on the theme of Sustainable Consumption. The event opened with a great keynote speach from Stan Thenaekara reminding us that we must gain control of capital and challenging us fair traders to consider real sustainability will be when we make and sell what the people around us want.

A practical action section late in the day brought out a whole list of things that we members can do in order to increase awareness of fair trade in our regions. Common was the need to increase local sales domestically and the use of social media for campaigning.

What has been interesting is the presence of China, Korea, and Hongkong at these meetings and the speed at which their local movements are growing.

11.10.2012