Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, but I wonder how many of us really turn this image into a reality?

And one of the main activities for inviting stress into this so-called festive season is Christmas shopping. By the time you get to the end of your childrens’ or relatives’ Christmas wish lists most people are ready to smash the nearest speaker if they hear Snoopy’s Christmas one more time!

Why do we do this to ourselves? Do our children really need all the toys they get from us and their multiple relatives? Do our friends really appreciate the time you spent and crowds you pushed through for that extra especially difficult person to buy for?

Many people are realising that there are other ways to show you care, and they are using these ideas to reduce their stress levels leading up to Christmas. The Trade Aid ‘how to shop for Christmas and enjoy it’ guide for 2006 is here to help you if you want to put that extra special feeling back into Christmas again.

Step 1: consume less

Yes you heard right – Trade Aid is involved in retail but asks that we consume less. Fair trade is an alternative trading model which was developed as a direct response to the negative impact that current global trading patterns are having on producers all over the world. We simply couldn’t sit by and watch the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. We need to change the structure of our highly consumptive societies if we really expect to distribute the world’s wealth more equitably and part of this process means changing our current consuming patterns to more sustainable ones.

Another excellent reason for consuming less is that the planet can’t support us unless we do. At current US consumption levels it would take more than five planets to sustain the world’s population and I imagine that Kiwis are not far behind the US in the consuming stakes.

So…how can you consume less at Christmas?

What about buying second hand items? With Retro back in fashion, op-shops and antique shops are all the rage. No new resources are required to make these transactions and you would be keeping more products out of landfill.

What about making your Christmas presents? Whether it’s your favourite cookie recipe (made with organic or fair trade ingredients of course) wrapped in homemade wrapping paper, or a mosaic mirror using old bathroom tiles and a broken mirror – it will say ‘I care’ with more punch than any brand new present. Shopping at the op shop (or out in the back shed) means you'll be back at home with the glue stick while everyone else is still driving around looking for a park. If you’ve got kids this will be one of the greatest craft sessions they’ve ever had – craft with a purpose. Making the time and spending it in areas such as craft with the kids, will have an automatic de-stressing effect in the lead up to Christmas.

Step 2: when you have to consume – spend it in the right places

There are times when you feel it is necessary to buy a gift and times when you want to buy a gift for friends or family. How can you feel sure that your spending is having a positive effect on the global economy?

Buy fair trade or local. Fair trade and locally produced products work on a similar very important principle; to help support and build the capacity of the community where the product was made. Fair trade products come with the knowledge that the person who made the product has already benefited from it, and that you are not exploiting the producer who traditionally has the least power in a conventional trading relationship. The fair trade price goes back to both the producer and also, in part, to the community to be spent according to decisions made by whole community groups. Similarly local companies in New Zealand on average put more money, sponsorship and employment back into our communities than multinational companies and have the advantage of fewer food or travel miles.

Your gift could also take a different form from the conventional - Instead of putting individual money into individual gifts  pool your money and jointly choose a worthy recipient for the pot. The result is a well thought out gift able to make a substantial difference to the recipient. An additional benefit is in the value of the discussion required to decide who may need it and why?

Step 3: change your behaviour permanently not just at Christmas time

Trade Aid buy and sell product to improve the livelihoods and wellbeing of disadvantaged producers around the world. However we know that it is not enough to stop there. If we really want to make a difference we need to look at the structure of trade and make a real effort to attain a more just system for those who are rendered powerless by global trade. Is it enough to pay a fair price to the farmers for their raw material and then pay the developed world the bulk of the retail price to manufacture it? One example where fair trade is making a difference to this trading structure is the instant coffee market. As an alternative to buying the raw product from our Tanzanian coffee producing cooperative and producing the finished product in New Zealand, the cooperative manufacture and supply Trade Aid the finished product, thereby benefiting the producers from the value added part of the supply chain.

One way to begin this process is to talk about the poverty issues related to trade. In October for the International day for the eradication of poverty Trade Aid produced posters and brochures introducing the issues behind poverty caused by unequal trade. Read about it and talk to your family and friends about it. If we don’t know what the problem is we can’t find a solution.

Another way is to increase the supply of ethically sourced products and reduce the supply of non-ethical products. Retail is demand driven, if a retailer thinks there is a market, they will provide the supply. Ask for organic, ask for fair trade, and ask for locally made.

Looking longer term, do a little research of your own. What about if the only product available is ‘made in China’? What does this mean? Does it have to be a bad thing? To figure this out you need to know what questions to ask. Start with these listed below and decide what conditions you require to feel good about buying a product.

• Where was it made?
• Is any information available about the environmental impact/ wages/ health and safety in the place of production? Websites, Company information etc.
• How can you trust this information if it exists – has anyone visited the factory?
• How many people are involved in the supply chain? If there are more than a few, it is likely the producer is not seeing much of the profit.
• What part of your purchase price is likely to stay in New Zealand and be invested in our economy? Who holds ownership over the different supply steps?

If the answer to these questions is disappointing, the first step is to let the supplier know that you are disappointed you had to buy it and not one that involves less travel miles or provides more information about its sourcing – such as knowing the local labour laws or fair trade minimums etc. You can let them know by phone, letter, or e-mail (or all three!).

The second step is to get out wider than your shopping network. In November’s issue of New Internationalist Magazine Jess Worth explains: “The mistake is partly to trust the market and ignore the central role governments must play in ending unsustainable patterns of consumption. Surely an important tool in curing corporate abuse is to regulate against it. Governments can use taxes and other economic instruments to reshape economies and control markets, and can introduce and enforce ethical and environmental standards.”

We live in a democracy, we are voters and we have a voice that our government claims to listen to, so lets talk to them and let them know what we want. Let’s get away from waiting to be provided the right options by retailers, the passivity that comes with shopping and being defined as consumers, and start making things happen!

interested to know more?

check out these links

world watch archives - Trade Aid keeps an eye out for articles of interest

New Internationalist Magazine - November issue out now

www.freecycle.org - join your local freecycling community today

www.ethiscore.org website calculates companies' 'ethical scores' out of 20 across a broad range of ethical categories