Can what we buy really make a life or death difference or is ethical shopping just a conscience-salving exercise? Martin Wroe asks the questions.

Desire meets Virtue” runs the advertising slogan for the MOTOSLVR mobile phone. Buy this phone, we are told, and you “help eliminate AIDS in Africa”. The pitch is a clever one, aiming to marry western consumer lust for the latest high-street technology with a perceived pent-up demand that the rich world do more in the fight against global poverty.

And it’s not just a sexy sales pitch. The phone is one of a raft of high-value, consumer items produced under the banner of (product) RED, an initiative of U2’s Bono and American political activist Bobby Shriver. The brand was created to harness the financial clout of the private sector to deliver a sustainable flow of funds to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and to raise public awareness about HIV and AIDS in Africa. As well as the MOTOSLVR, you can splash out on a RED branded iPod, a customised line of GAP clothing, an American Express Credit Card, Converse trainers, Hallmark greetings cards and a Dell computer.

Each company who assigns a product to the brand – besides netting all the associated feel-good marketing power – contributes a portion of profits on each sale to the Global Fund. In 2007, (Product) RED partners raised $57 million – not bad considering that in the previous year the private sector only contributed $5 million to the Fund. “Product Red has brought about a major change in the way the private sector contributes to the Global Fund,” said Michael Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund. “(It has) enabled thousands to benefit from AIDS treatments, prevention and care.”

But is this so-called ‘virtuous consumption’ really any more than capitalist double-speak to persuade us to buy even more stuff? Is it true that our everyday purchasing choices and financial decisions make a tangible difference for good in the lives of the world’s poorest people? A growing number of UK consumers seem to think so. Recent research for DFID suggests that people now rate purchasing

"People rate purchasing decisions above charitable giving as their best way to tackle world poverty."

Overall, British shoppers spend more than £1 million a day on fruit and vegetables alone from Africa, with an estimated million people in Africa depending in part on these purchases. Last year, developing countries earned almost £3 billion from selling food, clothes and toys to UK supermarkets. But poor countries account for barely 0.4% of international trade’s $10 milliona- minute turnover – and fairtrade products are just a sliver of a per cent of even this. The big opportunities for trade to transform life for the poorest people remain untapped.

One explanation may be that western consumers don’t know enough about how much we rely on one another in the web of global trade. The DFID research highlights the need for consumers to ask more questions about the products that retailers’ stack on their shelves. Less than a third of those questioned would ask a retailer where a product came from. Changing this attitude lies in the hands of consumers.

“Shoppers are powerful people and we are asking them to shop for development,” explains Gareth Thomas, UK Trade and Development Minister. “Buying labelled products is good. Shoppers should buy more of these but that still won’t be enough. We want shoppers to ask where their food and clothes come from. We want shoppers to buy products from developing countries and we want shoppers to find out about the living and working conditions of their producers.”

Our daily purchasing decisions, from iPods to bananas, can have a direct impact on the prospects of people in the poorest countries. Trade – really just a technical name for ‘shopping’ – dramatically enhances development: most significantly by enabling people to become self-reliant. If Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and Latin America were each to increase their share of world exports by just 1%, the resulting gains in income could lift 128 million people out of poverty. In Africa alone, according to Oxfam, this would generate $70 billion – approximately five times what the continent receives in aid. And our everyday choices at the supermarket can play a part in this.

The rise of “positive purchasing” is an exciting sign, says Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for International Development at DFID. “We’d like to see more shoppers holding retailers to account for the responsible sourcing of their products. Buying products from developing countries fits the bill perfectly – trade is the way forward for places like Africa.”

MORE INFORMATION
www.dfidonline.org.uk/sfd