My Fairtrade Campaign…..
My goal is to get Tesco to sell ONLY bananas with the FAIRTRADE logo,
which confirms that the plantation owners have been paid a FAIR price.
When you have read the poem, and the reason for it (explained below) , please enjoy the rest of the poems to see how the campaign has progressed, but more importantly, please send our current campaign poem to persuade Tesco to sell ONLY FAIRTRADE BANANAS. Click here to download it.
Often, in developing countries, without the means to negotiate farmers are forced to take low prices, and supermarkets are keen to keep prices low because THEY USE BANANAS AS LOSSLEADERS to get loyal customers. In other words, they are prepared to lose money on the bananas they sell in order to get your regular custom, but they inevitably pass this price cut on to the suppliers!
I’m not a campaigner, but I took my “Small Step for Fairtrade” last year and promised myself that I would only buy bananas with the Fairtrade logo, even though Tesco sold them at the comparatively high price of £1.40 per pack. However, in October 2012, they discontinued them, but it took me weeks to achieve confirmation as their staff kept telling me that they still sold them (they coincided the withdrawal with the introduction of Fairtrade Organic bananas: at £1.55 per pack!)
Hence, I wrote my first campaign poem and encouraged anyone who felt the same to send it to Tesco. Naturally, my letter poem is enirely in rhyme and rhythm! Here it is for you to read, or you can watch my performance of it on the video above, or download a copy of the document by clicking here
You have responsibility…..You should lead the way. Regardless of recession, it’s always FAIR to pay.
We’ve done the work, we’ve made the change…WE CANNOT CHANGE THINGS BACK!
Bananas, to the farmers, are NOT just a healthy snack.
They’re lifesavers, quite literally….BE FAIR, THAT’S ALL I’M SAYING!
The price should not be theirs to pay…..It’s ours for the paying!
I’m horrified and angry…..Disappointed, galled!
Where is your moral standing? YOU HAVE NONE: I’m appalled!
I’m usually a wallflower. I don’t say what I think.
But this cause is important so I must kick up a stink.
It’s time to make a difference. It’s time to take a stand.
TESCOS: Make a u-turn, whatever you had planned!
WE WANT FAIRTRADE BANANAS! WE WANT TO HAVE A CHOICE!
We want to give a helping hand to those without a voice.
Don’t say: “We sell organic!” The cause is not the same.
Besides, you’ve bumped the price up, as if we’re all FAIR game!
Coop, Sainsburys, Waitrose stand united: You should too!
The nation needs the giants to be strong…INCLUDING YOU!
And customers, WE HAVE THE POWER! Here’s a little thought….
LET’S BOYCOTT THEIR BANANAS TILL THEY REAFFIRM SUPPORT!
Tesco’s reply in summary explained that….
“space is limited and many new and exciting products come on the market regularly. To make space for these, we sometimes need to make the decision to stop selling some of our less popular lines to make room for the new product ranges” They also made reference to their own fairly trading programme.
They replaced their Fairtrade bananas with……….. bananas! Sorry, but I couldn’t help but express my response to this new and exciting product with a note of sarcasm, again all in rhyme and rhythm, hence the second campaign poem called
Tesco;£VERY LITTLE HELP$ (Click here to move on to this poem and see it performed)
ps. Please like us on facebook so that the campaign can get noticed and so that you can keep up to date with it’s progress via status changes.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tescos-Goes-Bananas/161116470701411
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