Ethics Trading

Keep business local. I try to use local and small businesses as much as I can, as a matter of principle as well as for various other reasons. I believe that keeping things local reduces the (lorry/transportation) impact of global business, it makes for a stronger local community and quite simply the giants can cope by themselves.

The House of Commons All-Party Small Shops Group estimates that there will be no independent retailers by 2015. This equates to the loss of 50,000 small businesses. Small shops are struggling to survive because of local, regional and national government policies, together with the failure of the competition authorities to deal with the aggressive policies of supermarkets. The loss of the UK’s independent retailers has far reaching socio-economic and environmental implications for the whole community. Superstores and small independent shops should not be considered as two separate markets. An independent regulator should be created to ensure that local retail planning decisions do not have a negative effect on the interests of the local community. Unfair pricing advantages, such as below cost selling, should be prohibited. We believe that these measures would help to secure the future of small shops across the UK and safeguard the choice and competition that people expect in the market place.

2015? That’s only 7 years away. I run a small business and plan to continue doing so for the foreseeable future. Mind you, mine is run from home and is online so I’m not sure you’d call it local really. But my local garage is brilliant with my car and I’d hate to lose them. The little shop on the corner if perfect for if we run out of milk or bread. The hairdressers up the road is friendly and cuts all our hair nicely. The kids have never looked so regularly neat in that department before. Then there’s the wonderful butcher in town who raises his own pigs to make into sausages, and delicious sausages they make too. Oh and the man on the market where I get my fabric for soap nut bags, and every other market stall in Chesterfield, and the tiny little crystal shop too, and the cafe that I based Nutters on in The Portal Between. I’m sure there are more, but are they a dying breed? Can we afford to let that happen? They’re all still there for now, unlike the independent bookshop that is now a Cafe Nero, but for how long?

That quote is from here: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/keeptradelocal/ Please, please go and sign it. It’ll only take a minute and could well save your local plumber/garage/corner shop and many more.

Around the world, businesses, towns, cities and individuals are turning off the lights for an hour. Last year it was on March 31st, this year it’s today, March 29th and it’s at 8pm.

Find out more here: http://www.earthhour.org/about

But why would you? I mean, it’ll be dark right? Does it mean the computer and TV too? Should we turn everything off?

I will be.

In Sydney last year even the harbour bridge and opera house turned off their lights. The estimate that if the effort was sustained over a year it would have the same effect on greenhouse gas emissions as taking over 48,000 cars off the road.

Scary isn’t it? How much do you care? Do you care enough to turn out your lights for just one hour?

This is why I run my business the way I do, this is why I live the way I do. It’s all about small changes making a huge difference. 

*note: First published as intel on Quassia.  

Sounds very pretentious doesn’t it? All that I am wonderful stuff? But you know what? It does seem to work. How often have you been told you can’t do something, until you believe it and you really can’t? But if you’d been encouraged and if you’d tried - what if?

I’m currently loving the Positive Affirmation card shuffle.  Today it threw up the random card:

Abundance.

"I am open to the unlimited prosperity that exists everywhere."

Suits my mood this evening, very appropriate.  

The Portal Between is now listed on Google’s book search but hasn’t turned up on Amazon yet. Watch the Sarah Barnard blog for news as soon as it happens, and watch the Ethics Trading site for a give-away offer to celebrate too! 

In a week Ethics Trading should be able to announce that the Portal Between is listed on Amazon.com. It could be a little longer as that is the sixth week of a six to eight week window and it does fall on Easter weekend so that’ll probably mess with the schedules a bit. But the Lulu process seems to to be stable and there is no reason for it to fail or go wrong. Still, you never know!

Yes, Ethics Trading is now technically a publisher.

No, that doesn’t mean you can ask me to read your book, sorry. Maybe one day?

Let me explain. When choosing the self publishing option for my own work I discovered I had to register a name as the Publisher, and that name could be the business name. So, why not? It’s extra subtle publicity having the Ethics Trading name and logo in EVERY copy of The Portal Between and any subsequent books, and I intend to sell loads!

This means that the British ISBN agency has Ethics Trading registered as a publisher, but it’s only my own work at the moment. I’m not putting a finality on that because you never know what tomorrow will bring. However, I have one book out, one that I’m writing and a small handful of ISBN’s to use.  It’s very very small for now, and for the foreseeable future.

If I ever do decide to expand things I’ll be sure to let everyone know.

What a weekend this is!

Happy Mothers day to everyone who is a Mother, whether your child grew to be born, grow up or whatever stage you are at, you are a mother and Sunday March 2nd is your day. I just love a home made card, some flowers are nice and a big hug from my kids.

Grab some daffodils while you’re out shopping and remember it’s also St David’s day today too - A big hello and much respect to all our Welsh customers.

It’s also Fair Trade Fortnight.

By choosing fairly traded products you can make a real difference on a fundamental level.

Fair Trade is the principle on which Ethics Trading was founded, it’s our core and our business model.

Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives.

Fair Trade is all about not exploiting people at any level, about empowering the source producers of the things we eat, wear and use every day. You can find out more on The Fair Trade Foundation’s FAQ page. So, when you pop out for a new jar of coffee, box of tea bags or chocolate (or whatever) seriously think about choosing the Fair trade option instead of your normal brand, it might be a few pence more expensive but isn’t it worth it?

Oh and in more personal news - The Portal Between, my very own book has cleared the approval prcess at Bowkers and is now heading into the distribution channels and on its way to Amazon and beyond. I am so excited.

Have a fabulous, sunny weekend and Celebrate something!