For me, the philosophy and practice of fair-trade, ‘commerce équitable’ is a step forward in solving the problems of the world. If small growers are paid enough to support their families, buy medicines and pay school fees, their children will have a future and will not need to emigrate in order to find work. I was very involved in selling and promoting Tearcraft and Traidcraft in the UK. There are 2 groups that sell the same types of products in France and have volunteers running small shops. Fairtrade items can be found in large supermarkets but it is nowhere as big or as well-known as in the UK. The UK is Europe’s biggest Fairtrade market selling three times as much as Germany and six times as much as France. In one of our English teaching books there is a chapter on Fairtrade which I enjoy presenting. Many students, when asked, ‘Why don’t you buy more Fairtrade?’ will say, ‘because we prefer to buy French products’. (See entry for SUGAR)