Two different posts in the last few days from fellow Essex boys have attacked Tesco, the largest British supermarket chain. Vicar Sam Norton posted a sermon Thou shalt not shop at Tesco, and cartoonist Dave Walker, in a comment on the new Church Times blog, writes that when I buy £3 jeans from Tesco
surely you *know* the person making the jeans isn’t being paid fairly.
No, Dave, I don’t *know* this or even know it. There is absolutely no guarantee that if I just pay more for my jeans or any other item that is reflected in a higher price paid to the ordinary factory or farm workers who manufacture or produce them. In most cases the extra profits go to the shops and to the brand or designer label owners.
If I buy Fairtrade products, there is supposed to be some kind of guarantee that the producers benefit. But the only Fairtrade jeans that I know of on the market (thanks to Church Times commenter Karin for the link) cost £38, and I am quite sure that only a tiny proportion of the extra £35 over the Tesco Value pair finds its way into the pockets of poor factory workers or farmers.
In any case the complaints do not very often come from these factory workers or farmers. They may be poorly paid, but at least they have some work, and they are usually very grateful for it. If I send my business elsewhere and many others follow my example, these poor people end up out of work completely and even poorer, their jobs taken by the few who are fortunate enough to get Fairtrade work. So the issues are by no means simple ones.
Sam Norton’s latest sermon Thou shalt not shop at Tesco does not express a new opinion: a year ago he wrote that it was a Christian duty to boycott Tesco. The particular grounds for his latest rant are that Tesco is late paying its invoices. Well, Sam, which companies are not? I’m afraid this is standard business practice these days, and the only way to stop it is punitive contract terms. You accept that
the problem isn’t really Tesco – Tesco is simply an extremely well-run company that is operating within a certain context and playing the game according to the “rules” it finds in operation. The problem is that basic context …
So why single out Tesco? If I boycott Tesco as you suggest, then I have to buy my food from another company, and that other company is likely to be just as bad in its trading practices. Your boycott may make you feel good, but it doesn’t do anything to improve things for its suppliers.
I’m afraid the gas-guzzling SUV driving British farmers (very likely including some of Sam’s parishioners, so I see where he is coming from) who complain about late payment of invoices are well down my list of recipients of the “charity” I might be able to give them by paying more for my fruit and veg. Tesco and its competitors have done a lot for the poor of this country in providing them cheap food, partly by driving down the old practices of excessive prices for unreliable quality merchandise of traditional shops. I don’t take too seriously complaints about this originating from those accustomed to making excessive profits from overpriced food. Meanwhile there is no monopoly, so if someone else can do a better job let them get on with it.
Sam wants us to
return to the sort of system that was universal as little as fifty years ago, where there is the possibility of a much more direct relationship with local food and local food suppliers.
Well, great if it works, if it can deliver the same quality of merchandise for the same price as Tesco and its competitors. And maybe it can in a time of increasing fuel costs. But if it can’t compete, sorry, it won’t survive. For very few people will pay more for less just to spite Tesco.
As Sam points out, the real problem is with the system, the economic system of the whole world. The way it is currently set up favours rich countries and big corporations over the poor and small business. Is this inevitable? Perhaps it can be changed, but that will not happen by making gestures and appealing to people’s better nature.
But we need to be very careful what kinds of change we push for. Stalin identified similar problems and tried to do away with them by imposing a command economy based on collective farms; the result was millions of deaths in the transition period leading to a system which just barely operated for 50 years, propped up by black markets, until it collapsed completely in the early 1990s. Free market capitalism is far from ideal, but at least it has operated reasonably stably for at least 200 years and has delivered to very many people, if not to all, an unprecedented level of prosperity. It may need some fine tuning, but not the kind of destruction implicit in the rejection of Tesco’s business practices.
So wouldn’t I do better to buy the Tesco jeans and other cheap Tesco products, and give the money I save, £35 on the jeans alone, to charities which sponsor sustainable development, not among people fortunate enough to have some kind of job already, but among those in the greatest need?
Ahha, at last we have found something that we can disagree on.
My Dad ran his own business, later I took it over before entering the ministry. We were a small company of less than 20 staff. The problems caused by big companies not paying bills on time were immense. The National Westminster Bank were one of the very worst, but BT and various Government departments were not a lot better. Those bullying tactics are very dangerous to small companies who frequently don’t dare upset their big customers.
As the majority of our workforce are (or at least used to be) employed by companies with less than 100 employees we see a small number of big powerful companies undermining the security of the majority of our families in order to boost their large profits.
We are not talking about people who pay the plumber late for doing their bathroom but the people who shop at Tesco’s having their pay threatened by bullies like Tesco.
We have seen the price of our food plummet as a % of our income, it is important that we do ask “at what cost”.
Finally, yes where we shop can make a huge difference to the people at the other end of the chain. For example the bank I use (Co-operative) has an ethical policy as does our local supermarket (Co-op again). I can buy veg direct from the farmer using a local box scheme – I know where the higher prices are going then. I can buy meat etc from the local farmers market – I can ask them directly about the conditions for the animals, I can be sure that pork bought there is not going to bankrupt the farmer.
I can buy many items from http://www.dailybread.co.uk in Northampton, a co-operative with an powerful ethical policy and practice.
I can enrich my life and the community around by spending money in ways that support and build-up people, or I can shop at Tesco and the like.
Oh and it just so happens that the food that is produced ethically and sold in ways that are fair to all involved just happens to taste better and usually be better for me. Sounds like a win win situation to me.
Dave, I certainly do not approve of any kind of late payment of bills. But as you show this approach is endemic among large corporations and by no means restricted to Tesco. So it is not a reason to discriminate against Tesco in favour of other companies which are likely to be just as bad. This is a phenomenon which probably needs to be tackled on a national scale. I would suggest the gradual introduction of a system whereby punitive interest is payable by law on any late payment by any company.
I accept that there is more that I could do in terms of ethical shopping. But it is not so easy for someone like myself on a very limited income. Also there are other issues like whether it is right for me to drive somewhere, or ask someone to drive to deliver something to me, to make the purchases more ethical. These complex issues are not solved by simplistic solutions like boycotting one particular company.
I get what you are saying, but logically if you are going to start somewhere then a company that is moving rapidly to a monopoly and which is abusing it’s power is a good place to start – especially when there are a growing number of ethical alternatives.
Let us be realistic. For most people an alternative to Tesco is not going to increase their driving – how many walk or cycle to Tesco?
Also good points were made in the recent C4 programs on chickens – buying free range chickens is more expensive but a) we eat too much meat and b) you can get far more healthy use from a free range chicken c) lots of healthy food is much cheaper than the junk supermarkets try to sell us as it is built from bulk raw materials by us.
I think we have been sold a lie about eating on a low budget, it is not about buying processed junk cheap but about having access to quality basic food stuffs, locally sourced where possible and cheap because they are in season. For environmental, health, budget and welfare issues it also means a diet that has much less meat & fish and arguably less dairy as well.
And no we don’t manage all this ourselves. I am no paragon of virtue on this.
Hi Peter, I’m glad you’re engaging with this from this angle as it will provoke me to a more thorough working out of the arguments, which is always healthy.
My main source for discriminating between Tesco and some others – most particularly the co-op – comes from the book “Shopped” by Joanna Blythman. She goes into quite a lot of detail about how Tesco and Asda in particular are worse than the other supermarket chains in terms of how they treat suppliers (an issue not simply restricted to invoices) – and how the co-op (and Waitrose) are significantly more ethical in that regard.
I’ll write up something on my blog in the next few days about this, giving a broader picture. As I say, the evidence is there.
I was interested to read your robust argument against picking on Tesco. They are big enough and ugly enough to take it on the chin, and whatever else they may be, they are astute.
If they get even a whiff of dis-satisfaction with their practices from a measurable percentage of the population they may be prompted to make improvements rather than risk loss of profits.
Something needs to be done regarding ethical production, animal welfare and the ending of pointless, rampant consumerism. We have to start somewhere…
Dave, I’m sure many people eat too much meat. But the relatively poor people of the estate around me probably do not. If they are forced to pay more for meat they will have to eat less to the detriment of their health. And yes, far too many of them waste money on cigarettes, drink, lottery etc but that’s another issue.
I drive to Tesco, once every 2-3 weeks only, because it is my nearest large supermarket. So going elsewhere involves more driving. I could buy more things at my local small Co-op, at a higher price, but their range is very limited so there are some things I would need to get from somewhere like Tesco anyway, meaning a short drive.
OK, Sam, so I avoid Asda as well, and drive even further to Sainsbury’s, if they are really any better. Actually Waitrose are about to build a store by the Army and Navy roundabout which is in walking distance from my home, so I will try it out, in a year or so. But if suppliers want things changed, I would suggest that they get together to put pressure on Tesco and Asda. A threatened suppliers’ strike would soon produce a response.
Ricey, you make good points. I am happy to register my dissatisfaction with some of Tesco’s practices. I don’t think they are a good enough reason for a boycott.
Peter, in your response to Sam, are you seriously suggesting that Sainsbury is no better than Tesco or Asda? (Asda being owned by Walmart.)
“I’m sure many people eat too much meat. But the relatively poor people of the estate around me probably do not. If they are forced to pay more for meat they will have to eat less to the detriment of their health.”
I am unconvinced. In fact I would put it stronger than that. We eat far more meat than previous generations and the meat we eat is of far poorer quality (chicken nuggets, burgers, ready meals, KFC, …).
I am saying that the food industry would rather we buy food that has been through more production where their profit margins are higher than on basic foodstuffs (in season fruit & veg, pulses, pasta).
The diet that people on a budget are encouraged to eat through pricing and heavily promoted by advertising is far from healthy. They get the most rubbish meat, much of it reprocessed, mechanically recovered junk. Eating less of that would be a good thing for all concerned and the alternatives would not be more expensive and would be much tastier.
Graham, I have no evidence that Sainsbury is better than Tesco and Asda. Do you? If so, please let me know.
Dave, I agree that poor people eat poor quality meat. I don’t accept that they eat too much total meat content, considering the low meat content of many of the processed meat products they eat. But an important reason why they don’t eat prime steak or free range chicken instead is price. I don’t support the food industry’s practices, but at least they recognise the reality of the market, and so market their junk on low price. The problem with what you, Sam and others preach is that it does not recognise the reality of the market.
“The problem with what you, Sam and others preach is that it does not recognise the reality of the market.”
Absolutely right.
The market is a false reality and a false God that I will not worship.
In fact I would say that the difference is that we recognise the reality of the market all too much….
Uh, Tesco? Whasat? English Walmart? Well, I’ll join in the boycott just to razz Peter.
Yes, Lingamish, Tesco is the British Walmart, although not to be confused with Asda which is the British affiliate of Walmart.
Sam and Dave, the trouble is that the market, however much we might want to deny its existence, is one of the “powers that be” of Romans 13:1. Whether we should submit to it, as Paul teaches in this verse, or take a stand against it, we can’t just ignore it and pretend it doesn’t exist. Anyway, every shop, even Fairtrade, is part of the market, so the only way we can avoid worshipping it is not to buy and sell at all. Reminds me of Revelation 13:16-17, and this post.
Hi Peter, there are a lot of issues being raised here, so I shall just stick to a couple.
First of all to answer your question about Tesco, why single out Tesco? If you listen to the news and current affairs programmes, on radio 4 at least, you will know that they are one of the worst for treating their suppliers, especially small producers and small haulage companies and the like, badly. I believe there was something on TV about this perhaps a few years ago. On the other hand, companies like Waitrose are reported as treating their suppliers better than most and do seem to adhere to reasonably ethical principles.
Getting back to the three pound pair of jeans. Surely if you give it some thought you must realise that whoever made them is being paid very little. It is true that buying a more expensive pair of jeans doesn’t guarantee the person who made them is paid more, but as a general rule of thumb people in Europe and the near East tend to get paid more and enjoy better working conditions than people in the far East. If you buy a product with a Fairtrade label this should guarantee that the person who produced it was paid a living wage and enjoyed fairly healthy working conditions.
Giving the money saved to charity, however worthy the charity, is not the same as enabling a worker to feed their family, buy medicine and send their kids to school, which the wages many in the third world recieve does not allow them to do.
What would you prefer? To be given a decent wage so you don’t have to watch helplessly as your kids die for lack of good nutrition and medicine, to be albe to send your kids to school so they have the hope of a better futurer, or to be kept in poverty however hard you work and rely on handouts?
If you are a Chrisitian, which it looks like you might be, which do you think better reflects God’s Way, the Way, as I understand it, of justice, of paying the worker what his work is worth?
Now there is a limited supply of fairtrade goods and for people on a low income they can’t afford the extra cost, but for anyone who can afford a luxury item or more than a very basic wardrobe, they can afford to pay a little extra when a suitable fairtrade product exists. So then it becomes a matter of choice and the principles by which we choose to live.
Reading through other comments here I would like to add that if your only supermarket at a reasonable distance is Tesco then that will obviously make it difficult for you to shop at a more ethical supermarket, and the distance you travel does need to be born in mind for a number of reasons. When the new Waitrose opens it looks like you’ll be in a better postion to exercise choice in that area.
However, I wonder if there are no farmers’ markets where you live or if there are any delivery schemes for local produce. I am very pleased with a local company which delivers food from local farmers and other producers to my door. It isn’t all organic but the number of organic options seems to be growing. The price of delivery, when I don’t order enough for this to be waived, is compensated for by the lack of wear and tear on the car and the petrol I would have used if buying these things from my local supermarkets. The fact that the van is delivering to many people in my area means that resources are being used most efficiently.
The other thing I wanted to mention was a book based on someone interviewed for the Food Pogramme on R4 about 20 years ago. They interviewed a woman with a family living on benefit and she swore it was cheaper as well as healthier to make her own bread and buy fresh fruit and vegetables from local shops than to buy processed food, and I’m sure she was right. The book gave menus and recipes for a couple of weeks and I used it quite a bit when the kids were young and we were living on one income with a high mortgage. There were recipes for meat, but it was suggested meat wasn’t needed everyday and that it was a good idea to use pulses and other cheaper sources of protein.
Of course people struggling to make ends meet may prefer to buy junk food for various reasons, just as people working full time may do, but that’s a different issue. It doesn’t mean they have to have cheap processed food or that it is good for them, it simply means that is what they choose to buy and perhaps all they know to buy.
Karin, if Tesco are one of the worst, who are the others of the worst, and why should I shop from them instead of from Tesco? There is no Waitrose in my town yet. So for many of us there is no realistic alternative to shopping from one of the big four, not just because of price but also because of availability of a good range. Well, yes, you are right that I could be more creative in how I cook as well as ordering for home delivery, and I will think about that. But I would then need to buy more fridge and freezer space and use the power to keep them cool. Is that worthwhile? Possibly, but the point needs to be argued carefully.
Are you saying I should buy jeans made in Europe or the near East rather than the Far East? What is that going to do for workers in the Far East? Certainly not improve conditions for them. More likely they will lose their highly valued, if poorly paid, jobs, so their children don’t even get basic food, let alone medicine and a good education. Is that what you want? Yes, I am a Christian, and as such I will not support a movement which aims to increase unemployment in third world countries for the benefit of a minority of the not so poor.
So, as I think I said before, if we really want to make a difference we need to work out carefully the trade-offs between benefits to some people and/or the environment and the possibly adverse effects of our choices in other areas. Badly thought out gestures help no one.
Yes, Peter, I am saying you should buy less clothing and textile goods made in the Far East. Christians and people who are likely to decide what to buy for any reason other than it is cheap and they want it, are almost certainly in the minority, so if they stop buying things made by people being paid less than enough to live on these people will not lose their much needed jobs.
What we do when we choose to buy a product made nearer to home or a fairly traded product from a developing country is to show suppliers that there is a market for such things, as we are a substantial minority. This means that the Fairtrade market is expanding and so benefitting more small producers in developing countries. Also, we need to protect jobs at home and in Europe and be prepared to pay the bit extra they cost so that we do not encourage poverty nearer to home and we are not totally reliant on goods from the other side of the world. This would also mean we are responsible for less of the world’s petroleum resources being used up transporting goods around the globe and the ensuing carbon emissions.
I’m afraid your arguments for being concerned about unemployment in the third world don’t wash with me, I’m afraid. So often these people have to take these poorly paid jobs that probably don’t allow them to buy the things you mention anyway, even with young children working long hours to help out, because the land they farmed and made a reasonable living on has been taken away from them to grow cash crops for foreign export from which the rich and powerful alone will gain.
There is plenty of information on the internet such as on the Christian Aid, Tearfund and Cafod websites et al if you are interested in finding out the facts about these issues.
Thanks, Karin. You are making me think, and I have the outline of a post on this subject in my mind. I’m not going to agree with you completely, but I do now see the logic of your position.
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James 5 clearly speaks of those that deliberately keep back wages. Me, or indeed ANYONE, shopping at Tesco is NOT doing that, they are merely using the availability of a resource. There is NO ONE that is free from sin, and sin is sin in God’s eyes. Shopping at TESCO is NOT a sin. What TESCO do with the profits afterwards is up to TESCO, and clearly I would not know what they did with it even if I researched it out. Fairtrade is NOT fair. It operates in the same as any business. You may well have been in the financial sector, but clearly have little idea as to what occurs. There is exploitation everywhere.
If to apply the scripture as you are doing, then shopping at any shop is then clearly wrong, which clearly shows the flaw in the interpretation. If you shop at any shop, then clearly, on your interpretation, you should stop. Then if your family suffer as a result, then you are being a poor steward.
Our purpose is to follow Christ, and be a good steward. To go, disciple all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, not to place stumbling blocks in front of people.
It annoys me immensely when scripture is quoted in such a manner so as to cause a one that is peraps weaker in the faith than you. This is far worse than shopping at tesco, as Christ says, it is better to hang a mill stone about the neck and through one’s self into the sea and drown than to cause a little one to fall. And please do not tell me little one means a child or baby – go check it in strongs concordance.
Wake up… we still need to live… when the time comes that we are in the position of the mark on the hand or forehead, then and only then, do we not shop at these places.
Thanks, HasSanityFlownTheCoop, for bringing back some sanity here.
Tesco is a public company, so you should be able to find out what they do with their profits. I suppose most of it ends up as dividends for the shareholders. They don’t pay great wages, but they have to pay the state minimum wage so they can hardly be accused with James 5:4. And by paying this they provide jobs and a living wage to quite large numbers of people who would otherwise be at risk of poverty.