Sign of the times

Sad news of the demise of one of my favourite local shops here in Bristol, the Bishopston Trading Company. A first of its kind, forming a link with a South Indian village, the Company has fairly traded organic cotton goods and other products for 28 years. This is as long as Ross and I have been together - we once passed through the village, K V Kuppam on a train from Bangalore to Vellore but didn't visit. Now the economy here and changes there have led to the decision to close the business. It marks the end of an era but it is a tribute to the founders' vision that fair trade products are now much more common on our high streets. May that trend continue and grow, we could all do with thinking about where our goods come from.