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Some might call it a storm in an ethically traded teacup but justice for Third World farmers has been the subject of some surprising disputes at Ilkley Parish Council.

An apparently non-controversial resolution to back fair trade has sparked concern within the council chamber as well as a heated debate about the pros and cons of the movement.

Not that there would appear to be too many cons on the face of it, and just two years ago Ilkley Parish Council backed a resolution which paved the way to the town gaining Fairtrade status. But now disputes in the council chamber have been threatening to put that status at risk.

Under the terms of the Fairtrade status for towns councils have to re-affirm their backing each year. But in Ilkley councillors' concerns over the wording of the resolution, and the full meaning of the word commitment' led to it being officially recorded as failed' after only two voted in its favour while seven abstained.

The move was surprising to say the least, but stranger things were to come.

In a development this week the council was forced to admit that members had actually backed the resolution by default in not voting against it. advertisement

It's a confused situation and now it has been revealed that plans are afoot to bring the issue back to council and start all over again.

Chairman Heathcliffe Bowen is now hoping to in effect stage a re-run of the debate and he says he has the support of the resolution's proposer, Coun Brian Mann.

Coun Bowen, who in his capacity as chairman did not vote, insists that he personally supports Fairtrade and buys Fairtrade products. But he said he had been uncomfortable with the way the resolution had been presented and with the options given to councillors.

Now in a bid to resolve the situation he wants the issue to come before the parish council again worded differently and after everyone has become fully acquainted with the intricacies of the issue.

He said: "I think the problem was around the word commitment. Nobody had an objection to the ethos of Fairtrade. I buy Fairtrade products myself so I support it personally."

"Some of the problem was in the way the information was presented to the council."

Now in a bid to seek clarity he is hoping to take the issue back to the council again.

"So hopefully we can bring a resolution back to council that everybody agrees with," he said.

"I think the feeling at the time was that it had been very much placed before the council and they were not really in full possession of the information. There was no objection to the ethos - everybody was quite happy with that."

He added: "Both Brian and myself will be working together on this and hopefully I will be able to meet with some official representative of Fairtrade to get a bit more information about it. And hopefully we will take it back through general purposes - which we can do. There is a facility in our standing orders to do that."

There had been some concerns about local businesses missing out to farmers from developing countries but Coun Bowen is hoping that by taking the issue back, councillors will be able to find out with what Fairtrade is all about and will be able to come to a decision based on a good understanding of the subject.

He stressed that he was not prepared to pre-empt what the decision might be. But he added: "I am just hopeful that at least people can be informed about it."

And he is stressing the importance of voting instead of abstaining the next time the issue comes up to ensure a democratic decision is made.

"I think Coun Mann did the best job he could do but I don't think the council was quite prepared for the debate really because there just wasn't the information there."

He feels it would be useful to find out more, and he added: "I think the lesson we have learnt is that we should all vote one way or the other."

But Coun Mann said he did not see the need to re-open the issue.

"As far as I am concerned the resolutions I put before council were accepted by council. I know seven of my colleagues abstained but that was the position - the vote was won. Why he wants to re-debate it I don't know."

He believes that if it does go back to the vote it will go in favour of Fairtrade. And he stressed the need to draw a line under the issue and to show support.

"Fairtrade is all about ethical trading which is all about guaranteeing a reasonable income for reasonable products for farmers mainly in the Third World."

But he stressed this did not mean our farmers would lose out, and he said that the principles of ethical trading could be applied to them as well.

He said: "To be honest I don't think the council was prepared for the debate we had last time. They clearly hadn't thought about the issues, and if a subsequent debate brings these issues to the fore then it is obviously for the good."

But he said he didn't personally think it was necessary to take another vote, and he argued the case for drawing a line under the issue and moving on.

"The essential issue is that the parish council should get behind the Fairtrade movement that has done a lot for this town."

Coun Mann pointed out that his own motion mirrored a district-wide resolution which had already been passed by Bradford Council. He said Leeds City Council was also very strong supporter of Fairtrade.

And he said he was surprised at the reaction to something so non-controversial. "I was stunned almost to silence - I couldn't believe it," he said.

"To say charity begins at home' is a ludicrous statement on that topic in a town like Ilkley."

He added: "The first time that this came up before the council a couple of years ago it was a similar uphill push."

But whatever the ins and outs of the debacle it is not all bad news.

"It has been good publicity. It has certainly brought Fairtrade to the fore," he said. "In our affluent country if we can't do something to support others less fortunate than ourselves then it is a poor thing."

The head of Ilkley's Fairtrade group, Rosie Tudge, said there had been a huge reaction to the council's stance - she has received numerous emails and letters expressing surprise at what had happened and pledging support to the cause.

And she stressed how vital it was to have continuing support from the council.

"Ilkley Fairtrade was able to come about because initially the council passed a resolution supporting Fairtrade in Ilkley. That was our starting point, because without their resolution we can't do anything."

She said businesses, shops, schools and churches had already been willing to come on board but they needed the council's backing.

"We were just waiting for the council and they were brilliant, " she said. "That was over two years ago - so we are just really surprised that they are still having some doubts about it."

"Really it comes from a lack of information on the subject and a feeling that we are actually penalising by Fairtrade our local farmers and our nation.

But she stressed that Fairtrade products, such as coffee and bananas could not be grown in this country. And she said people who were concerned about ethical trade in the Third World were usually also concerned about fair treatment for British producers.

She stressed that support for Fairtrade from companies such as Marks and Spencer and Tesco showed how important a concern it was to the general public.

"So we even find that something like Nestle actually has one product that is Fairtrade - it shows how worried some of these big companies are about their image."

She stressed the importance of the parish council maintaining its support if Ilkley was to retain its Fairtrade status.

"It is OK if one school pulls out, but if the council pulls out then we lose it," she said. "I don't think they understand how important they are."

Her views were echoed by Otley's MP, Greg Mulholland, who is a fervent supporter of Fairtrade.

"I have long been a supporter of Fairtrade and am delighted that Otley is a Fairtrade Town and that Otley Town Council is clear and unequivocal in support of Fairtrade products.

"Some Ilkley councillors seem to have got very confused about this issue. The reality is, that Fairtrade goes hand in hand with initiatives to support locally produced products.

"Many local independent stores and farmers' markets specialise in locally sourced, locally produced goods and also sell Fairtrade products. What we want to see is a fair deal for producers here in the UK and in other countries.

"Also let's remember, Fairtrade products that a council has to commit to are mainly tea, coffee and cocoa - none of which are produced in this country.

"So this is about commonsense but also about ensuring that producers get a fair deal for their produce. This is important for coffee growers in developing countries and for dairy farmers in Yorkshire.

"By rejecting Fairtrade, all a council ise doing is allowing the huge corporations to continue to rip off farmers and producers. That will do nothing for local business as well as turning our backs on the scandal of farmers in poor countries being paid a pittance for their crops that generate vast profits for multinational companies.

"The Fairtrade initiative has transformed the lives of many people in developing countries who now can make a living from their sought after products and it should have the support of councils and consumers up and down the country."

Bettys in Ilkley is one of those which supports Fairtrade, and it prides itself on the fact that ethical trading has always been an intrinsic part of its business.

The company's ethical trading manager Cristina Talens said: "I think sometimes people get the messages mixed. They sometimes think we are supporting farmers abroad but not supporting our own farmers. I think that is one bone of contention."

She said Fairtrade was a mechanism to protect farmers in developing countries but it was not detrimental to farmers in this country.

She added: "I don't think you have to have a Fairtrade logo on everything that is ethically traded - we certainly don't have a logo on everything, because some of the farmers don't meet the criteria for Fairtrade.

"The Fairtrade logo is not the only guarantee that businesses are behaving ethically , but the Fairtrade mechanism is probably the only thing that exists out there that people recognise. If all businesses had our approach to ethical trading you wouldn't need something like a Fairtrade logo. But basically it is a good thing to have Fairtrade."

12:05pm Thursday 13th September 2007

© http://www.ilkleygazette.co.uk

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Dame Anita Lucia Roddick, DBE (23 October 1942 – 10 September 2007) was the founder of The Body Shop, a British cosmetics company producing and retailing beauty products that shaped ethical consumerism.^[1][2] The company was one of the first to prohibit the use of ingredients tested on animals and one of the first to promote fair trade with third world countries.

Roddick was also involved in activism and campaigning for environmental and social issues including involvement with Greenpeace and The Big Issue. In 1990 Roddick founded Children On The Edge, a charitable organization which helps disadvantaged children in Eastern Europe and Asia.^[3]

Roddick was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis due to long standing hepatitis C in 2004, and after she revealed this to the media in February 2007 she promoted the work of the Hepatitis C Trust,^[4] and campaigned to increase awareness of the disease.^[5]

In 2003, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Roddick a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and she was officially styled Dame Anita Roddick DBE.

Charity work

Roddick was known for her campaigning work on environmental issues and was a member of the Demos think tank's advisory council.

Children On The Edge (COTE) is an organization that Roddick founded in 1990 in response to her visits to Romanian orphanages.^[3]
Upon seeing the conditions the children were in, she created COTE to
help manage the crisis and work to de-institutionalize the children
over the course of their early life. COTE's mission focuses on
disadvantaged children affected by conflicts, natural disasters,
disabilities, and HIV/AIDS.

On 13 December 2005, the National Post
reported that Roddick had decided to turn her back on the world of
commerce and give away her fortune, worth some £51 million ($104
million).

^{© http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Roddicka}

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Previously, he worked at Kyushu University and Kyoto University in Japan, Fraunhofer IPSI in Germany, and University of Colorado at Boulder in the US. He's also the editor of RFID in Japan.

Realted link RFID in Japan

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[JESUISDIVINEOUPRESQUE] I 1600X1000

http://www.flickr.com/photos/displayelevenstore

Originally uploaded on Flickr by displayelevenstore
© mgd. all right reserved. [commercial] "Je suis divine ou presque" & "divine, almost". manipulate |verb [ trans. ] 1 handle or control (a tool, mechanism, etc.), typically in a skillful manner • alter, edit, or move (text or data) on a computer. • examine or treat (a part of the body) by feeling or moving it with the hand • control or influence (a person or situation) cleverly, unfairly, or unscrupulously : the masses were deceived and manipulated by a tiny group. • alter (data) or present (statistics) so as to mislead. DERIVATIVES manipulability | manipulable |manipulatable | manipulation | manipulator | manipulatory |ORIGIN early 19th cent.: back-formation from earlier manipulation, from Latin manipulus ‘handful.’

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Pierre & Gilles, Double jeu

Pierre & Gilles c’est un couple non pas de photographes mais d’artistes, qui sévit depuis trente ans. Pierre est né à la Roche sur Yon en 1950. Il fait ses études de photographie à Genève avant de faire son service militaire. Il s’installe ensuite à Paris en 1973 et travaille comme photographe pour des magazines tel que Rock & Folk, Dépêche Mode ou encore Interview. Gilles est né au Havre en 1953. Il y étudie la peinture à l’École des Beaux Arts. En 1974, il s’installe à Paris, peint et réalise des illustrations pour les magazines ou la pub. Ils se rencontrent lors d’une soirée, l’inauguration de la boutique Kenzo, en 1976 et s’installent tout de suite ensemble, rue des Blancs Manteaux, dans le Marais à Paris. Ils commencent à travailler ensemble tout de suite.En 1978, ils créent les affichent et cartons d’invitation du Palace, et travaillent pour le magazine Façade pour qui ils réalisent des portraits (Andy Warhol, Iggy Pop, Mick Jagger, Etienne Daho…). C’est ce qui les fera connaître. En 1979, après un voyage en Inde qui influencera leur travail, ils travaillent pour Thierry Mugler, ou encore réalisent des pochettes de disques (Amanda Lear…). En 1990, ils déménagent pour le Pré-St-Gervais. Depuis se succèdent manifestations artistiques, expositions, et désormais rétrospectives. Car leur œuvre est colossale : près de 800 tableaux éparpillés chez les collectionneurs du monde entier, principalement russes, japonais et français.

L’un est photographe, l’autre peintre. Ils travaillent ensemble selon un même processus inchangé depuis tant d’années, même si leur travail n’a cessé d’évoluer. Ce processus, de la conception à la réalisation, demande du temps. Ils produisent donc peu, seulement une vingtaine de tableaux par an. Avant de faire l’image il faut la penser, la dessiner, concevoir le décor, choisir le modèle et trouver la lumière. Pierre photographie une image imaginée à deux. Puis la meilleure photographie de la séance est tirée en grand format et Gilles la transforme en peinture. Il rectifie le décor et adoucit les visages. Le tableau s’achève par la réalisation de
son cadre.

« Chaque photographie retouchée est comme (…) un cabinet des merveilles dont l’encadrement est la bande annonce, le roulement de tambour. Pailletés d’or et de strass quand il s’agit d’introduire une star (ou décrétée telle), écrasants et monumentaux comme des chasses d’église païenne lorsque les images «pieuses»
reconstruisent la vie des saints ou fricotent avec la mythologie. Ces encadrements font partie du travail de recomposition (…). Ces cadres qui hurlent leur présence signent que ces photographies sont surtout des tableaux. »

écrit Gérard Lefort dans Libération Depuis un an, ils travaillent désormais en numérique. Rien n’a changé si ce n’est que les images sont scannées, les couleurs retouchées et ensuite imprimées sur de la toile et non plus du papier. Paradoxalement, le numérique les rapproche de la peinture.

Pierre & Gilles partagent les mêmes goûts et les mêmes influences dans l’imagerie populaire. Ils puissent l’inspiration dans le cinéma de leur jeunesse dont les stars sont représentées comme des icônes, comme proche de la perfection, mais aussi dans l’Art Baroque, dans la mythologie grecque, dans la Bible ou encore dans leurs voyages, notamment en Inde. Leur travail parle d’amour, d’érotisme, de sensualité mais aussi de la mort.
Le travail de Pierre & Gilles est surtout connu du grand public pour
les portraits de stars qu’ils n’ont cessé de réaliser. Les stars qu’ils
ont photographié ont transgressé les codes liés à leur personnalité.
Délaissant le papier glacé esthétisant et devenant une icône au sens
propre comme au figuré, ils questionnent avec humour leur statut.

L’utilisation de gens connus ou de personnages de l’enfance (Le cauchemar d'Alice, encore Hello Kitty) contraste avec la fascination pour le Sacré avec laquelle ils abordent la Bible, la mythologie grecque ou l’Hindouisme.

Le monde parfait qu’ils mettent en scène à travers la représentation des
icônes du passé et celles du monde moderne ne seraient pas complet sans
celle des personnages emblématiques du quotidien (marins, putes,
jardinier…). Mais ces personnages restent des symboles, et leur
mélancolie rappelle que ce monde à l’esthétique parfaite n’existe pas .

Les sujets abordés, Saint Sébastien, les Marins… et certaines des célébrités qu’ils ont portraiturées (Dalida, Claude François, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Boy George, Lio, Arielle Dombasle…),
tend à réduire leur travail à une sorte d’iconographie gay. Il ne se
résume pourtant pas à cela, ni même Kitsch dont il est souvent
qualifiée. Leur oeuvre est même éminemment politique, même s’ils ne
dénoncent ou ne revendiquent rien. Exception faite peut-être de
tableaux tel que Iraq War, ou plus fortement encore Les Mariés ou Les Clowns, traitant respectivement du mariage homosexuel et du sida.

Cette gravité se retrouve dans leurs autoportraits, en particulier depuis le
débuts des années 90, avec La Mort, ou Le Diable, part d’un
questionnement sur la mort. Les autoportrait du début étaient plus
joyeux et drôle comme les Pistolets, Perversion ou Les Marins.

En près de 120 images, cette exposition à la Galerie du Jeu de Paume
retrace l’œuvre de Pierre & Gilles et nous en dévoilent les
multiples facettes. A travers leur monde imaginaire « c’est bien
l’histoire de notre société, avec ses rêves et ses peurs, qui se
déploie sur ces murs. » conclut Damien Sausset dans connaissances des
Arts. Si avec ça vous n’allez pas voir cette expo, je ne peux rien dire
de plus.

Pour ceux qui en redemandent… des photos qui ne sont pas dans l’expo.

Infos Pratiques

Où? Jeu de Paume, 1 place de la Concorde, 75008 Paris

Quand ? Jusqu'au 23 septembre 2007

Mardi : 12h-21h/Mercredi-Vendredi : 12h-19h/Samedi-Dimanche : 10h-19h

Fermé le lundi

Tarifs : Entrée : 6 €/Tarif réduit : 3 €

Plus d'infos sur le web

Though less well-known to most of the world than bands such as Pizzicato Five or Cibo Matto, Buffalo Daughter is considered to be the linchpin of the so-called "cut-and-paste" rock Shibuya-kei movement from Japan. The band had its beginnings in the early 1990s signed to independent Japanese label Cardinal. Seeking wider exposure, they continued under the Beastie Boys' now-defunct music label Grand Royal,
bringing their discography up to a total of four full-length album
releases, an EP, and a handful of remixes. The band's style, always a
variety grab-bag of different sounds and genres, evolved slowly but
surely into a more cohesive and restrained melodic style. In 2002, Buffalo Daughter released their fifth full-length effort, I, in the United States on Los Angeles-based label Emperor Norton Records.

According to band member Ohno, "We call ourselves Buffalo Daughter
because our sound is very strong. And the buffalo is strong." In a 1998
interview, the group explained that "Buffalo" projects a pleasing image
of American culture and countryside and at the time of the group's
original formation, all the members were girls, so "Daughter" was
appropriate. Also, the sound of name itself appeals to the group. [1]

It was announced that in 2006 Buffalo Daughter would collaborate with pop-star Ami Suzuki. They released the single "O.K. Funky God" together on February 28, 2007, and it was later included on Suzuki's Connetta album.

• SuGar Yoshinaga (vocals, guitars, TB-303)
• Yumiko Ohno (vocals, bass, keyboards)
• MoOog Yamamoto (vocals, turntables)

• Full length albums:
  • Captain Vapour Athletes (1996) (a compilation of Shaggy Head Dressers and Amoebae Sound System)
  • Jungle Park Original Soundtrack with Delaware (1997)
  • New Rock (1998)
  • I (2001)
  • Pshychic (2003)
  • Euphorica (2006)
• EPs:
  • Shaggy Head Dressers (1994)
  • Amoebae Sound System (1995)
  • Legend of the Yellow Buffalo (1995)
  • A Long Life Story of Miss Cro-Magnon (2002)

• Official website
• Buffalo Daughter at Discogs
• MySpace page for Buffalo Daughter

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© "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Daughter" Japanese rock music groups |

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Entre-temps, Asia est partie vivre aux Etats-Unis, a tourné avec Ferrara dans New Rose Hotel. Sandii, la fille qu'elle devait incarner, était décrite dans le scénario comme une pouffiasse portant de la lingerie cuir. «Une femme forte n'a pas besoin de tout ça», s'insurge-t-elle. Le mythe Asia est né de ce bras de fer au terme duquel elle va imposer à Ferrara (oser s'affronter à Ferrara requiert un certain courage) sa vision de la femme. Puis ce sera Scarlet diva et le Livre de Jérémie, ses deux films en tant que réalisatrice. Il n'était pas question d'elle mais un peu d'elle quand même, partout, dans les moindres recoins. Films exorcistes, habités, histoires d'actrices insatiables mais amoureuses, histoires d'enfants plongés de force dans un monde adulte viscéralement violent.

On sait que les petites filles rêvent désormais de faire du cinéma. Asia a mélangé ce rêve avec ses propres cauchemars, ses vieilles insomnies. Le monde s'agenouillera désormais devant ce démon de fille dont le ventre porte un ange tatoué d'après un motif du peintre belge surréaliste Paul Delvaux.

Kurt Cobain. Une référence parmi les mille qui peuplent son monde intérieur. Ainsi, on peut l'entendre souvent discourir des heures sur les chansons les plus tristes de la planète : de Nick Drake à Ian Curtis. Mais chez Asia, les chanteurs les plus tristes sont italiens : Adriano Celentano, l'Elvis romain, et surtout Gino Paoli, son préféré, l'homme capable de chanter l'histoire d'un gardien de nuit dans un hôtel de passe entiché de la fille de la «camera 3». Celui-là, elle nous le fit découvrir en personne et pour l'éternité un après-midi en Roumanie, sur le tournage de Transylvania de Tony Gatlif. Passer un peu de temps avec des actrices, des acteurs, se résume souvent à les écouter se vanter de leur performance. Asia, jamais : elle préfère, plutôt que de parler de ses rôles, échanger des informations sur ses modèles - tous, on l'aura compris, ont des gueules d'anges déchus devant lesquels elle se sentira toujours un peu petite fille. Cela a d€ commencer à l'enfance, avec papa. Asia défendra toujours, contre le go€t mainstream, les personnalités passionnantes : Syd Barrett - chanteur et guitariste aujourd'hui défunt du premier Pink Floyd, il a vécu trente-sept ans reclus dans sa chambre -, Lydia Lunch, la mante religieuse No Wave, Aileen Wuornos (jeune femme ayant passé douze ans dans les couloirs de la mort), les activistes industriels teutons Einstürzende Neubauten, ou encore le chanteur de Burzum, horreur du métal noir devenu assassin inspiré du IIIe Reich. Et puis, Kurt Cobain, dont elle regrettera toujours, lorsqu'elle le rencontra en 1994 à Rome, deux semaines avant que le chanteur de Nirvana ne se suicide, de ne pas lui avoir proposé une balade en scooter. Elle évoquait ce souvenir, au moment de jouer une amie du groupe habitant la dernière demeure de Cobain dans Last Days de Gus Van Sant. Lunettes double foyer, caleçon de mec trop large, un épi sur la tête en guise de coupe de cheveux : elle apparaissait dans le film, mais méconnaissable, une fois encore.

A Cannes, cette année, elle était omniprésente. Comme une revanche. L'année d'avant, elle était sur un lit d'hôpital (infection abdominale). En 2004, elle sortait si épuisée des finitions de son film qu'elle traversait la Croisette en sweat à capuche, mais relevée, cachée derrière un amas de tissus. Gitane autodéclarée, Asia est susceptible de toujours s'éclipser. Chaque rôle chasse l'autre. Il y a une sorte d'amnésie chez elle, sans laquelle elle ne pourrait tout donner, à chaque fois. Alors elle donne tout. Elle ne se souvient pas bien. Elle recommence, pour un autre film, un(e) autre cinéaste. Ad lib.

Strip-teaseuse. Dans l'ordre, ces prochains mois, elle sera la courtisane dépravée, fille de duchesse et de torero, dans Une vieille maîtresse de Catherine Breillat (avec qui elle dit s'être entendue comme une soeur) ; une strip-teaseuse meneuse de marche dans Go Go Tales d'Abel Ferrara ; une aventurière dominatrice et manipulatrice, perdue à Hongkong, dans Boarding Gate d'Olivier Assayas. Avant de passer l'été en France pour tourner enfin De la guerre, un long métrage de Bertrand Bonello. Enfin, car c'est après plusieurs projets communs reportés aux calendes grecques que ces deux-là se retrouvent (avec en prime Mathieu Amalric). C'est rien de dire que l'on attend énormément du regard de Bonello sur Asia. Non seulement il la connaît bien mais surtout il lui a déjà donné un de ses plus beaux rôles : celui, double, de l'artiste et du modèle dans Cindy The Doll Is Mine, un court-métrage de 2005 beau à pleurer. Dans lequel elle pleurait, justement. En écoutant un morceau du groupe de rock Blonde Redhead. Ce n'était plus la Cindy Sherman supposée que l'on voyait à l'écran mais Asia Argento. Qui ça ? Une actrice réalisatrice saisie dans son propre dilemme : se cacher sous un masque pour ne s'ouvrir que mieux. PHILIPPE AZOURY http://next.liberation.fr

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Fay Schopen

There isn't an immediate link between toasted teacakes and human rights in Guatemala, but Cristina Talens bridges the divide.

She started her working life toasting teacakes at Bettys Café Tea Rooms in Harrogate, a job that led her back to the company, Bettys & Taylors, four years ago. “My mum – who is a Bettys waitress – called me up and said that the company was looking for someone to work on labour issues with their suppliers, and I just had to apply,” she says.

Talens, 33, studied international business at Leeds University, and after graduation joined a charity, AntiSlavery International, living in France, Spain and Italy and working on labour and human rights issues. But the role at Bettys & Taylors, who buy hundreds of tonnes of coffee a year, tempted her back to the UK. “There was more awareness that the social, working and living conditions for people in developing countries might not be all that great,” she says. “Our buyers were already travelling out to these places and were picking up on problems.”

As ethical trading manager for the firm, Talens travels to places such as Rwanda, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and Zambia, carrying out audits that examine conditions for workers on coffee plantations. The company sells six million packets of coffee and 22 million boxes of tea a year, so Talens also liases with the company’s tea buyers, who do their own audits with the help of a third-party organisation, the Ethical Tea Partnership.
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“There are some countries that we can’t visit because it’s just too dangerous,” she says. Auditors who tried to gain access to a plantation in Aceh, Sumatra, a couple of years ago were shot at, for example.

Her last trip was to Guatemala, in March, where the company is looking at environmental practices and is developing its own standards with a US-based organisation called the Rainforest Alliance.

Part of the skill in her job, she says, is being “really gentle”. “The initial approach is really important because people can balk.” Evaluations are held according to standards set out by the Ethical Trading Initiative, an alliance of companies, charities and trade unions, and Talens reels off a list of things auditors look for when talking to workers: “Minimum age, minimum wage, working hours, discrimination, health and safety, accommodation, benefits. You really are looking at everything that affects that worker’s life. And you have to put everything into a local context.” But bureaucracy doesn’t detract from her enthusiasm. Guatamala, she says, was the “most amazing experience”. “The great thing about [looking at these issues] in a business context is that you can do something about social conditions,” she says. Last year the company opened two child-care centres in Nicaragua, and in Guatamala Talens has seen housing conditions improve. “Things do change as a result of the audit,” she says.