The final countdown has begun. Advent is here and there are less than three weeks until Christmas.
The shops have been full of Christmas goodies for weeks now and I'm always amazed at how early people start their shopping.
A colleague was telling me how she'd battled her way through the crowds last weekend and had nearly got through her long li
st of gifts.
For me it will probably be Christmas Eve until I've made those final purchases and paid my last visit to the shops.
But how much will we think about the gifts we buy. We might spend ages considering the people we're giving to, but what about where the gifts have come from?
In Wirksworth, traders and campaigns are backing a crusade for the town to gain Fairtrade status.
They want to make sure that people who produce our goods are paid a fair price for their labour.
Fairtrade has been around for a long time and in our household we try where we can to make the ethical choice – whether that be in the tea, coffee and bananas we buy or which detergent we use.
And many people across the Dales have been campaigning for a long time to encourage shoppers to consider their purchases.
Most of the main stores nowadays are offering some fairly-traded products – and that's down to consumer pressure. Ten years ago it would have been strange to ask where a supermarkets bananas came from!
But it still amazes me how little choice there is for those who want to shop ethically.
Even in Matlock, despite its Fairtrade status, there is still a very limited stock of ethical goods in many of the town's stores.
So this Christmas I'm going to try and think a little more about how I shop and who benefits from my purchases – even if it takes until Christmas Eve to do so!
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