Q&A with Confessions’ Fred Pearce
By Andrea Fox, Ms. Green Quick Fixes 

1. What has been the response to your book, as far as you can surmise? And, which aspect of the book is most important—the one that you hope will result in the greatest effect?

“A lot of people have told me it allowed them to think through better what their personal footprint might be on the planet. That was my main purpose. Not to get anything specific banned or anything, but to help some of the many millions of people who want to live more ethical lives to figure out how to do it in ways that meet their own criteria. This is definitely not a "ten things to do" or "ten things not to do" book.”

2. What has been the sharpest criticism thus far, and how do you respond to it?

“The sharpest criticism has been from greens who say I should not be buying green beans from Kenya because of the air miles and won't enter into a debate about the competing ethical issues.  If I get really angry I call them green fascists, which they don't like!”

3. What was the biggest surprise on your journey—the discovery that changed your habits the most?

“To be honest, I'm fairly frugal. My biggest footprint is undoubtedly flying. But I knew that. And I still fly, even if I take a train when I can (and I don't drive a car). I stopped buying my Saturday night curried prawns/shrimps after visiting Bangladesh, because of what I found. I have also become a regular donor to the "wonder welders" in Dar es Salaam, who recycled my son's cell phone. Maybe the biggest surprise was the virtuous social footprint of buying air-freighted green beans from Kenya, which I think outweighs the ecological footprint of the flight. I am strongly of the opinion that western consumers need to find ways of cutting their ecological footprint without damaging the livelihoods of poor people with small footprints.”

4. Which discovery did you find most disappointing?

“I think the cynical power of the big monopoly commodity brokers—the Cargills and others in areas like cotton and grains and cocoa—who just don't give a damn. They are the people most able to absorb extra costs of doing this ethically, but because of their power they show the least interest in doing it. Power corrupts.”

5. What is your soundest advice for shopping green? What would you recommend a consumer new to fair-trade and organic concepts first do when attempting to understand the source of a product?

“Well you have to ask questions. I'd be more inclined to buy from people who can tell you where their stuff comes from. But also to recognize that there are competing ethical issues sometimes.  You can be organic and not ethical. 
Environmentally sustainable, but socially, a pariah, etc… But not to be downhearted about that. Nobody said it was easy being green. What matters is to debate these issues and make them matter.”