It isn't always easy, when rushing round to do the shopping between other tasks - and especially when trying to cater for the needs of a family of individuals with varying tastes on top of label-reading to discover the salt, sugar or fat content of various products - to stop and think about where the goods in the trolley came from.

It is still true that many products on supermarket shelves across the country which generate large profits for the retailers and manufacturers leave those who produce and grow the raw materials with very little to show for their hard work.

This exploitation is often a major contributory factor in the failure of Third World economies in particular to establish themselves on a sound footing and generate the prosperity needed to feed the populations as well as cater for their health and social needs.

For that reason the Fair Trade initiative is a very worthwhile attempt to redress the balance and one to which we can all contribute even if in only a small way. The further it's extended and the more popular it becomes the better will be the prospects of those growers, producers and workers whose products are appearing on the shelves of more and more retailers.

So the bid to establish Shipley as a Fair Trade town should be widely welcomed. If it does achieve Fair Trade status we hope its shopkeepers enjoy the deserved support from the shopping public that such a reputation can bring.