Sustainable September: confirmed speakers for the retail debate

Tim Aldred, Stuart Singleton-White, Sam Bowman and Linda Whetstone are the confirmed speakers for Sustainable September’s retail debate on September 10 at the Royal Geographical Society.

The Oxford-style debate – “Free trade trumps fair trade in helping developing economies” – will see two speakers per part debating on whether free trade serves the interests of developing countries better than fairtrade.

In favour of the motion will be Sam Bowman, research director at the libertarian think tank Adam Smith Institute, who is currently researching how free market policies could improve the welfare of the poor and Linda Whetstone, chairman of Network for a Free Society and board member at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), expert in agricultural, trade, and development issues.

Against the motion will speak Stuart Singleton-White, senior manager of external communications for Europe and Australia at the Rainforest Alliance, who has worked in the public affairs, campaigning and media sectors with a number of charities, NGOs and government ministers for many years.

Tim Aldred, head of policy and research at the Fairtrade Foundation will also argue against the motion. He has more than 15 years of experience in international relief and development work.

The retail debate is part of Sustainable September, Blue & Green Tomorrow’s month-long celebration of sustainability. Tickets for this and other debates regarding investment, tourism, energy and for the all-day sustainability conference are available here.

Further reading:

20 questions with…Stuart Singleton-White

20 questions with… Sam Bowman

Tickets on sale for Blue & Green Tomorrow’s Sustainable September events

Ethical consumerism delivering ‘profitable growth’, says market research

Sustainable September: Retail Debate to be held at Royal Geographical Society