Q I have recently learnt that of Green & Black’s chocolate bars only Maya Gold is Fairtrade. Why aren’t its other ranges?

A Well spotted. Certified by the Fairtrade Foundation in 1994, this delightful orange-flavoured chocolate was the first British product to carry the Fairtrade mark. The story of the cocoa farmers from Belize who faced crisis after falling world market prices and were rescued by the healthfood pioneer Craig Sams is one of Fairtrade’s greatest success stories.

Twenty years on, they are guaranteed decent prices for their beans and are able to invest in their communities with the 5 per cent premium included in the Fairtrade price. Ethically speaking, it is the perfect excuse to indulge. But what of its dark, white and milk sister bars? And where do things stand on my personal favourite, an oblong of hazelnut-and-raisin heaven?

According to Dominic Lowe, the managing director of Green & Black’s, what we must remember is that the company’s chocolate is all organic and approved by the Soil Association, whether it is from Belize or the Dominican Republic, where beans for its dark and milk chocolate come from. “Because our farmers are selling organic beans they get a higher price anyway, never less than a 25 per cent premium on normal cocoa beans,” he says. “The organic cocoa market is at an all-time high. If it were to drop and we were worried about whether we were trading fairly with our producers, that’s when we would think about working with the Fairtrade Foundation on our other ranges.”

Such a project would be welcomed by the foundation’s director, Harriet Lamb. “It wouldn’t happen overnight but there would be no problem in doing for Green & Black’s what we have done with Sainsbury’s, by swapping all its bananas to Fairtrade ones,” she says. “As well as making Fairtrade farmers happy, I believe it would be a move welcomed by the public.”

As we head into autumn and cosy evenings on the sofa, you will be pleased to hear that Green & Black’s Maya Gold Hot Chocolate is Fairtrade.

Q Is it possible to get bird food that has not been flown halfway around the world?

A I take it you are worried about bird miles: concern that the environmental implications of transporting food for your feathery friends outweighs the good that you are doing by feeding them. Only someone confidant that they are already making the right eco decisions in other areas would be eyeing bags of seeds and raisins suspiciously, whether or not they are grown in California.

But you are right. There are enough farmers within our own shores growing grainy things to cut this unnecessary layer to our environmental footprint. The RSPB’s own range of bird food is sourced in the UK where possible ( rspb.org.uk ). Some ingredients come from Europe, notably Hungary, it tells me, but they are shipped to the UK to keep down CO2 emissions.

For one-up in the eco stakes, go direct to a British farmer. The Really Wild Bird Food Company, set up by Richard and Lesley Smith, specialises in growing sunflowers and millet, along with other seed crops popular with garden visitors ( streetendfeeds.co.uk ). Anything in its best-selling Original Farm Mix (£12.45, 10kg) that is not grown on its farm in Hampshire comes from neighbouring farms. Similarly devoted to local produce is the eco-gardening website, greengardener.co.uk . Except for the bananas and raisins in its Fruity Wild Bird Seed Mix (£34.99, 15kg), everything comes from UK farmers.

But what’s with the bananas anyway? You don’t want your local birds to get a taste for the exotic. Unless, of course, we’re talking Fairtrade bananas.

For Anna’s e-mail address and eco-blog, log on to timesonline.co.uk/ecoworrier

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