Harriet has been the MD of Fairtrade Foundation since 2001. She was awarded a CBE in the 2006 New Years Honours list in recognition of her work in building Fairtrade in the UK. She lives in London with her partner and 2 children and can often be spotted cycling around London.

Favourite green/ethical activity? I cycle everywhere. I’m a cycling fanatic and my favourite place to cycle is the countryside.

Fairtrade or organic? Fairtrade every time! It’s my passion because it’s about getting a better deal for farmers. It is great when you get both Fairtrade and organic, but that can be very difficult for the farmers.

Best ethical buy? Bananas. I started my Fairtrade career working with bananas and they are still my big passion.

What green/ethical products are you waiting to be designed? I look forward to the day when I can buy Fairtrade-certified jewellery - I love silver rings and necklaces. Also, it would be great to have a bigger range of Fairtrade clothing, especially cotton and silk.

What is your personal ethical/green dilemma? Flying - although I do feel it’s vital for me to meet farmers at their own farms and to invite them here. Also, I like going abroad on holiday.

Where/who do you get your inspiration from? Without a doubt from the farmers I meet. They are incredibly dedicated and committed to making Fairtrade work.

What was the last green thing you did? Put the compost out in the back garden.

Can we justify fairtrade when there is a push to reduce food miles and buy locally? Lots of people are concerned about air miles and buying food from Africa, but I think we have to look at our social footprint as well as our carbon footprint. It’s important that we don’t expect producers in Africa - who don’t have heating, air-con, televisions or cars - to pay the price for the restof the world. It is great that people have woken up to climate change, but buying local and buying Fairtrade is an extremely good fit. Buy local when you are buying meat and cheese, but buy Fairtrade when you buy Fairtrade has very much been driven by women and we should keep pushing as more and more companies are waking up to what Ethics Girls want. Go girls! bananas and melons. Think ‘fair miles’ as well as air miles.

What is the lesson you would say Fairtrade has to offer everyone? It’s a lesson in the power of individuals working together to get corporations to listen to them. It shows that we really can get what we want if we push hard enough.

When did you first become aware of ethical consumerism and its importance? My first experience of Fairtrade was drinking Nicaraguan Solidarity Coffee, which was the first solidarity product and really what the roots of Fairtrade are about.

What would be your once piece of ethical/green advice to give Ethics Girls? We should be happy shoppers and not angst about our purchases. We should celebrate what we have achieved and toast it with a glass of Fairtrade wine.

written by Sarah Callard - Sarah Callard is a columnist for the Saturday Telegraph magazine, and a contributor to various magazines including Ethical Living and Natural Products. She is also the author of Green Living.