call me ignorant, but as i read the first post, I never even picked up on the "Fair Trade", but simply saw the Green Tea. Thought it was perhaps a brand name, such as lipton... And as for ethical, I thought he had perhaps dropped the "n", because I thought of green tea as ethnic....saw loads of it when I browsed a wonderful Japanese market when I recently visited Chicago.
It's been interesting in this thread to see what people are alert to or sensitive to. I would say part of it is personal, if you are someone who is aware and advocating some issues. Another part seems to be cultural or national. Perhaps Fair Trade is much more of an issue in the UK than it is here in the US. At least in my area, i get green tea because I like it... Actually buy it in leaf form at my winemaking supply store, as it also sells cigars in its own humidor, incense, beer supplies, tea leaves, etc.... Fair trade, ethical, ethnic, green....i get it because I like it. "Ethical tea wine"... would make for a wonderful conversation starter!
But please don't see the lack of understanding of issues, because we may live on opposite sides of the pond, and have different sensitivities, as automatically being a flame war. Let's continue to enjoy learning from each other and sharing with each other about the craft and hobby that unites us: winemaking.
Good luck with your Tea wine, and eventually with your pear wine.
Rick