Duty bound

£520m. That’s the additional revenue raised by the government due to a decade of duty increases. How can the wine industry move forward if we can’t claw some of that back?

How can we provide livelihoods, promote sustainable farming practices, encourage fair trade and educate the consumer when margins are repeatedly eroded? We can’t. That’s why the drinks business and Orbital Wines are spearheading a campaign to persuade the British government to rollback duty to 2004 levels. Our promise? Reduce duty, increase responsibility – we will use recovered funds to caution consumers about the adverse effects of excessive drinking and support projects that benefit both the human- and agri- culture that surrounds wine.
It’s your duty. 

The plan:

• Next week a blog/website at www.itsyourduty.co.uk will be launched to begin petitioning for the cause.
• A committeee of high-level figures from the wine industry, including retail, will gather to lead the campaign: It’s your duty – reduce duty, increase responsibility.
• The outline of a PR and advertising campaign will be formulated to warn of the dangers of binge drinking.
• Online research will be conducted to better understand the reasons behind UK drinking patterns.
• A London-based event to attract interest to the campaign will be organised for July.

© db Patrick Schmitt, 08/06/07