Fair Trade is a growing international approach to trade aimed at tilting the balance in favor of the poor. Fair Trade 
ensures the way we import or export goods is based firmly on the principles of economic and social justice – it provides a way to guarantee our purchases help, rather than harm, those involved in the production cycle.
Says Jonathan Rosenthal, co-founder of the fair trade coffee company Equal Exchange, “Fair Trade businesses are here to explore what it means to be of service. Business in our society has lost the notion that it should do more than create wealth and move goods back and forth. It should be of service to the greater society.”
“For thousands of artisans and farmers around the world, Fair Trade means the difference between being able to send their children to school or not, being able to afford to buy eyeglasses, or get immunization shots, being able to access clean drinking water – and so many basic necessities we take for granted,” says Chris O’Brien, Co-op America Business Network managing director.
The Fair Trade Federation estimates that to date, people around the world have spent around $500 million on fair trade products.
What is Fair Trade?
Under conventional trade, the race for profit drives companies to minimize costs by exploiting workers and the environment. Fair Trade is based on the principle of putting workers and the environment first, while still working in a healthy business model. Businesses committed to fair trade agree to adhere to the following criteria:
* products are sourced from businesses that allow workers a large degree of self-determination;
* products are purchased at “living wage” prices
* producers receive assistance in environmentally responsible practices, such as organic farming or using recycled materials.
* fair trade businesses operate transparently and commit to educating the public about fair trade.
* fair trade companies agree to respect and preserve the cultural identity of their producers.
Fair Trade House Parties
Tucked into the mountains of Nepal, just north of Kathmandu, are tiny villages where women artisans work late into the chilly nights making patterned, handwoven wool shawls. With access to these villages limited by terrain and political turmoil, these women have almost no way to get to markets and sell their shawls for far less than they are worth.
When Carmel Jud of Santa Cruz, CA. learned about these women, she knew she could help. In early 2002, she founded Rising International, which specializes in selling crafts made by artisans form remote parts of the world at fair trade house parties. A typical party – which operates much like a Tupperware party – consists of 20 people and a speaker from one of the countries where the crafts are made. Participants discuss trade and living conditions in other countries, while the crafts are on display for sale.
Rising imports a variety of crafts, including beaded jewelry from Costa Rica; pillow cases and wall hangings from India; shawls from Indonesia; and prayer wheels, sacred statues, jewelry and shawls from Nepal. “I love the fair trade concept, but I really see a lack of awareness among most people,” Jud says. “So I used my marketing expertise to spread the word.”
Rising obtains crafts through a fair trade importer or by working directly with producers. To access the villages north of Kathmandu, for example, she hired a young man who climbed into the mountains and brought out their shawls. Rising pays a fair price for the crafts up front – before they are made.
Jud, who owned her own advertising business for 17 years, likens what she is doing to what Avon does with cosmetics; “Avon has about three million women selling stuff. Our goal is to have 3 million women selling to benefit the poorest women in the world. And I think that is going to make the biggest impact on fair trade. It’s very doable based on the results so far.”
Jud did her first house party after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. At that party, she sold crafts made by women in Afghanistan to help them and to promote peace. The party was such a success that Jud knew the concept was a hit. She says Rising International now has a waiting list and is doing parties everywhere from lower income households to high-end mansions. Though she has concentrated in California, she is happy to help others across the U.S. set up similar fair trade house party ventures.
Rajib Acharya, who represents more than 200 artisan families in Nepal, says the house parties and other fair trade arrangements, not only helps artisans feed their families, but can be put toward building workplaces, establishing free health care clinics, developing out of school programs for youth and funding adult literacy programs.
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Rising International: carmel@risinginternational.org: 831-429-5995
Fair Trade Resources:
Fair Trade Certified: This label appears on coffee, tea and cocoa/chocolate. www.transfair.org
Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (Bonn, Germany): is the hub of the movement, working to create a single label. Europe is far ahead of the U.S. in fair trade; coffee, tea, cocoa, bananas, sugar, honey, and orange juice are on store shelves there. www.fairtrade.net
Fair Trade Federation: an association of wholesalers, retailers and producers committed to building the fair trade economy. www.fairtradefederation.org
Fair Trade Resource Network: works to raise awareness, disseminates data about fair trade. www.fairtraderesource.org
International Federation for Alternative Trade (Oxon, UK): global network of 158 fair trade organizations in 50 countries. www.ifat.org
Rainforest Alliance Certified: this label does not denote fair trade, but identifies cocoa, coffee, oranges and bananas that have been grown to strict social and environmental criteria. www.rainforest-alliance.org
Rugmark: handwoven carpets are mostly made in Nepal, India and Pakistan where child labor is an enormous problem. Some children are sold into slavery by impoverished parents. Rugs that bear the Rugmark label are guaranteed child labor-free. www.rugmark.org
TransFair USA: monitoring organization certifies fair trade goods; provides information on where to find fair trade products. www.transfairusa.org
Excerpted FROM Co-op America Quarterly, a SustainableBusiness.com Content Partner
ensures the way we import or export goods is based firmly on the principles of economic and social justice – it provides a way to guarantee our purchases help, rather than harm, those involved in the production cycle. Says Jonathan Rosenthal, co-founder of the fair trade coffee company Equal Exchange, “Fair Trade businesses are here to explore what it means to be of service. Business in our society has lost the notion that it should do more than create wealth and move goods back and forth. It should be of service to the greater society.”
“For thousands of artisans and farmers around the world, Fair Trade means the difference between being able to send their children to school or not, being able to afford to buy eyeglasses, or get immunization shots, being able to access clean drinking water – and so many basic necessities we take for granted,” says Chris O’Brien, Co-op America Business Network managing director.
The Fair Trade Federation estimates that to date, people around the world have spent around $500 million on fair trade products.
What is Fair Trade?
Under conventional trade, the race for profit drives companies to minimize costs by exploiting workers and the environment. Fair Trade is based on the principle of putting workers and the environment first, while still working in a healthy business model. Businesses committed to fair trade agree to adhere to the following criteria:
* products are sourced from businesses that allow workers a large degree of self-determination;
* products are purchased at “living wage” prices
* producers receive assistance in environmentally responsible practices, such as organic farming or using recycled materials.
* fair trade businesses operate transparently and commit to educating the public about fair trade.
* fair trade companies agree to respect and preserve the cultural identity of their producers.
Fair Trade House Parties
Tucked into the mountains of Nepal, just north of Kathmandu, are tiny villages where women artisans work late into the chilly nights making patterned, handwoven wool shawls. With access to these villages limited by terrain and political turmoil, these women have almost no way to get to markets and sell their shawls for far less than they are worth.
When Carmel Jud of Santa Cruz, CA. learned about these women, she knew she could help. In early 2002, she founded Rising International, which specializes in selling crafts made by artisans form remote parts of the world at fair trade house parties. A typical party – which operates much like a Tupperware party – consists of 20 people and a speaker from one of the countries where the crafts are made. Participants discuss trade and living conditions in other countries, while the crafts are on display for sale.
Rising imports a variety of crafts, including beaded jewelry from Costa Rica; pillow cases and wall hangings from India; shawls from Indonesia; and prayer wheels, sacred statues, jewelry and shawls from Nepal. “I love the fair trade concept, but I really see a lack of awareness among most people,” Jud says. “So I used my marketing expertise to spread the word.”
Rising obtains crafts through a fair trade importer or by working directly with producers. To access the villages north of Kathmandu, for example, she hired a young man who climbed into the mountains and brought out their shawls. Rising pays a fair price for the crafts up front – before they are made.
Jud, who owned her own advertising business for 17 years, likens what she is doing to what Avon does with cosmetics; “Avon has about three million women selling stuff. Our goal is to have 3 million women selling to benefit the poorest women in the world. And I think that is going to make the biggest impact on fair trade. It’s very doable based on the results so far.”
Jud did her first house party after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. At that party, she sold crafts made by women in Afghanistan to help them and to promote peace. The party was such a success that Jud knew the concept was a hit. She says Rising International now has a waiting list and is doing parties everywhere from lower income households to high-end mansions. Though she has concentrated in California, she is happy to help others across the U.S. set up similar fair trade house party ventures.
Rajib Acharya, who represents more than 200 artisan families in Nepal, says the house parties and other fair trade arrangements, not only helps artisans feed their families, but can be put toward building workplaces, establishing free health care clinics, developing out of school programs for youth and funding adult literacy programs.
++++
Rising International: carmel@risinginternational.org: 831-429-5995
Fair Trade Resources:
Fair Trade Certified: This label appears on coffee, tea and cocoa/chocolate. www.transfair.org
Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (Bonn, Germany): is the hub of the movement, working to create a single label. Europe is far ahead of the U.S. in fair trade; coffee, tea, cocoa, bananas, sugar, honey, and orange juice are on store shelves there. www.fairtrade.net
Fair Trade Federation: an association of wholesalers, retailers and producers committed to building the fair trade economy. www.fairtradefederation.org
Fair Trade Resource Network: works to raise awareness, disseminates data about fair trade. www.fairtraderesource.org
International Federation for Alternative Trade (Oxon, UK): global network of 158 fair trade organizations in 50 countries. www.ifat.org
Rainforest Alliance Certified: this label does not denote fair trade, but identifies cocoa, coffee, oranges and bananas that have been grown to strict social and environmental criteria. www.rainforest-alliance.org
Rugmark: handwoven carpets are mostly made in Nepal, India and Pakistan where child labor is an enormous problem. Some children are sold into slavery by impoverished parents. Rugs that bear the Rugmark label are guaranteed child labor-free. www.rugmark.org
TransFair USA: monitoring organization certifies fair trade goods; provides information on where to find fair trade products. www.transfairusa.org
Excerpted FROM Co-op America Quarterly, a SustainableBusiness.com Content Partner
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