Fair Trade Blog

Is Fair Trade accountable?   Can you trust that when you buy from us, the product you recieve is Fair Trade?  The short answer is yes, though the big picture is more complicated.  

The items we carry come from all over the world and it would be impossible for me to track them all.  That’s why certification organizations like the Fair Trade Labeling Organizations International are so important.

FLO International certifies mostly agricultural producers and workers through 20 certification organizations that joined forces in 2004 to synchronize standards and represent under a single recognizable brand. 

You probably recognize this logo from quite a few Fair Trade products. If you want to view some other Fair Trade logos to look for, check out this Wikipedia entry.

We obtain products primarily through members of the Fair Trade Federation.  That group requires their members to go through an application process that focuses on their Fair Trade practices.  When we offer FTF member products like our colorful blouses from Minga Fair Trade Imports, we can channel that trust to you our customers. 

Unfortunately, there are occasional abuses. Workers may not be paid the standard wages, or products may be labeled as Fair Trade when they are not.  Some unscrupulous behavior is inevitable, but it is light years ahead of a system that generally embraces the bottom line over any other concern.  

Sometimes we decide that we can’t wait for, or don’t need, certification to partner with a cooperative.  We contacted Arghand Cooperative on the suggestion of a customer.  Though they are not certified by any organization, we felt we had to connect you to their wonderful soaps and oils so that this foothold of stability and economic progress in Afghanistan can endure. 

Trust, yet verify, someone once said.   Well, we’re doing both.   

Keep shopping your good values! 

You’ve heard the old saying, “Follow the money.”  In today’s global markets, that’s often hard to do.  

While the American media struggles with the notion of whether or not we are in a recession, cautious consumers are looking at their spending with more skepticism.   They want to know where their dollars are flowing.

So, we all find ourselves thinking more about how we spend.  Not just because we want to use less of them, but because we have all become more aware of how the flow of dollars impacts so many people in the rest of the world.  Most of the money we spend on gas goes to a foreign country while more and more of the money we spend on manufactured goods goes to Asia. 

In many cases, though, we don’t know where our dollars go once they leave our hands.   The Fair Trade system adds transperency to the flow of dollars by setting standards that ensure those dollars make it into the hands of producers and artisans, not the hands of middlemen, brokers, sweatshop owners, or bottom-line retailers.  

Driftless Fair Traders connects you to the flow of your dollars.   A purchase in our store means that money flows to places like Kenya, Afghanistan, Ecuador, and to hard-working artisans right here in the USA.  

New body oils from Arghand Cooperative in Afghanistan punctuates my point.  Rather than succumb to working the poppy trade or depending on the fragile and uncertain local economy, a small group of artisans makes wonderful body oil from local treasures like wild almond and pomegranate oils and sells it here in North America.  When you buy their body oil, you can see where the money goes. 

We can tell you where every item in our store was made and who ultimately benefits from your purchase.   Try finding that out in your average Big Box store.  

Keep shopping your good values!