Fair Trade Blog

What is the status of fair trade in Haiti? I’ve been wondering that for the last couple of weeks after the shock of the initial earthquake crisis subsided.

Since then, reports have been trickling in from organizations that work with artisans there. They report no deaths, but some injuries among those that work in fair trade. However, development has been dramatically set back.  Homes and workshops have been destroyed along with tools and materials. 

SERRV’s partner in Haiti, Comite Artisanal Haitien, reports that they do not know when rebuilding will begin.  Most Haitiens are still trying to build some stability back into their daily lives.   Last week, SERRV sent it’s first shipment of material relief including tents, blankets, and toiletries to meet immediate needs. 

We have some beautitul items from Haiti — painted metal geckos and fascinating wall hangings cut from oil drum metal.  Stone carvings, clay nativities, and other items are also made there.  Don’t forget Haitian Mangos which you can sometimes find at the grocery. 

Don’t be offended or angry if you see these items on sale on our site or other fair trade sites.  These items had already been purchased from the artisans for a fair price.  Your purchases will sustain demand and interest, so that the artisans can produce more for the market.

With your purchase of Haitian crafts, we can help support long-term relief for Haiti.

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The news that Haiti had been hit by a devastating earthquake wrenched my heart. If ever there was a less prepared or deserving country for that kind of trauma, it is Haiti.

As far back as I can remember, Haiti has never gotten a break. I remember clearly when President Clinton sent in troops because the country was literally falling apart and military intervention was the only way to try to pull it back together.  Since then it has been hit by four hurricanes in a row in 2006 and recently suffered political turmoil when Parliment threw out it’s corrupt president. 

About 200 years ago, Haiti liberated itself from the French through a slave uprising, but has been an impoverished nation ever since.   Despite numerous, generous aid efforts, Haiti has never been able to pull itself up.  In the past decade, economic growth has fallen into negative territory, though it had been more stable recently. 

Even those in the Fair Trade community have looked at Haiti and shaken their heads with a helpless feeling.  Late last year I talked to a woman doing mission work there.  She wanted to start a woman’s knitting cooperative.  On the day she had set for a meeting, dozens of women trekked up a hill to a small house looking for work, but they had so few resources, she did not know if they would be able to get a cooperative off the ground.  Many of them had needs much more basic than getting work.  Some had not eaten in days. 

A wholesaler I work with also told me that he had been considering a visit to Haiti to investigate starting businesses there.  But he said he was hestitant because he has been told by others there are simply no resources to make hand crafts.  The once lush, green countryside has been more than 90 percent deforested.  

Now a quake has left the country without infrustructure even to support the distubution of aid. 

As I read about the millions pouring into disaster relief, donating dollars feels like an empty gesture.  Haitians don’t need money right now.  They need food, water, stability, and hope — things I can not bring them just by opening my wallet.  Later, the survivors will need my donations to rebuild, but not now.

Perhaps, all I can do right now is pray and push my government to send the things that will make a difference – supplies, heavy equipment, and people power.

No year is without its challenges. In 2009, we challenged ourselves to open a new shop (Rhubarb), to expand our Fair Trade business, and to meet more of you, our customers. We did that and then some! I even went to Ecuador on an educational trip earlier in the year.

We consider ourselves blessed to have grown our business.  But, it’s not easy to appreciate our growth with so many hurting from the sick economy.  

I had the privilege of taking a customer’s order for gift cards over the phone a few days ago.  She said she appreciated our store and thought it was quite lovely.  I hear that sometimes and it warms my heart.  What she said next, though, made me really think.   ”Thanks for being part of the solution,” she said.    

Part of the solution…  It’s particullarly easy this time of year to focus on a day or a week or a holiday that’s literally around the corner.   But as the new year approaches it’s also time to reflect on who and what we are, and how we want to manifest the gifts we are given. 

So, although I don’t often sit around thinking about how we are changing the world, it’s nice when someone reminds me that I’m trying to be part of a solution and not part of a problem.

I am going to ponder that as we take our winter’s rest.  We’ll be closing the store for a few weeks starting December 24th.  It’s time to visit family and friends to make sure they know how special they are in our lives.  (Most of them live much further south than us, which is a nice little perk.)  

We’ll be back and open for business on January, 15th, 2010.  See you then, and in the meantime…

Keep shopping your good values!

Congratulations! You are making a difference!

Flying in the face of a global recession, you grew the Fair Trade business last year. In the U.S., sales of Fair Trade Certified products gew by 10 percent, according to the Fair Trade Foundation in the United Kingdom.

We weren’t even the strongest supporters of Fair Trade. Consumers in Australia and New Zealand spent 72 percent more on Fair Trade products, the highest of any group. Canada increased spending by 67 percent and seven countries increased spending by more than 50 percent. The Brits spent 43 percent more and exceeded the U.S. in spending for the first time.  

What were you buying with all that money? Tea sales rocketed up by 112 percent, cotton products rose by 94 percent, and coffee gained 14 percent in sales.  

Most importantly, how many were you helping by spending dollars to support sustainable production, living wages, and community building? At the end of last year, there were 746 Fair Trade Certified producer organizations representing over a million and a half farmers and workers.  

Good job!

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Spring.  Time for the new.  Time to clear out the not so new. 

Ten turns of beads and bangles!   These Kenyan bracelets wrap your wrist in color.

Bright and shiny.  Silver earrings made in Chile to add a little sparkle in just the right places!

Intriguing Haitian wall hangings.  Each time you look at the Voodoo art design, cut and shaped from reclaimed oil drums, you’ll see something slightly different. 

Clothing on sale.  All of our blouses are discounted!  Need something cool and breezy this season?  How about a colorful top from Ecuador? 

Keep shopping your good values!

Mother’s Day is upon us once again, so many of you are thinking about what to give your mother this weekend that will delight and honor her. Well, I ran across this from Maureen Mackey of the Portland Green Living Examiner.

Her list of ten ways to honor your mother and Mother Earth.

1. Give her that old standby, a bouquet of flowers, but look for the VeriFlora logo that indicates the flowers were sustainably grown. You can find VeriFlora blooms at flower shops and grocery stores, including New Seasons, Safeway, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.

2. Don’t forget that other time-tested Mom favorite, chocolate, but search for fair trade chocolate at your favorite chocolate shop or grocery store.

3. Give her house, or even one room, an eco-friendly Spring Cleaning with green cleaners.

4. Plant a tree in her honor.

5. Show Mother Earth you appreicate her beautiful nature by walking or bike riding.

6. Go see the movie Earth, which celebrates our planet and the creatures who live on it. Look for local theaters and showtimes here.

7.  Buy her fair-trade jewelry, so she knows her adornments were crafted sustainably and the artisans who created it were treated fairly.

8. Visit a Farmer’s Market to buy locally-produced food.

9. Buy your mother fruit or vegetable starts and offer to help her plant them.

10. Consider becoming a Zoo Patron to suppport wildlife conservation. 

Happy Mother’s Day!

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Working with artisans to create new designs for fresh products was one of the great opportunities I had while in Ecuador last January.

We met with many providers in their homes to work on new pieces. While in Otavalo, we treked up a hill on the edge of town to meet with a family that makes jewelry from tagua nut, seeds, and other natural materials.  Christopher, my host, calls their pieces Jungle Jewelry.   The pieces are bright and bold, and sometimes have sophisticated designs.

Both slight, with classic Otavalan features, the couple presented their latest samples for us to study.  After looking at the new designs, lively collaboration began to develop.  Mandy, a college student from Michigan, and Gabriele, one of our guides, graciously agreed to be our models and we began decorating them with piece after piece.

Sample pieces evolve into better designs for a variety of reasons.  Sometimes, slight changes can make a piece more comfortable or practical to wear.  Occasionally, a piece can be changed slightly to make it more exciting or attractive.  At that particular meeting, we began to play with the idea of using Tagua discs with varying cutout shapes as elements in necklaces and bracelets.  That discussion resulted in intriguing new designs for a whole matching set including earrings.

All this hard work benefits everyone involved.  As we were leaving the couple’s home, tired, but eager to see the new samples we had developed, Christopher, pointed out that they had added onto their modest home for their growing family.

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Watching tagua go from scruffy looking nuts to beautiful carved animals was one of the unforgettable experiences I had in Ecuador. 

In Washington’s workshop in a little village near Montecristi, I watched as a proud little elephant emerged from the single nut he picked from a loose pile against a cement block wall.  

In his shop, which employs several people and supports Washington’s family, there are several stations with grinding and polishing tools. At each station, the carvings are carefully shaped and manicured into beautiful, but unique, perfection.

First he cut the top and bottom off the nearly 3-inch traingular shaped nut.  The solid white flesh was exposed as he took the squared off nut to a grinding station.  Quickly and skillfully, Washington held the nut against the grinding wheel to begin to give it a shape.   The hump of the back emerged, then the head, followed by the legs.  Last, the beginnings of a trunk poked out of the head.  He held it up so that we could see, while explaining what he was doing.

Next he took the newborn tagua elephant to a polishing wheel. After grinding, the surface of the elephant was grainy and dull.  Achieving the glossy finish of the final product took several polishing steps.  Washington continued to work on the elephant by polishing away the rough edges and further refining the shape of our new little friend. 

After taking off the rough spots, Washington took out his portable drill and began scoring details into the surface.  Then he drilled small holed for the tusks. 

Finally, our little elephant went to the last station.  Here, one of Washington’s workers continued the polishing process.  The little elephant was polished several times with finer and finer sand paper on the wheel. 

At last, just as in real life, our elephant got little tusks which had been shined on the same wheel. 

It all took less than twenty minutes, but was certainly more involved than I would have imagined.  There is much more work required than we saw.  The nuts have to be collected by liberating them from massive fruit pods that look like a giant spiny clutch of eggs.  

Washington is one of the most skilled tagua carvers in Ecuador.  We’ll be featuring some of his work soon! 

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I’ve only seen one side of Fair Trade in action — the retail side.   It’s a narrow perspective, if you want to really understand Fair Trade, like I do. 

The starting point of Fair Trade is just as important as the end point.  So, I’m off to Ecuador at the end of the month to see Fair Trade from where it starts.  I’ll be traveling on an educational trip from Dec. 31 to Jan. 15 with Minga Fair Trade International, a Fair Trade wholesaler here in Wisconsin.  

Fair Trade products most often come from cooperatives.  I’m most excited about seeing a few of these cooperatives up close.  It will also be my first opportunity to talk to producers about their process and how Fair Trade operates in their lives. 

We have been carrying Minga’s handmade clothing, and other items for over 2 years now.  Their handmade wool sweaters, gloves, hats, mittens, and other warm apperal has been popular with you, our customers.  I’m hoping to see how Alpaca fur goes from the llama to the socks or the hat, before it ends up on your head or feet!   

We’ll be staying in Quito, the capital of Ecuador.  Quito rests at over 9,000 feet at the foot of Mount Pichincha, an active volcano.  The climate is very mild and stable because of it’s elevation and proximity to the equator.  (Ecuador means equator in spanish.)  The landscape alone will be like nothing I have ever see, the culture like nothing I have ever experienced. 

I’ll be writing about my trip and bringing you photos in this space.  I may even be able to update you while I’m there.  And when I come back, I’ll be wiser and better able to bring you the stories of Fair Trade.

Keep shopping your good values!

We’ve decided to move, but not far!

If I look to the left from our desk and register, I can see the great new space we are moving into in early January.  Retail stores don’t usually take such short hop when they move, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity.  When the lobby space of the historic Hotel Fortney opened up, we jumped at the chance to move into the grand old rooms facing Main Street.

In the meantime, we’ve relocated some of our beautifully distinctive Tropical Salvage furniture and we’re dressing the place up with local arts and crafts until our official change of address in a few weeks.  We have jewelry, painted ornaments, paintings, woodcarving, and more clever work to offer through Christmas Eve.

Spreading into the new space before moving out of the old has been a challenge, but thanks to some volunteer efforts, we are displaying in the old and new just in time for our annual Friends and Family Sale Saturday, Dec. 6.  

Check out the photo of one of our new windows painted by local artist Sandra Berger.  You can see all her window paintings through the holidays. 

Peace Dove art in window of Hotel Fortney.

Our location is changing, but our mission is not.  We will continue to offer fairly traded goods that you can feel good about purchasing for yourself, or giving to others. Come and visit us while we make the transition.  

Keep shopping your good values!