Fair Trade Blog

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!

You’re an early bird. You’re already thinking about the holidays and gift giving.

Well, we’re definitely here to help you stay ahead. “I never shop this early for presents,” one of the customers said just the other day, “it sure is a good feeling.”

We’ve got delicate ornaments and unique handmade nativities to get you off to a good start.  Our online store is full of great gift ideas including jewelry, tableware, bath and body products, and lots more. 

And don’t forget our best seller, irresistible Arghand soaps in wonderful varieties.  

Keep shopping your good values!

That’s what is posted on a small sign outside the retail greenhouse in our village of Gays Mills, Wisconsin, where we live.

It’s not your usual come on for a retailer. If I said it to you as you passed our shop on the sidewalk, I would be rude and insenstive. Still, I chuckle to myself everytime I see it.

We live in a village of 625 and counting down — but that’s another blog post.  Anyway, if we want the greenhouse to stay open, we have to walk in and spend money, regularly.  The greenhouse owner knows that, and we know that, so that’s why that little sign is posted near his front door, and why I see it when we stop each spring and fall to buy plants. 

The same is true of any business, whether it’s down the steet from you or not.  The technologies of travel and information exchange have made new forms of community possible and real.  In many ways, the Fair Trade community would not be possible if not for speedy travel and instant communications.  It’s allowing me to talk to you, a member this particular community, even if I never met you before.  

But just because we have a global reach doesn’t mean we don’t need you to survive and thrive.  We have a little community too, it’s just spread out over four or five continents and we all have to support each other.

So, let’s take a look at that sign again: 

“Get in here and buy something!”

… and 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!

I can’t remember a time when people did not complain about the stress and commercialism of the holidays.  For certain people, I suppose that the last minute rush is part of the fun.  You know the kind — with a twinkle in their eye, they share the adventures of their last minute rush– including all their gift shopping.  

American consumer culture has wrapped itself in the 30 odd days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Any honest retail owner will tell you that the holidays make or break them every year. 

We are no different here at Driftless Fair Traders, but we do make a difference with our e-store.  Most of our shoppers know that they are not simply buying a present, they are choosing a gift with something special.  That’s why more and more people are doing nearly all their holiday shopping with us.  

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of helping one of our customers pick out gifts for everyone on her list.  It wasn’t a simple thing and she spent a good deal of time making her choices.  But when we were finished, she was beaming, not only because she had accomplished her goal, but because she loved the experience of shopping for gifts she felt good about giving.  “You have such beautiful things,” she said more than once.  

We want you to feel as good about where your gifts came from as you do about where they are going.  That’s why we shop as carefully as you do this time of year.  Everyone wants the act of giving to be special and we work hard to make it a more satisfying experience. 

We hope you will visit our e-store and keep shopping your good values!

Now you can add Fair Trade Flowers to your shopping list!  TransFair, the only Fair Trade certification organisation in the United States, now certifies producers of the roses you give on Valentine’s Day, or that fall bouquet for grandma’s house at Thanksgiving.

The transition to Fair Trade production by growers, mainly in Colombia, Kenya, and Ecuador, is a huge improvement for workers at large flower plantations.

Production to satisfy the 19.5 billion dollar cut flower and plant market is labor and chemical intensive.  Workers at non-certified plantations often suffer from repeated exposure to toxic insecticides and herbicides.  When the crush for holiday shipments is at it’s peak, workers can be forced to work up to 18 hours without overtime pay to deliver flowers in time for big days like Valentine’s Day. 

Did you know that 90 percent of all gift flowers purchased in the US are given to women and that most of the floriculture workers on Fair Trade plantations are women?  It’s a parallel that demands mention.

Fair Trade in flower production directly benefits the women who make it successful.  In additon to a living wage for all it’s workers, certification requires employee benefits including 12 weeks paid maternity leave and childcare. 

Certification also alleviates a heinous practice common in modern agriculture — exposing workers to toxic chemicals.  Floriculture is the most chemical intensive agricultural practice in the world.  Studies have found over half of flower plantation workers showed signs of chemcial poisoning in countries like Ecuador. 

Plantations engaged in Fair Trade commit to reducing chemical use and provide saftey measures for workers like protective clothing.  Organic practices are becoming more widely used, but since flowers are simply admired instead of consumed, the transition has been slow in taking root.  While organic practice has not even been tried in production of the most common crops like carnations and lillies, organic practices continue to spread.

Fair Trade Flowers are readily available.  FTD, 1-800-FLOWERS, and even Sam’s Club offer them online.  Grocery chains including GIANT Food Stores, King’s Super Markets, and Whole Foods Market, offer them in their Floral sections. 

So the next time you want to say something nice, say it with Fair Trade flowers!

Keep shopping your good values!

As easy as it would be for us as American’s to feel sorry for ourselves after last week’s near melt down of our financial foundation, most of us still have a paycheck, a safe place to work, and pretty nice place to go home to at the end of the day. 

It’s easy to forget that there are lots of places in the world where people have none of the things I just mentioned.   They get up wondering about their safety and how to meet their daily needs. 

In times like these, a little perspective is good for the soul. 

Our government is regularly using the “T” word — as in trillion dollars – to describe the amount of money it will take to bail us out of our current financial mess.   It’s a number that bears little resemblence to any reality in our daily lives.  So how much is that really?  If you stacked up a trillion pennies, the stack would reach past the moon to a height of 986,426 miles. 

Back here on earth, let’s compare a trillion dollars to the amount of money it takes to sustain a worker in say, Kenya.   The living wage in that country is somewhere between $5-10 per day — so a worker there might be able to sustain themselves for a month on the cash you have in your wallet or purse right now.  

The national hangover from the housing bubble and our financial crisis will pass, and while there is probably more pain ahead, it teaches us once again that just because we can live beyond our means for a time, doesn’t mean we should.  

Shopping is not on many people’s minds in these tense days of serious financial reconsideration,  but we’re here when you want to join hands with artisans around the world to change the world – one purchase at a time. 

I just ran across the term “passive consumption” this morning.  Being a wordsmith from way back, it struck me as the perfect term for how we as Americans do so much of our shopping.  How many times have you been on autopilot when buying — guided only by lowest price, or easy access?   I plead guilty!  

It’s so easy to forget how much power we have.  Americans consume more products than any other country in the world.  I would think we would want to drive that constant tidal wave of spending dollars toward the greater good rather than what is easiest or cheapest.  

Active consumption, of course, implies effort.  Exactly right!  You have to get off the beaten path, read labels, think about the choice you are making when you buy a loaf of bread or a pair of shoes.  

Fortunately, it’s getting easier to make more informed decisions without lots of research and leg work.  Green products and Fair Trade products are more available than ever before.  Chain stores like Whole Foods and  Starbucks are bringing thousands of organic, sustainable, and Fair Trade products to the market.  Local retailers, like us, are filling in the gaps and expanding the shopping consciousness.  

Finally, I’ll offer my one step challenge.   Sometimes we have to walk before we can run.   So, I challenge you to change just one item that you normally consume.   Change your coffee, look for the locally produced honey, or find that new blouse by shopping Fair Trade online.  

Change happens one step at a time, so let me know how it’s going.  Put yourself one step closer to becoming a truly “active” consumer.

Keep shopping your good values! 

People are increasingly shopping with their principals as well as their pocketbooks in mind.  It’s not always easy to match your values with the places you shop or the things you buy.  We live in a fast paced and complex world.  It’s hard to keep up with what’s available and the busineses that provide them. 

There are tools that can help.   One great example, (one I use myself) is the Fair Trade Federation.   Not only does their website have current information about fair trade, but you can search for specific fair trade products under their “Find Products” heading on their homepage.

Want someone you can empathize with?  WalletMouth (Aptly named, don’t you think?), maintained by Bronwyn Ximm, documents her personal struggle to put her money where her mouth is.  The conversational way she presents information and tools she has tested herself makes this folksy site fun and valuable.  My favorite is her “Buycotts & Boycotts” section.

For a more interactive experience, check out dotherightthing.com.  Here you can help rate businesses on their social responsibility by submitting news articles about specific companies.  Visitors to the site rank the importance of the news and companies get a rating.   Currently, their top rated company is Seventh Generation, maker of green household products.  

In this political season the big issues are on everyone’s mind — global warming, the environment, social justice, and lately, race relations. We all get reminded more and more that our purchases count — they have an impact.  I want to know how you are making a difference with your pocketbook.  Drop us a comment on this post.

Of course, we are here to help you with new spring arrivals.  We look forward to seeing you in the shop and online. 

Keep shopping your good values!

Kile