Fair Trade Blog

My heart rose into my throat as I read the latest notes from the field, penned by Arghand Cooperative’s Jennie Green after her recent trip to Afghanistan. The challenges Arghand has faced in the last few months have nearly undone a venture that I support and respect.

I want to do more to support them. So, Arghand soap will be featured with a discount from Friday, November 27th through Thursday, December 24th.   I’ll take for a little less to make your holiday shopping more affordable in the hope that you will buy a little more of their wonderful product.   

Arghand has always had it’s share of challenges, but not as overwhelming as the ones they have just worked through.

The Canadians had recently withdrawn their consent to ship Arghand products through their APO.  As Jennie prepared to go to Kandahar to help find a way to ship out a backlog of supply, three men in the cooperative confronted Sarah Chayes, the founder, about deteriorating safety in Kandahar.  Since the corrupt election in August, resurgence of the Taliban (who are now blending with the local populace), and renewed violence, they had decided the danger of working for Arghand had become too great.

As always, the Taliban had it in for those Afghans who were known to collaborate with foreigners, or worked for the government, and the daily reports of murders kidnappings, suicide attacks and bomb blasts became especially worrisome when the victims started to be neighbors and friends – Jennie Green

They wanted to dissolve the cooperative and distribute the assets evenly among the members, so that they could take their nest eggs and begin again, perhaps in a safer places, even Pakistan.

After many days of painful discussion, Sarah and Jennie convinced the three men to stay on at the cooperative as they put it into “survival mode.”  For six months the cooperative will be operating at reduced capacity as they attempt to remain under the radar and hope for the situation to improve. 

We have a growing history with Arghand since we started carrying their soap in the fall of 2007.  You’ve helped us provide income for them as we continue to reorder.  More than a dozen Afghans, mostly women, are supported, at least in part, by Arghand. 

Jennie assures me there is plenty of supply for the holidays, thanks to the backlog that had built up before shipping resumed.  We just got another box with all of their soap varieties and more pebbles are on the way. 

We badly want to succeed.  We don’t want to surrender our years of hard work to a sinister enterprise. – Jennie Green

They have not surrendered.  As long as Arghand survives, I know there is hope for the Afghans. 

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!

Arghand Cooperative, maker of wonderful soaps, body oils, and scarves in Afghanistan, is once again facing a big challenge. So many of you have purchased their products, so I thought you would appreciate an update.

Until recently, the Canadian Military was allowing the cooperative to use their postal service at Kandahar Air Field to deliver product to North America.  Suddenly, they shut down that option without explanation.  The cooperative has been scrambling to find an alternative.  Word is they have uncovered some promising leads.

Unfortunately, hundreds of packages of Pebbles (my favorite item) are waiting in Kandahar for a way to our store and others.  That’s why they are currently unavailable on our website.  We still have plenty of single pieces in great varieties like Desert Fields and Pomegranate.

The good news is that the solar power system, so long in coming, is up and running! The 14 members of the cooperative are no longer at the mercy of the local power grid, so they can run their oil presses and other equipment whenever needed.  This means Arghand will be able to produce body oils again.

Here are a couple of photos.  On the right are the new solar panels on the roof.  On the left, Abd Al-Ahad and Bacha work on the installation.

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!

Keep shopping your good values.

Last fall I was lamenting to a friend and customer about the state of the economy. He said he didn’t think it had anything to do with the amount of money available, but everything to do with the velocity of money.

I understood what he meant right away. There is still money out there. Lots of it, in fact.  The country is awash in stimulus money from residential energy grants, to new infrastructure projects, to cash for clunkers, and that’s just the tip of the pile. 

Main Street needs it’s share of that new money.  As an accelerator of dollars, there is none better than your local downtown businesses. For every $100 spent, about $63 gets recycled through local hands like yours and mine.  

That’s the beauty of the program known as the 3/50 project.  It’s brilliantly simple.  Think of three independently-owned businesses that you would miss if they closed.   Stop at each one and say hello while you pick up something that will make someone smile. 

If you spend a total of just $50 at three independently-owned businesses each month you can help keep them open.  If just half of all the employed in the U.S. spent that much each month it means local businesses would benefit from $42.6 billion in revenue. 

We’re all getting back to basics and there’s nothing more basic than local brick and mortar.  Don’t forget to visit the one’s near you.

Keep shopping your good values!

It’s hard to mistake with it’s huge slightly fuzzy looking leaves and sturdy, sour stems. Because Rhubarb is unique, we decided to name our new store after it.

Last week we threw open the doors on our newest retail space that features food, gifts, and artisan works from the Driftless Region. Our new place is right next to Driftless Fair Traders in the Hotel Fortney. It wasn’t easy to round up all the great products we currently have, but there are more, and we’re working to offer all the best of our region.  

Since Driftless Fair Traders has a global focus, we started thinking about what we could do to promote the local economy.  Our area is rich in agricultural and artistic heritage, so we decided to bring it all together in a celebration of our area.  

Kickapoo Coffee is just one of our great products.  They were awarded a high rating in Consumer Reports last year among Fair Trade coffees.  Their roastery is just down the road from our store.  We have cans of their robust and fragrant whole beans. 

Sweet Prairie Farm honey products is another local line we are completely excited about.  They’re located in the little town of Coon Valley just a half and hour from here.   Their honey cremes and body care products have us all buzzing. 

Leslie from SpinDrift Weavers just brought in a basket of her handspun yarn from her sheep herd.  We chatted about a customer that bought one of her handmade scarves this last weekend.  There are so many wonderful stories behind all of our local finds. 

If you stop by, you can also pick up LuSa Organics soaps and body care items, Papa Pat’s Farmhouse Recipe jams, soups, and pancack mixes, Martha’s Hot Mustard, and Potter’s Crackers. 

Rhubarb merchandize isn’t available online yet, but one day soon, you’ll be able to order a little taste of the Driftless Region no matter where you are!

I’ll bet a lot of you wonder what our name is all about. Fair Trade you understand, but “Driftless?” After living here for over five years, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the region in which I live is quite unique.

We have a stunning new poster that shares our distinctive area with photos and graphics by Rick LaMartina.  Most of each sale goes to the Crawford Stewardship Project,  a group focuses on preserving the natural integrity of the Driftless Region.

Some 10,000 years ago, retreating glaciers left behind silt, clay, gravel, and boulders which filled in the features they had covered. This fill is called “drift” and turned much of the Midwest into flat land and rolling hills. 

Our region of the Midwest proved to be an obstacle for the advancing ice, and the glaciers slid around this region.  Untouched by grinding layers of ice, our home was left with deep river valleys, majestic bluffs, rock outcroppings, springs, and caves. The Kickapoo River, which runs past our front yard, is thought to be one of the oldest rivers in the world. 

Not only is the craggy, distinguished face of the Driftless Region special, but the underlying rock turns out to be unique as well. Karst is a type of limestone bedrock that has been made permeable by the action of acidic rainwater.  Over thousands of years, the slow erosion of rain water has produced a complex network of channels, caves, tunnels, shafts, and other features.  Underground water circulates quickly in the Driftless rock — up to 300 feet per day compared to a few feet in other types of rock layers.

The porous nature of the region makes it fragile.  Pollutants and bacteria can migrate quickly into wells and springs, collecting in areas used for drinking water. 

That’s why more and more people are taking up the cause of preserving our unique environment.

Keep shopping your good values!

Patricia Lewis, who lives with her canine companion in Canada, has been a good customer. We share a passion for the Arghand Cooperative, which I have written about in the space many times. Patricia started by buying their distinctive soaps from us. Just recently, she bought Arghand scarves that we first began offering earlier this spring.

I ask her to send me some thoughts about her recent purchase and this is what she had to say. 

Discerning shopper?  Travel the world and find the same stores, same malls, selling the same merchandise you find in your local mall at home?  Handcrafted treasures are increasingly going the way of the dinosaur, now pretty much in the stages of the polar bear — threatened.  Cheaper mass-produced, often synthetic assembly-line goods are taking their place.  Our culture, one that clearly embraces uniqueness and individuality, is also disappearing. Doesn’t have to be entirely so.

Make a statement with your purchasing power — support handcrafted treasures made by traditional methods that date back to antiquity, at the same time fuelling little economies that enable people to live self-sufficently and also pass down their dignified crafts to the next generations, who can also take pride in their talents, works of art, and honest labours. 

Celebrate your lovely new purchase and wear it smartly.

Buy smart, dress smart. I like that. Thanks, Patricia.

Keep shopping your good values!

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!