One world: Fair trade principles are green by nature
Angela Labrecque -- Home Accents Today, 9/28/2010 11:19:01 PM
FAIR TRADE PRINCIPLES and ecofriendly products seem to almost always go hand-in-hand.
At some level, it makes sense that those concerned with providing a living wage to people residing in third world countries are also likely to be concerned with preserving the environment as well. Both the World Fair Trade Organization and the Fair Trade Federation list environmental stewardship as a core principle.
On a more practical level, fair trade products are often eco-friendly because artisans generally use traditional materials and handcrafting methods that employ naturally occurring and easily renewable materials and little (or no) electricity.
 ONE THREAD FAIR TRADE One Thread Fair Trade’s Silver Linear pillow is constructed of 100% hand-loomed Indian silk with hand-appliqué work ($100). It features a poly or down feather insert and a hidden zipper. |
 HANDMADE EXPRESSIONS Handmade Expressions’ artisans hand-stitch patterned bands over 100% Indian cotton ($36). The piece is made with all-natural fibers and the company encourages its artisan-partners to use eco-friendly materials and methods whenever possible. |
Fair trade wages allow rural villagers from many countries to stay in their homes rather than moving to large cities to work in a mechanized factory - breaking up families and communities. Handmade Expressions' founder Manish Gupta said assembly line work is generally mindless and repetitive and does not allow skilled craftspeople to use their talents and abilities.
In large third-world cities, huge percentages of the population live in abject poverty. Gianna Driver, founder of Gianna Inc., said work is hard to find and women are often forced into prostitution to survive. City-based cooperatives train willing workers, giving them a marketable skill and the chance to escape the poverty cycle.
A growing number of consumers back in the wealthier Western world have begun actively searching for fair trade items. Not necessarily from a guilty conscience, but due to a new sense of connectedness and a respect for the values the artisans embody. These highly skilled practitioners of quickly disappearing arts imbue their goods with the dignity and beauty found only in authentic human-made articles.
This new widespread sense of global community seems to be driving the popularity of fair trade goods. The FTF said sales of fair trade products have "increased tremendously," estimating in its latest interim report that U.S. and Canadian sales grew by 102% between 2004 and 2007.
But there's no need to sacrifice style for the greater good; while these fair trade products retain the authentic, unique flavors of the cultures from which they spring, they are also designed with a modern aesthetic in mind.
 GIANNA Gianna’s three- and four-cornered stainless steel bowls were made with techniques once used to forge swords for the Royal Thai army. The bowls’ modern silhouettes wear a luxurious sheen but are dishwasher-safe ($60 to $80). |
 RONÉL JORDAAN Ronél Jordaan’s Pebble rug is made by painstakingly rubbing together wool fibers until they matt together and can be formed into river rock shapes that are then sewn to a backing. The artisans add different color wool fibers or even cotton or silk strands to create the marble effect. The rugs can be made to custom dimensions. |
One Thread Fair Trade, a decorative pillow vendor, offers consumers the ability to learn about the struggles and triumphs of the particular Indian woman who made each individual piece. A hand-signed tag on each pillow corresponds to a brief write-up on the company website about each artisan.
The company partners with Vijay Foundation Trust to train women living in the slums of India's Kadapa region. Through fair trade, these women are given a trade (tailoring) and the ability to change lives often heretofore marked with abuse, neglect and shame.
The pillow's silk fabric is handloomed, which uses no electricity and produces no carbon emissions. Mayura Kona, founder, said that the production of hand-loomed fabric also employs nine times more people, keeping struggling weaving villages afloat and bracing the entire local economy.
Handmade Expressions works with three artist cooperatives in the Rann Kala region of Northwest India, an area devastated by an earthquake in 2001.
The company supports the preservation of traditional needleand mirror-work techniques that are vanishing as the country industrializes. Handmade Expressions also advises artisans about Western tastes so their goods can compete with factory-made products on the open market.
Handmade Expressions' website features a video and extensive report on the Rann Kala artisans. The report says fair trade wages allowed the 2,500 artisans living in the region to rebuild their lives and villages.
Ronél Jordaan, a native of South Africa, started constructing home accessories from felted merino wool after retiring from a 28-year textile design career.
Her small Johannesburg, South Africa-based home business quickly grew to employ 40 women who have also mastered the ancient art of felting wool. The company helps employ more people by collaborating with three nearby artist co-operatives that provide wool sheeting, wire frames and knitting.
 WORLDWRAPPERS WorldWrappers’ partner artisan Mateo Cus hand-carved this decorative bowl out of rosewood ($55). He protects rainforest wood by using a single tree for many years and by using the scrap wood from logging operations. |
 CREATIVE WOMEN Creative Women’s Ribbed Natural table runner is constructed from 100% Ethiopian cotton and has silk ribbed stripes on its ends ($69). |
Ronél Jordaan places a great deal of emphasis on eco-friendly practices. The dyes are lead-free and meet European eco-standards. Waste water is recycled into organic gardens which provide food and salable goods for employees. Wool and bio-degradable soap are produced locally. And the company does not use the common chemical carbonization process to clean its wool.
Gianna Inc. partners with a village in Thailand well known for its metalwork. It used to make swords for the Royal Thai army. Now villagers hand-forge and hand-hammer stainless steel home accessories - using very minimal amounts of electricity.
Master metalworker Biak, and around 30 others, craft Gianna's stainless steel products. The entire village is centered on the task and nearly everyone pitches in on some level.
Driver said if the artisans didn't have this option, they and their families would either work in agriculture, which is seasonal and dependant on nature's vagaries, or travel to a city in hopes of finding work.
The company helps the group market its products to other international companies and also provides design advice for selling to a Western audience.
Creative Women works with several female-owned textile design studios in Ethiopia to produce hand-woven fabric tablecloths, table runners, placemats, throws, wraps and wall hangings.
Founder Ellen Dorsch said in a country with an estimated 18% HIV-positive rate, putting money in the hands of women gives them power over their own bodies, lives and families through self-sufficiency.
The Sabahar studio in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has 65 employees, about 85% of whom are women. In Ethiopia, men traditionally do the weaving, but nearly all of the sewers, spinners, growers and office staff are women.
The cotton and silk are grown and processed locally, while dyes are either natural or low-impact. Ethiopian cotton is very soft and has the added advantage of drying quickly. And, of course, hand-weaving consumes no electricity.
WorldWrappers and its Punta Gorda, Belize-based subsidiary, Belize Crafts, employ Mayan craftspeople - 70 women and a few men - to create embroidered goods, woven baskets and carved bowls.
The Maya face discrimination and poverty in modern Belize, although they are the original residents of the land. Founder Judy Bergsma said women have the additional disadvantage of their traditional role in Mayan culture as child-bearer and general workhorse.
Belize Crafts is 42% owned by the artisans and they are additionally paid fair wages up front for every piece they embroider. The company provides design advice and quality control as it encourages the continuation of traditional Mayan art forms.
Many of these fair trade companies work with several artisan groups from all over the world and not just the one highlighted here. See company websites (find them in our sources list on page 75) for more complete information.
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