Afgnaistan is part of the orginal “hippy trail” and has a great history of textiles, arts and crafts. But war and conflict have meant that in modern times it’s become a difficult place to visit, and Afghan products like handmade textiles, clothing and accessories are difficult to find in the West, compared to those from other countries in Asia. From The Source are working with Zardozi, an Afghan non-governmental organisation, to bring fair trade products to the UK and enable women in Aghanistan to generate income through skilled work. Fair Trade in Afghanistan can help tackle poverty, empower women and gennerate sustainable and long term international economic relationships built on trust and respect.

We currently have a range of beautiful, hand-embroidered cases and bags from Zardozi in Afganistan available online, and are planning to bring on new lines of fair trade products from Afghanistan this year. The fabric glasses cases with zangeera (“chain stitch”) embroiderey are particularly stunning!

Bringing small products such as these to the international market is a step towards building new relationships with Afghanistan and helping people to overcome poverty in conflict-affected areas.

read more about Zardozi on our blog

From The Source is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Fair Trade has been a hugely successful campaign that has proved resilient to the recession, unlike the organic movement. According to the Fairtrade Foundation UK sales of Fairtrade products exceeded £1.3 billion in 2011, a 12% increase on 2010. And these figures only include Fairtrade “agricultural” products certified under the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO), they don’t include figures for gifts and handicrafts that are certified by the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO), like the gifts Fairwind sells.

So why has it been so successful? Well apart from the general change in attitudes in the UK as people become more aware of international issues and the sourcing of products, it must be because fairly traded products are good. No-one buys a product unless they feel a benefit from doing so! And fairly traded products are no more expensive than other good quality products.

Certainly Fair Trade gifts are stunning these days. Not only are they beautifully handmade but they are made for our markets. UK Fair Trade organisations work with producers in the developing world to design products that use traditional skills to make well-designed products that we all want to buy here in the UK.

So what is a fair trade gift?

If you buy a gift from a member of the British Association of Fair Trade Shops (BAFTS) or WFTO then you can be sure of 10 key things, the 10 Principles of Fair Trade:

1. Fair Trade creates opportunities for ecomically disadvantaged producers, enabling them to move from income insecurity and poverty to economic self-sufficiency and ownership.
2. Management and commercial relationships are transparent, relevant information is provided to all trading partners in open and honest relationships.
3. Fair trading practices ensure that profit is not maximised at the expense of marginalised producers. Long term relationships based on solidarity, trust and mutual respect are developed between producers and buyers. Advance interest-free payments are made for all orders, of at least 50%, to ensure that producers are not out of pocket and can meet their obligations.
4. A fair price is always paid for products. This means that a mutually agreeable price is set that is socially acceptable in the producer’s country and which takes into account equal pay for all workers and supports capacity building and investment by the producer.
5. No child labour or forced labour is used to make fair trade products. This doesn’t mean that the children of family producers don’t help out in the business, but it does ensure they are safe, go to school and are not exploited.
6. Producers do not discriminate against existing and prospective employees based on race, caste, national origin, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, union membership, political affiliation, HIV/Aids status or age.
7. Good working conditions are provided for all workers. This doesn’t just mean a safe and healthy workplace but also ensure working hours and holidays are reasonable.
8. Producers are given support, training and advice to help them invest in their businesses and grow.
9. Fair Trade retailers and importers are passionate about Fair Trade and will try to raise awareness of Fair Trade and international trade issues wherever they can. Fair Trade is not a marketing gimmick for BAFTS and WFTO members, it is a true belief in the right way to do business.
10. Fair Trade organisations respect the environment by using raw materials from sustainably managed sources wherever possible and by minimising energy consumption as much as possible. The impact of waste is minimised through recycling and responsible disposal.

Fair Trade has changed many lives in the developing world and we hope to bring you some heart warming examples over the next few weeks. Women in particular have benefitted from Fair Trade as it opens up equal opportunities for them and gives them independence and confidence. Children get to go to school and have access to healthcare which raises their life expectancy and education levels such that the whole country starts to benefit over time.

The future of developing countries lies in Fair Trade not aid, creating independence and prosperity from grass roots levels, thus bringing change.

Buy fair trade gifts at http://www.fairwindonline.com/

Fairwind is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Part of the This Stuff Matters Campaign by ethicTrade

What is a sweatshop?

A sweatshop is a term with strong negative connotations for a place of production, usually a factory, where employees work for very low wages and for very long hours. Minimum wage laws are usually ignored and child labour often utilised.

Aren’t sweatshops a thing of the past?

Unfortunately not. Whilst there was a sharp decline in sweatshops during the 1950s, they are now more prevalent than ever and are still on the increase. This is largely because many companies – and not just the large multi-nationals – are manufacturing their products in less economically developed countries where they can ‘employ’ very cheap labour with minimal fear of reprisals. By lowering manufacturing costs they are able to market their end-products to consumers at more competitive retail prices whilst simultaneously increasing their profit margins.

Who are the workers?

According to feminist.org, 90% of people who work in sweatshops are women, and most of these are between the ages of 15 and 22. Their wages of the equivalent of 7-25 pence per hour are nowhere near enough to meet the cost of living. There has been a lot of evidence that suggests women in sweatshops are often subjected to sexual harassment and corporal punishment by their male bosses. Very often they are not even allowed to take toilet breaks few breaks during the 10, 12 or even 14 hour shift. Unpaid overtime, unsafe working conditions, no annual holiday and no maternity leave completes the picture.

Why do they work there?

Frequently these women have been tempted in to signing working contracts with the company in return for promises of a better life in a foreign country like the USA. They are even so convinced that working for this company will improve their lives that they pay the company initial fees to be allowed to work for them! Because they earn so little money it can often take years of working for zero pay to settle this debt with the company.

What must we do?

Buy fair trade. Fair trade products are not limited to just coffee and bananas, though obviously these are good too. With a tiny bit of effort, you can buy your clothing, toys, gifts and home furnishings all from companies that have proven themselves to have an ethical supply chain. This will leave you free to boycott those companies that still use sweatshop production.

Ethictrade LLP is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

By supporting small scale farming, traditional weaving and natural dyeing, fair trade scarves are making a real difference to the lives of women and rural communities in Laos.

From The Source specialise in quality handmade scarves made from natural fabrics, and in an age of fast fashion and faceless high street shops, aim to connect consumers with the people that make the products they buy. The latest range of handwoven cotton scarves by From The Source are truly unique and have a lovely handmade feel, and making them is offering new opportunties for women in Laos and helping to provide sustainable rural development.

In Laos there are great traditions of raising cotton and silk on small scale farms, and using locally available plants to produce natural dyes for fabrics. However, some agricultural development in Laos is threatening this small scale farming and local biodiversity, as commercial crops such as corn and rubber are being promoted as a way to generate more income from farming. This is completely changing local agriculture patterns and livelihoods, and threatening to wipe out many of the raw materials for Lao handicrafts. In some areas it is increasingly difficult to find villages that are raising silk and growing cotton, and there is evidence that new industrial crops are causing environmental problems like landslides and flashfloods because of clear cutting and the use of tractors to plough hillsides.

By increasing the demand for Lao handicrafts and textiles, From The Source enable more people to earn an income in rural Laos from textile production, and offer opportunities for skilled paid employment, especially for women. By supporting the traditional crafts of weaving and natural dyeing, the negative impacts of the introduction of large scale commercial crops in Laos may be limited.

From The Source encourage organic farming practices and are working towards organic certification for cotton products from Laos. By supporting small scale farming, traditional weaving and natural dyes fair trade scarves are making a real difference to the lives of people in Laos. However, none of this is possible unless the designs are what people want to wear – Check out the current range online:

organic cotton scarves for women and men

From The Source is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Celebrating one year of successful trading on 9^th March, fashion brand Boys&Girls, known for their vibrant and urban range of children’s clothing, have announced their involvement in 2012 Fairtrade Fortnight, running from 27^th February to 11^th March.

Boys&Girls have provided outfits from their Fairtrade range to the local Crystal Palace, London Fairtrade, and Belmont Junior School in Durham, both staging fashion shows for Fairtrade Fortnight. Outfits have been provided for six models of each show and include the iconic Star T-Shirts and vests from their Fairtrade range.

The theme of this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight’s campaign – Take a Step – aims to encourage the public to think about the little things they could do on a daily basis to improve the lives of workers in the developing world who produce the goods they buy. From tea parties and food tastings to fashion shows, talks and films, nearly 8,000 steps have been registered so far, against a target of 1.5 million steps by the end of 2012.

Kati Martin, brand director at Boys&Girls, comments: “Getting involved in Fairtrade in Schools is a wonderful opportunity to show kids and parents alike that doing the right thing doesn’t have to be dry and boring, nor take a lot of efforts. We all can contribute to build a fairer world, and this should be learnt from an early age.”

Boys&Girls pride themselves to only use 100% GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) and FLO (Fairtrade Labelling Organisations) certified cottons for their collections, and to display the Fairtrade Mark on an increasing part of their range. They aim to only sell fairtrade clothes as soon as their order quantities are large enough to get them through FLO Certified dye houses.

Kati adds: “We really hope this year will be a success. We are extremely keen to become a fully Fairtrade certified business, and only the public’s demand can help us achieve this.”

Boys&Girls is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

For two weeks each year, The Fairtrade Foundation runs a campaign to raise awareness of fairtrade; introduce the concept to people who aren’t familiar with it, and try to encourage consumers to think about where the products they buy have come from. If you aren’t aware of Fairtrade Fortnight, which this year is 27th February – 11th March, you can read more about it here.

This year, they are encouraging us all to ‘Take a Step’ for fair trade. The step you take can be switching to fair trade coffee, running a fundraising event for the Foundation, or just showing off your Fairtrade sticker to promote the cause. We’d encourage you to have a think about anything you can do to take a step for fair trade in the next few weeks!

But at this time of economic hardship for the UK as a whole, can the average consumer genuinely take a step for fair trade in any real sense? It’s great to put up a sticker, promote the movement and get people thinking, but at the end of the day there needs to be a wholesale swtich to fairly traded goods being the norm….doesn’t there?

Well, yes. Of course, that would be ideal, and our aim here at ethicTrade is to make ethically produced products the norm in the general marketplace rather than the exception. But as the old adage goes, “The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.” (Please note, we do not condone the consumption of elephants in any way!) We often hear that fairly traded goods are always more expensive and – whilst consumers would love to buy them – money is tight and they just can’t afford it.

Well firstly, I’m pleased to say that not everyone considers this to be so. Research conducted in 2010, just as the recession was starting to bite, found that sales of Fairtrade goods had risen by 40% to an estimated retail value of over £1 billion compared to 2009. On top of this, there are now over 500 Fairtrade towns in the UK, including our own partner Chesham 4 Fair Trade, and over 70,000 registered Fairtrade campaigners. So even in a recession, it seems clear that people are still becoming increasingly aware of where their purchases come from and the people that produce them.

Secondly, one of our aims is to break the perception that ethical products are necessarily more expensive. Take one of our men’s beanie hats. These cost you £8.99 – a standard high street price for a beanie hat – and are as ethical as it gets, made by skilled artisans in Nepal who are paid a fair price for their goods and use that income to supplement their lives as subsistence farmers. You can find hundreds more examples of great value, ethical products on our ethical shopping website.

Our other aim is to start widening consumers’ understanding about the type of products that you can buy ethically. We promote over 700 products and none of them are coffee, tea or chocolate! There really is a huge range of homeware, gifts, jewellery, clothing, stationery and crafts out there that have been ethically produced and are helping to lift people out of poverty.

So is fair trade realistic in a recession? Most definitely. Lots of people clearly think it is as demonstrated by the study mentioned above, and with just about every product you could want available ethically at a good price, there really is no excuse!

So once you’ve been to http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/ and taken a step there, why not have a look at ethicTrade.com, and see if you can take just one step more….

Ethictrade LLP is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Here at ethicTrade we think our mums are special. Then again, who doesn’t? That’s why every year, we come up with a fantastic range of ethical and fair trade gift ideas that you can purchase right from ethictrade.com.

We also think the people around the world who design and produce the lovely things we give our mums also deserve a break. That’s why we only buy from projects, cooperatives and companies who pay a fair price to their workers, don’t exploit them in any way, and provide clean and safe working conditions.

Just take a look at some of the moving stories behind the fair trade gifts ethicTrade sells.

Here are our Top 10 hot picks from 2012’s Mother’s Day Gift Range:

‘Carnaby Scarf’- A beautiful, muted stripe, eco friendly, bamboo scarf

‘Bamboozle Knee High Socks’ – Incredibly comfortable bamboo socks in a range of exciting colours

Citrus Scented Oil and Salts Gift Set -  A gorgeous bath gift set made with Fairtrade sugars

One of our bestsellers: ‘The World of Streetfood’ Recipe Book

Gifts for less than a tenner, like these great little Scented Candle Tins in a choice of four fragrances

Has your mum got a good sense of humour? Then she’ll love this funny ‘Diet Rules’ apron!

Or how about this classy square table platter – perfect for that beautifully presented dining table

We’ve got a huge range of high quality knitwear too, like this ‘Villarica’ Chullo Hat in a choice of designs

Or these matching gloves

And there are beautiful handmade knitted jumpers too, like this Chamonix Hoody

Mother’s Day in 2012 is on 18th March. Don’t be late!

Ethictrade LLP is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Fair trade retailer, Accessory Fair, is proud to announce that their new website has now been launched.

With a growing range of fair trade bags, hats, scarves, bracelets and necklaces – Accessory Fair aims to build an increasingly wide selection of bags and accessories that are not only fair trade, but also stylish and great value for money.

Visit us at http://www.accessoryfair.co.uk and see how we can help you provide those wonderful finishing touches to your outfit in an ethical way.

All the best – and happy fair trade shopping,

Colin.

Accessory Fair is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

How fair is fair trade?

With Fair Trade Fortnight fast approaching we thought we would try to answer some of the questions that often come up about fair trade. There are plenty of fair trade facts on the internet but what is a fair trade?

There is a lot of confusion about what fair trade is about and we often get asked “What does fair trade do?” Many people confuse it with the organic and environmental movements and while they may recognise the fair trade logo on a banana and realise that it’s a good thing, many people still do not understand who benefits from fair trade.

Fair trade in a nutshell

Fair trade is about people. It’s as simple as that. Fair trade arose from the unfair international trading practices that meant that small producers in the developing world were being paid far too little for their products. Producers such as coffee farmers were being paid less than the cost of production as the international prices were so low. This meant that they were working hard but losing money, unable to send their children to school or get medical care or even feed them adequately.

Fair trade guarantees sustainable prices and better working conditions. In return for receiving a minimum price for their goods, producers must meet certain social, economic and environmental requirements that ensure the sustainable and fair development of their organisations and workers. The minimum price is set in consultation with producers and can never be less than the market price.

A premium is often paid over and above the minimum price and this extra money is used to invest in social, environmental and economic developmental projects that the producers wish to pursue.

So while consideration is given to environmental issues, the over-riding purpose of fair trade is to improve lives.

Fair trade certification

There are 2 main certification organisations recognized in the world:

1              Fairtrade Labelling Organization (FLO). The Fairtrade Foundation is the UK member of the FLO and it works with businesses, civil society organisations and individuals to improve the position of producer organisations in the developing world and to help them achieve sustainable improvements for their members and their communities. Certification and product labelling (through the FAIRTRADE Mark) are their primary tools. The backing of organisations of producers and consumers as a citizen’s movement for change is fundamental and integral to their work. They mainly deal with commodity products such as coffee, sugar, bananas and cotton.

2              World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO). This fair trade certification system takes a slightly different approach to the FLO and so covers a wider variety of products, such as gifts and handicrafts. Provided a producer or manufacturer can meet the 10 fair trade principles (go to http://www.wfto.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2&Itemid=14 to view them), a producer is certified as fair trade no matter what he makes. By committing to poverty reduction, fair trading and prices, no child labour and more, the producers get access to western markets which they would normally be unable to reach. The accredited member could be a UK importer, Indian manufacturer or social enterprise in any developing country. The UK representative of WFTO is the British Association for Fair Trade Shops (BAFTS).

Fair trade and the UK consumer

Fair trade is doing well in the UK and fair trade sales continue to grow in spite of the recession. Fair trade for the consumer is not about consuming more, but about taking the fair trade option. If you are going to buy some coffee, a gift or a cotton t-shirt choose the fair trade option where it is available.

Fairtrade Fortnight 2012 (27^th February to 11^th March) is about taking a step for fair trade. This means swapping your brands for Fairtrade brands at home, school or at work. Whether it’s tea, coffee, gifts, clothing or sweets, there are fair trade brands available. And by buying them you really can make a difference to someone’s life.

For more information go to www.wfto.com and www.fairtrade.org.uk.

Fairwind is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

A recent report by Ipsos MORI for UNICEF UK has highlighted that children in the UK are being drawn into a materialistic culture because they don’t spend enough time with their families.

According to a recent research, although parents in the UK are committed to their children, they don’t have enough time to spend with them due to long working hours. To make up for this, they end up treating them to new clothes and toys, which the charity claims affects their relationship with material items.

For online retailer Boys&Girls, treating your children to new clothes could be turned into a more meaningful experience. Instead of buying into labels, try buying fair trade clothing. This will give you the opportunity to teach your kids about where their clothes come from and how they are produced, giving them a greater understanding of the world they live in. This will help them be kinder to their peers, and could also positively affect their buying choices in the future.

Buying organic children clothes will also give you the chance to make your children aware of serious issues whilst treating them. You could explain the impact of chemicals on the environment but also on the workers who make their clothes, or teach them about ecosystems and global warming too.

And to make more free time for your little ones, why not try online shopping rather than dragging them round the shops? You can fit it in after they’ve gone to bed, and to make it even easier, most retailers can deliver to the address of your choice, like an office, so you don’t have to be at home to receive them.

If you would like to treat your children to organic and fairly traded cool children clothes, visit Boys&Girls online today.

Boys&Girls is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more