Fair Trade products
The range of Fair Trade products currently available to us is amazing. When I first started to create this page I had the goal of providing and entry for each one of them... but soon I realized that it was a daunting task, largely exceeding my capabilities (sigh). So I have left it to an affordable size, quoting a few products from a few providers with a website to be linked...
However, what remains untouched is the motivation behind my support for Fair Trade: to know that the very same product which you may hold in your own hands was also hold in the hands of the artisan who actually crafted it. Bear this in mind the next time you visit your World Shop; remember that it has passed from Southern to Northern persons, in a Fair way.
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| crafting products in Chile. Photo from Comparte |
In this page I try to gather items that you can find on any World Shop as long as they are not food; if you are looking for edible stuff, please have a look at this other page.
To do a little history, Fair Trade started back in 1946 with some puerto rican crafts...
Well, to be true, the crafters back then were not aware that their handicrafts, carried to the U.S.A. by Edna Ruth Byler would give birth to this global movement we lovely support today. Time has passed and Fair Trade crafters and NGOs now offer a really large assortment of items: furniture (even made of FSC certified wood!), photo frames and albums, clocks, jewelry, sports balls, carpets, handbags, baskets...
Most of the Fair Trade products are made with natural materials: cotton, wood, stone, bone... so they have a nice and smooth texture and do not harm Nature, neither when crafted nor when disposed.
What counts most (at least, to me) is that artisans, trough Fair Trade, can make a living on their work and offer proudly their craftmanship to the world. Their pieces usually show their unique cultural inheritance, which we may consider a benefit to us, in sharp contrast with the globalized mass production we may find everywhere today. Crafters usually lack any land and many of them are women who raise their children and do their crafts at home, sometimes in slums around large cities.
Finally, remember that these products convey both the work of the producers and your will the change the world. Honour them doubly: as the result of their toil and as one more step to achieve your aspirations.
You may use the links below to read more about any product listed. Have fun ! (I promise I will be adding some more of them here as time permits).
bibsA Fair Trade mom? OK, then have a look at these bibs from Zimbabwe, where some working mothers have joined efforts to raise their children forming Batsiranai. In their language, that translates as "helping each other" and they do so crafting some lovely items. |
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broochesAre you fond of sustainable development? Well, look at how physically disabled artisans from Bombolulu workshop, in the west coast of Kenya, recycle a Fanta can. They produce lots of other funny designs there with this kind of material: butterflies, elephants, cats... Worth paying a visit! | ||
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cosmeticsTo care your body as well as social justice. Fair Trade cosmetics can even be made of organic components, adding "respect to Nature" to their fragances. Those shown in the photo are made by Mujeres Microempresarias, a women association in northern and impoverished Argentina. |
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chopping boardsIf you set for some cooking, chances are that you need to chop something; then, what about one of these Fair Trade chopping boards? Made from "Smart Wood Alliance" certified Teakwood, which is sustainably grown forest in the Lake Izabal region of Guatemala. Made by a family of artisans, they are available from Global Exchange, a retailer in the USA from whom you may buy online, if you wish. | ||
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handbagsUsually made of natural fibers hued with vegetal dyes, there are many producers who offer ethnic and typical handbag designs. The one shown here is, however, somehow modern; it comes from Artesanato Solidario, in Brasil, and is made of ouricuri straw. Nice, isn't it?
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lampsHaven't you seen the light yet? |
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Well, Fair Trade products may help you with one of
these lamps; they are made in ceramic by
laptop sleevesIf you are surfing the web chances are that you have got a laptop computer. If this is the case, you may protect it with this beautiful laptop sleeve; nice, isn't it? This Fair Trade product is made by INEZA co-op of women from Rwanda, and available through Global Exchange. This co-op gathers women that have survived the war in their country, so you may support them this way. |
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sneakersIf you thought that all sneakers were made by large transnationals on their subcontracted sweatshops... you were wrong!
Simply have a look at this: FairDeal Trading offers their Ethletic series; the sole is made of latex obtained in Sri Lanka from a FSC certified tree plantation, i.e., it is a sustainably sourced vegetal rubber. The textile is done in Pakistan from another Fair Trade certified provider. Are we at the beginning of a new generation of Fair Trade products? Who could ask for more? If interested in this, try also Autonomie project; they offer quite similar Fair Trade sneakers | ||
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soapThis one is made with fine organic olive oil by Sindyanna, a co-operative of jewish and arab women in Palestine. They offer four varieties of Fair Trade soap: honey, lemon, Dead Sea mud, and milk; all of them are outstanding Fair Trade products, as it is rather unusual that communities otherwise in conflict, join efforts for a common work. BTW, they smell wonderfully and make an outstanding foam for shaving... |
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textilesIf you are planning to launch your own line of Fair Trade products, please take into account these outstanding kalamkari fabrics; the term refers to the indian technique of hand painting a cotton textile with a bamboo paintbrush. This is one of the many designs available from Baladarshan, a network of south India associations which support women in very difficult situations. |
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