Celebrate World Fair Trade Day!
It’s probably a pretty fair assumption that most EcoSpheric Blog readers aren’t interested in supporting sweatshop labor, but tracking down the origin of each product you consider purchasing is time consuming and difficult.
If you had the time to research the products in your home, and the materials that go into making each item, you’d probably be appalled to learn of the extent to which they are produced in sweatshops or even by slave labor.
Widely used household items guilty of this legacy include everything from t-shirts to dress clothes to jewelry, home goods – including furniture and decorative items, and foods – including chocolate, coffee, sugar and spices.
Today is World Fair Trade Day, a time for Americans across the country to find out how to replace goods made in sweatshops with Fair Trade products- and keep them out.
World Fair Trade Day national campaign coordinator, and Executive Director, Fair Trade Resource Network Jeff Goldman, said: “There are lots of reasons to celebrate Fair Trade as we bring dignity and justice to millions of vulnerable farmers and artisans around the world. By committing to use Fair Trade goods at home, we can enjoy high quality and take action to improve our world.
The Fair Trade system helps producers and suppliers earn a living wage and take steps to protect the environment. It also serves to empower individuals and communities, support the rights of women and children, promote dignity and respect, and connect developing nations with developed nations and markets.
5 TIPS TO FAIR TRADE YOUR HOME
- Purchase Fair Trade Coffee, Tea, Sugar, and Cocoa: When conventionally purchased, these popular food items are often grown in “sweatshops in the fields.” Buying them Fair Trade Certified™ means that farmers are being paid a fair wage and communities are being supported.
- Purchase Fair Trade clothes – from t-shirts, to shoes to dresses, there is beautiful Fair Trade clothing from all over the world made by artisans who are paid a living wage.
- Buy Fair Trade Home goods – plates, tablecloths, and even furniture can be purchased Fair Trade.
- Buy Fair Trade handicrafts – from vases to sculptures to rugs – Fair Trade artisans produce beautiful crafts. And, when you purchase them from Fair Trade organizations, you know that no child labor or sweatshops were involved.
- Gift Fair Trade – You can purchase Fair Trade toys for kids, sculptures for adults, and chocolate for everyone on your list. When you gift Fair Trade, you are giving a high quality product and introducing someone to the value of purchasing Fair Trade every day.