Fair Trade Products Online

Buying fair trade products online is the simplest, most direct, and most effective way to make an impact on equitable trade relations between our culture and other cultures. Thankfully after centuries of abusive economic relationships between more advanced societies and lesser developed ones a group of people have gotten together to provide alternative economic relationships between markets.

We here at Kewlthreads.com are making a small effort to give publicity to fair trade vendors. In the “departments” links to the far left you’ll find links to various shops and products made around the world who have agreed to adhere to fair trade standards in their regions. I hope you’ll poke around and find something you like. There are some beautiful jeans, hoodies, and dresses we’ve tracked down, and we’re actively seeking more great products to broaden our offerings.

What Is Fair Trade?

Fair trade is a commitment by people in developed economies to engage markets and producers in less developed economies on a level playing field. It is also a commitment on behalf of producers to treat their employees in manner respecfully – providing safe, clean, healthy working environments and paying a living wage for the goods produced. It is a commitment for managers to turn their backs on abusive relationships with employees in which labor was considered sub-human and expendible.

How Is Fair Trade Organized?

Fair trade is organized regionally under the umbrella of a series of loosely organized international groups. One group is called FINE – where each of the letters stands for one of the four major fair trade organizations (two international and two European groups). The four majors collaborate together to form and ensure standards, understand and agree upon principles, and to initiate political movement internationally. As one might expect there is also a broad US-Canadian group, as well as a “grassroots” volunteer organization that focus on development and awareness of fair trade principles and markets in North American and European at the town/local level.

How Does Fair Trade Benefit Me? Why Should I Care?

Perhaps you did not have the blessing of a great grandmother with 100 years of wisdom as I did, but I can share the most important lesson she taught here grandchildren. It was the golden rule, and she insisted we follow it: DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE DONE UNTO YOU. The simple elegance of that wisdom has been so lost on society for millenia. Yes, you’ll find those words from the lips of Jesus in the Christian Bible but certainly folks of other cultures will find similar wisdom in their respective scriptures. Is this not reason enough for you? Consider then an alternative scenario: imagine a world in which you are living in a third world country and you are watching your family starve, your siblings beaten in the stall next to you while you work in 130 degree clothing workshops with no breaks and 18 hour shifts.

Think it doesn’t happen? How many stories have we heard of celebrities and major corporations being humiliated after undercover investigations have revealed the abominal working conditions in “cheap expendible labor” countries such as China, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand. These modern day slaves make your shoes, your shirts, your sunglasses, and your fancy phones. What’s worse? You as consumer DON’T SEE A PENNY OF THE SAVINGS FROM CHEAP LABOR. Instead, those same powers that extract the maximum amount of product from the minimum amount of wages use that same economic leverage to see to it that you pay the MAXIMUM PRICE based on the goods and services REAL value, not the “discount price” based on the labor savings from outsourced sweatshops.

Are You a Shareholder of One of These Manufacturing Companies? STILL Think It Doesn’t Matter?

You couldn’t be more wrong. As if it weren’t bad enough that economic leverage is used against developing nations AND consumers in modern economies… at least as a shareholder in one of these corporations I get a “piece of the action” from corporate profits, right? WRONG! Rather than pass on savings to shareholders in the form of raised dividends or earnings, or increased investment, the trustees of shareholder wealth (the executives and boards of directors) instead award themselves ASTOUNDING salaries, bonuses, and well below market value stock options – not only enriching themselves with stolen labor, but also STEALTHLY STEALING YOUR WEALTH BY OWNERSHIP DILUTION!

Still think Fair Trade isn’t important to you? Think again. Maybe it’s time to shop fair trade.