Light on Fair Trade

Verifiable Fair Trade

2009-07-03T20:18:00Z

Looking for 'fair trade' items this Christmas- demand accountability. 'Fair Trade' risks becoming a meaningless term unless the public rises up and demands accountability. I have found the more people market 'fair trade' in their advertising, the less specifics are provided.

If someone claims to give back profits to those in need, then demand to know 'how much?' Private companies often do not want to say. There is more advertising value in just saying things and not offering any measureable quantities.

If someone says our workers are paid a 'fair wage', demand to know 'how much?'

If someone says our purses are made by polio and landmine victims, demand to know 'where?' Any reputable company would have the names readily available.

If we let labels take the place of verifiable information, then it is the very people at the bottom that will lose.

'Fair trade' runs the risk of just being another way to exploit the poor for extra profits.

The best organizations- those that benefit disadvantaged pepople the most, are those that are located in the countries where they work. This is the best way to guarantee the real source of their products.

Also- the best organizations- the ones that benefit the same people, are those companies who design their own products. It is these companies that are creating real opportunity and not just piggybacking off the efforts of others.

Trading with the poor is not a virtue. It is often done only for the reason that the price is low. Not demanding specific information just creates wide loopholes for business to exploit. This is not the way to protect the poor. This is just another form of exploitation.

The best way to make trade fair is to ask questions and demand verifiable specifics. This way workers will directly benefit from your efforts and oversight - and isn't that the goal?

Cambodia Struggles to Adapt

2009-03-18T15:41:00Z

Operating a company with over 300 workers in a third-world country has given me a comprehensive view of world economic problems. While people here stress about losing their possessions, people in Cambodia stress primarily about surviving.

Approximately 70,000 garment workers have lost their jobs. Baskets of Cambodia cut 55 staff after several years of double digit growth. The remaining staff have been put on notice that we are at the mercy of the West, where over spending and over leveraging has created a money vacuum, loss of jobs and lack of credit for the small businesses and individuals who buy our products.

We offered a severance bonus for those who wanted to return to their vfillages. None accepted- Instead the remaining makers all chose to accept less work and wait to see if conditions improve. In the meantime, we still provide for healthcare as needed. Last year there was no end in sight to the amount of work. Our makers did not spend their money wisely or save.It became clear that third world countries also need financial guidance as their educational systems are woefully inadequate. All they see in Cambodia is that corrupt , powerful people become rich. They have few good examples to look up to. That is why BOC is developing guidelines to educate our makers on the basics of savings, bank accounts and always protecting some of what they have earned.

Meanwhile, the government of Cambodia seems worried about social unrest as more than 1/4 of the people in Phnom Penh, the capital, work in garment factories and have never suffered a downturn. January orders were down a whopping 72% from same period last year and few orders are on the horizon.

For Baskets of Cambodia, it is not so bad, and in fact it gives us time to catch up on quality and design and build the foundation for future growth, but for those companies that depended on the loose supply of easy money, it appears that failure is likely for many.

What is interesting is that even while the main concern of our workers is survival, they are still grateful for the simplest things. In the West, the amount of angst and worry is huge when compared to that of Cambodia, where conditions are really much worse. Here there is no government safety net, no unemployment, no renegotiation of loans, no food stamps- simply put- no nothing- yet the people still seem to lead lives with a richness, and a positive outlook often just for having enough not to worry about for the next few days. If trouble arrives, they will adapt in what we see as harsh terms, but to them it is merely survival.

In short, we have the luxury of worrying. They don't. Also- they are grateful for what they have - no matter how little. It's probaby about time for the people here to entertain the same basic concept.

TY

The Future of 'Fair Trade'?

2008-12-31T19:26:00Z

http://www.jsonline.com/business/36811439.html

Just an example of using the term 'fair trade' but offering no specifics. Is this the future of 'fair trade' where everyone says they are OK but offer very little supporting information? This company may be great but it also shows how not insisting on specifics when the term 'fair trade' is used, it leaves the door open for potential abuse with the end result that vague standards become further watered down. Who needs specifics? I think they serve the interests of the workers more than anything.

TY

Fair Trade Wages in a Local Context

2008-12-10T18:21:00Z

Often wonder what actually constitutes a 'fair trade' wage? So do I , and I have been following well abive minum 'fair trade' standards since 1996. Shortly after I started I watched a acquaintence turn her company website into a quasi-fair trade site virtually overnight.
What was missing and what is usually missing from the majority of 'fair trade' sites, is any reference to the wage paid. The easy response to any reference to wages paid is that they are 'fair' in the local context. That could mean that if everyone else receives poor wages, you can bet that 'fair trade' wages will be close to the prevailing 'poor' wage.

This approach does not project or empower the workers. In a sense it is like wages are locked down, and as in a prison, have little room to move. Shouldn't the 'fair trade' marketing angle allow for a better return to the workers than the prevailing poverty wage? And If the wages were posted, wouldn't that be an easy way to really empower the workers by giving the consumers the ability to compare wages when they buy?

The 'Local Context' Wage

This oft abused term claims that there is an equivalent wage relative to the US dollar and US living standards. I just saw an article claim on Wikipedia that $.15 has $3 buying power in Guatamala!! I would be willing to wager anyone that this is not true. The same thing is said in Cambodia- It basically works like this- If you prefer sitting on the sidewalk eating cheap food out of a baggie, sharing a wood hut with scores of others, not being even acknowledged when you go to the hospital for treatment - then compare that to living in a 3 bedroom insulated house with running water and electricity, driving down to get the morning latte, .....you fill in the blanks. Simply put , the situations are not the same. You have the option of drinking out of the tap water- for them it is a very real risk.

So when you shop for 'fair trade' items, if you are satisfied with this term 'local context', you are basically disempowering those on the ground doing the work who have no real say in how their wages are set. That is because this term can be grossly misinterpreted. If 'fair trade' producers listed wages in actual dollar amounts, it would easy to compare, then at the very least the workers would be fairly represented and those who wanted the most of the purchase returned to the workers, would be able to do this. (Price of living differences between 'poor' countries could be factored if the difference is appreciable.) If 'fair trade' is going to be marketed as any commodity, then this information (like wages) must also be fairly traded.

A very average 900 SF 2 bedrm duplex with parking next to me in Cambodia rents for $1600. No you don't have to pay this much, but the less you pay, the less you get - A low rent $600-$750 apartment is about the same as in the Seattle area. The point is- there is no 'local context' . If they want a life anywhere close to ours, they have to pay for it- no matter where they are.

A Potential Solution? Wages should have an upward bias - above any preceived 'local context' arguments. Our goal should not be the norm.

TY

Baskets of Cambodia Purses Copied and sold for More Than Double the Price!

2008-11-27T21:18:00Z

Suite of Purses by Baskets of Cambodia

We know it is easier to copy another company than spend time with people in Cambodia actually developing fair trade product. We have been developing styles since 1996.

The COPY below is of a style designed and developed by Baskets of Cambodia in 2003. It is sold on eBay/Worldof Good "fair trade" site for $92! Baskets of Cambodia sells the real thing for under $40!!

see the convincing over priced copy at: http://worldofgood.ebay.com/viewItem?ItemId=310096302588 (UPDATE: LINK DISABLED DEC 1,2008 SHORTYLY AFTER WE EXPOSED THIS EGREGIOUS EXAMPLE! But we saved the picture below.) Companies that exploit the development efforts of others and then charge exhorbitant rates under the guise of 'fair trade' are doing a grave disservice to real ' fair trade' where products are developed in house, at company expense and sold at reasonable rates in order to encourage employment. If you like this style -
Call us at Baskets of Cambodia 1 866 774 8800 for the original quality..

We can refer you to a local retailer in your area where you can buy this purse at 1/2 this price or less and guarantee better prices for you AND better conditions for workers at the same time.

Or if there is no retailer in your area you can visit our website at www.saraye.com and compare for yourself. We also guarantee significantly higher quality in our purses and starting Friday, November 28 - free shipping.

THIS The lesser quality copy of our purse below is FOR $92! ??
Or take a look at the original design at the bottom of this page for less than $50.

Or you can buy one of the originals from Baskets of Cambodia (since 1996) in over 14 Color /Patterns
OR THIS -Average Retail Price- FOR $34-$50. ????
Call us for a retailer near you! Free shipping- Satisfaction Guaranteed.
See the Full Color Range @ www.saraye.com

NOTE: Consider this a shameless plug for Baskets of Cambodia products. You can't go wrong, but there is also a higher purpose; Support those companies that develop their own product. This is the real gift to the third world. Companies that source through brokers from a comfortable distance, are there mainly for easy profits- profits that are to the detriment of the companies that are paying the necessary costs of development. Without product developers, there would be very little to sell.

Auditing the 'Fair Trade' Workplace

2008-10-22T17:52:00Z

Making trade better for the actual workers is the best way to ensure good quality products- products people buy because they want to, as opposed to buying out of sympathy or guilt. 'Fair Trade' is always a work in progress. The idea that a label by itself is everything is a step above mere blind commerce, but getting to know the actual 'fair trade' company, it's character and practices really sends a much stronger message to those involved in 'fair trade'.

In practice, this strengthens the meaning behind the label. It gives the label life and prevents the label from resting upon the status quo. For example, my company in Cambodia paid well above market rates last year, but since that time inflation has been running as high as 22%. In this case, we need to adjust in order to prevent our 'fair trade' claims from stagnating.

At Baskets of Cambodia we are constantly facing new challenges. Our work force is in the range of 200-400 people depending on the time of year and the strength of sales. We pay significantly more than average for our products and because of our numbers, this creates potential problems by allowing room for a middle-man to interfere.

This could be in the form of someone taking orders to their village or house and paying others less to make the same product.

To deal with this problem, we are creating a database on all our workers that is constantly updated. With this database, our staff can do spot audits by visiting our workers independently at their place of work. By doing this we can minimize the potential for brokers, and ensure that everyone is paid according to company terms. This information is also made available for those involved in workers' welfare issues to audit.

We also compare production to what we feel an individual is capable of producing. Producing items of high quality and workmanship is the best way to make sure that children are not extensively involved in the production of our product. Low quality items inevitably attract children who generally work for free or next to nothing.

Any company, large or small should be able to do this, and any customer should be able to ask about the availability of this information. There exists an opportunity within 'fair trade' associated companies to ignore the facts on the ground and instead rely on brokers who of course, learn quickly to tell them what they want to hear.

When employed, this method exploits 'fair trade' for the advantage of easy profits.

Some companies are becoming larger, and sourcing from multiple locations. In many cases they have little direct contact with the worker but are overly anxious to keep everything purchased in the 'fair trade' category. This can easily lead to exploitation of both workers and the very concept of 'fair trade'.

At Baskets of Cambodia, we feel that constant introspection and oversight should be part of any 'fair trade' equation. 'Feel good' marketing can be as easy way of glossing over real 'fair trade' issues and can contribute to worker exploitation.

TY

Trip to Columbus Circle

2008-09-12T15:39:00Z

No trip to New York would be complete if on my way to the Met, I didn't stop by Whole Foods to see how the kiosk version of 'fair trade' was doing and to see if our products were still being copied, and sold there. (My company, Baskets of Cambodia started in Cambodia in 1996.)

Happily enough, I no longer saw cheap copies of our products sold and shamelessly marked 'fair trade and unique' - soma for the masses.

What I did see was interesting. At this World of Good kiosk, was a picture supplied by Baskets of Cambodia years ago and still in place. We had requested all our promotional material be removed from their promotional sites after having many of our purses rather ruthlessly copied. The rest of what I saw was also interesting; items clearly made in massive quantities- perhaps meant to be 'fair trade' tokens of sorts - maybe to serve as talismans for good luck, good karma, whatever.

Then above it all some glossy advertising for NCDP in Phnom Penh. (National Center for Disabled Persons) They are close to my house in Phnom Penh so I was quite interested. It was a great write-up - the same write-up World of Good was using in Atlanta - problem was nothing made by NCDP was actually being sold there.

Recently World of Good claimed they helped over 15,000 artisans although I think this claim has recently been pulled. It's kind of like me saying I am helping 15,000 Korean artisans when I buy a Hyundai; a wee bit misleading. At Baskets of Cambodia, we have over 300 people who work for us, and believe me our hands are full. I can't imagine being the General Motors of 'fair trade' - what that must be like.

But back to NCDP - whose products were nowhere in sight in either Atlanta or New York, but whose advertising was so prominent. NCDP is a small charity with recently between 30 and 40 people working for them so their output is not great. From the flyer on site, you would think they were a major supplier.

The items actually being sold by World of Good were clearly made is great quantities, yet there were no pictures featuring these obviously much larger operations than NCDP. The Fair Trade Federation sticker seemed to be on everything in sight, although World of Good stopped being a member sometime last year.

And there was this little picture of the smiling workers from Baskets of Cambodia, my company, even though we stopped selling to World of Good a few years back after blatant copies of our designs were being sold.

So the lesson appears to be - find large operations to make things you can call 'fair trade' - but at the same time find smaller operations where you can actually put the faces, the people in context, and use these to provide the feel good image. Sometimes the 'fair trade' pill can be a little hard to swallow. The lesson here is to add some sweetener in the form of companies or charities that can give your other operations more credence. World of Good has now joined with eBay on-line to further this concept and capture that 'fair trade' dollar.

TY

Zakaria and FAIR

2008-08-09T17:33:00Z

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3593

"Fairness and Accuracy in the Media" takes on the commentator Fareed Zakaria on one issue that confuses the the whole 'fair trade' perspective- the seeingly simplistic notion that all trade is good. If all trade is good and benefits the poor then it stands to reason that slavery if it benefits the poor is also acceptable. Who defines the floor? In fact, anyone can have standards that influence trade and should. That can and should be part of any trade equation. At the same time, his characterization of rich, priveleged brats protesting world trade has at least a grain of truth to it. Getting my coffee this morning. I thought it ironic that the local coffee store barista probably makes more on just tips in one hour than the people harvesting 'fair trade' coffee earn in a day.

It's too late now, but imagine if we had insisted on stringent trade and environmental standards at the start of China's resurgence? If done properly, we would have been seen as a positive force both for workers and the environment- a true friend, not just as American imperialists, opportunists. As it is, China assumes they have done all this on their own and forgets that we provided the market for which now we receive little respect. Without the western market to sell their products, they would be nowhere. Yet now it is too late to have real influence. We are now the weak ones for not standing up to our ideals, and the corrupt, ex-communists are the ones taking the credit.

TY

'Free Marketeers' Strike Back at Oxfam?

2008-08-05T04:08:00Z

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24125925-5005961,00.html

Desperately short on substantive facts, nonetheless this 'free market think tank' has filed a complaint in Australia over unfair 'fair trade' and says 'fair trade' does not lift people out of poverty. A complaint- against Oxfam, claiming false advertising. I have no inside information about Oxfam, although I believe there is an inherent risk of stagnation if mere basic standards of 'fair trade' are the goal. Part of 'fair trade' should include a plan for upward bias or growth to stimulate product development and positively affect those making product. Otherwise, the charge that 'fair trade' exploits the poor more than helps them will always have some weight, and there are many examples that could support this argument. As well, there are examples of progressive companies with an upward bias on wages that at least have things moving in the right direction.

Fashion Begins to Focus on Fair Trade/Organic/Recycled

2008-08-03T20:07:00Z

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/03/retail.fashion1

UK fashion trends shifts somewhat towards organic, ethically sourced, recycled materials. Focus is on higher quality.

TY

Global Envision a Division of Mercy Corps

2008-08-02T18:51:00Z

http://www.GlobalEnvision.org

A site that deals with global environmental and trade issues comprenhensively and intelligently. Perhaps the best I have seen so far. Although charitably funded, this site is long on facts and information, which naturally makes me inclined to actually donate. Although I am new to this site, it appears they are very serious about their mission- not just their advertising! Their approach to poverty alleviation is very well thought out.

The Life Worth $.50

2008-07-31T03:48:00Z

One of my first experiences with the realities of third-world living took place in our third year of business in 1998 in Cambodia. one of our best fine basket makers had a child, a baby boy and everyone was happy for her. She was and still is a productive and skilled basket weaver as well a mother of several children. On one visit I saw her with her infant boy and we joked as usual about everything- how difficult the baskets were to make, how many orders they could expect, etc. The next time I visited, not more than four months later, the baby was dead. Apparently the boy had a severe bout of diarrhea and by the time she took the child to the doctor, it was too late. My staff told me she was depressed months afterwards.

Since that time, my company decided to make a pointed effort to educate our makers to call on us if they were in need. The poor are not respected in Cambodia when they go to the doctor. The doctors want to work on rich people. Since that time we have accompanied scores of makers to the doctor for various reasons. They need an ombudsman to make sure they are treated properly. We also make sure that basic medicines are in stock and paid for should our makers need them. No other child has died in the last nine years, but the one child. I will remember him even though I saw him at the time as only another infant. He was and still is a symbol of how we failed. It was not enough to pay more than market prices as we were doing at the time. It takes more than that to escape the stigma of poverty. She was afraid it would be too expensive to go to the doctor and did not trust the system, and yet she didn't ask us for help either. The cost of the medicine was about $.50 but she had no idea about this either.

Since that time- at every meeting of our makers, we encourage our people to seek us out for help. Some are afraid they will lose their jobs and occasionally even our local staff can be unsympathetic or disinterested, but slowly this mindset is changing. This year we have funded four childbirths, a cesarean, 3 appendectomies, and a host of other maladies. One special case was a woman who was supported for 6 months during a bout of tuberculosis yet many maladies are as common as headaches, toothaches, ulcers, etc. As well, we are treating a woman for cysts on her ovaries which may require extensive surgery or it may not. She may have to go to Thailand for surgery if it turns out to be serious. We found a kind and respectful French oncologist who advised us not to rush surgery until the diagnosis is clear. Funding this type of care is entirely within my means and my company means. Yet- although we pay about 3x what is considered a 'fair' wage, this wage still does not support adequate medical care. It hasn't taken much but I now have the joy of watching healthy children develop each time our makers get together.

TY

3 Ways to Add Value to the "Gift" Fair Trade Label

2008-07-16T01:59:00Z

Emphasizing the following could transform the 'fair trade' label into something more meaningful.

1. Absolute Transparency

Publish exact locations and make your workers accessible to market conditions, including the names of your brokers. (Alternately, the 'fair trade' organization could keep the names of these brokers to monitor compliance.) List any claimed benefits to workers in detail or give exact dollar amounts.

Caveat- This demands an ethical business model based on respect for companies who create and develop. In other words, companies that are mere brokers of product must be careful of where they source, and how quickly they accept someone as 'fair trade'. Stamping someone 'fairtrade' who just copies another product eventually destroys the market and the label.

2. Upward Mobility

A safe salary should cover more than just the need for survival. A worker earning basic 'fair trade' rates could lose everything with just a small but serious medical problem. The label should encourage and distinguish companies that are able to move wages higher or cover medical expenses, or both. Higher wages help stimulate the local market much more efficiently than foreign aid, in many cases and are much less vulnerable to corruption. Higher wages also stimulate the classes necessary to encourage democratic reform. Rich countries should support this form of trade over all other because it helps build a popular democratic base as well.

3. Quality - An emphasis on quality over cheap handicraft.

This helps sustain an upward bias on wages and improves worker self esteem along with their bottom line.
Making cheap, easily duplicated handicraft offers little real future for workers, and in fact may encourage a downward bias on workers' welfare.

TY

More Noise from the UK about Children and the Rag Trade in India

2008-07-16T01:43:00Z

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/15/ethicalfashion.fashion

Finally, an out and out call for producers to list where exactly their product is made. This will keep some 'fair traders' scurrying for cover and hopefully will put well-intentioned others at ease that at last there is an effort in play for proof over condescending platitudinal nonsense. Easy quick and to-the-point article to read about how a brand was shocked by the actions of a broker in the third world!!! 'We made so much money off this guy, and sold our clothes so cheap and all the time he was using child labor in India.' (paraphrased) This man has to go, yet they insist it is impossible to keep track of everyone- well, not really, if you really want to know you can know. There is effort involved and you must be intimate with your locations. You cannot just source product and forget about it.

TY

Fifteen Ways to Scam Handicraft 'Fair Trade'

2008-07-06T04:39:00Z

Sometimes sarcasm combined with hyperbole can is an effective tool, and possibly therapeutic!! Let's hope.

1. USE POPULAR GUILT PRODUCING TERMS WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION   Use them all- eco, fair trade, organic - but never specific exactly what you mean by these. Never justify - just pretend you are so above justifying these terms as though it is an affront to your 'goodness'.   Never state anything categorically - just a liberal sprinkling of terms will do.

2. DETAILS  Imply everything but offer little of value. Make any seemingly important detail vaguely beautiful. If you use statistics, make them meaningless, and difficult if not impossible to verify. Who has the time?, and we know the 'fair trade' organizations are not adequately funded to followup. The perfect detail is the one that is difficult if you think about it - in detail.  Your details are meant to convey blind acceptance of what you claim and make 'doubting Thomas's' feel guilt for asking.

3. SALARIES Are you kdding? If someone actually knew what you paid, they may not see your 'fair trade' as so charitable afterall. Stay on track. Talking about salaries is considered impolite in 'fair trade' circles. Plus- If you are concerned about this, you may not be good 'fair trade' scammer material.

4. NEVER PUBLISH EXACT LOCATIONS 'Nike' does this but apparently 'fair trade' is way above this concept. Food items can be traced and payments verified, but handicraft production can be effectively hidden. Just mention a state in India with 150 million people. At the same time, don't hesitate to steal design ideas from those ethical companies that do publish locations. They just don't 'get it'.

5. CHARITY Yes do some, but advertise the heck out of it, and never give the actual price or value. Instead, couch your 'giving' as a percentage of profits or some other honest-sounding term that no one will ever really know. Describe any charitable works that you do in terms that make them appear much more expensive than they really are. For example- make digging a well sound like you're installing an entire water system in spite of the cost only being a few hundred dollars. Say you're supporting a new school in Timbuktoo after you drop off some used books. Also- create a 'charitable' foundation .org style- People kind of assume that everything you do is altruistic, which means you can charge more.

6. ASSOCIATIONS- Yes. Cozy up to whomever you can. Link to many 'fair trade' and charitable sites - can't hurt amd makes you look good by association.   Carry some products from a few companies that do practice an enlightened form of trade- Highlight these products in your advertising and on websites. Use 'fair trade' in your labels, whether or not you are a member. Promote a few good companies you buy from as examples; people tend to assume that everything you source follows 'fair trade' standards. End result- 'fair trade light' equals more money for you (and less for the workers but we'll touch on that later).

7.  USING A BROKER  (A broker is a local rep or businessperson (usually a native) who does the onsite sourcing and tells the locals who gets to do what.)   A must for avoiding any complications should anyone find out you may not be all you appear. Now you are 'supporting' development without actually developing anything.  Just as large companies can always scapegoat a few factories, a shady trader can always blame one of those pesky brokers that filled out the easy form you provided. You thought you were being so clear! Keep secret the fact that you buy from the same brokers as others who don't use the 'fair trade' label.

8. HELPING THE POOR Never complement the workers for working so damn cheap on your behalf. That could imply that maybe you don't pay as much as you should. Instead, keep it simple - say you are just helping the poor. Clearly, you hire them because they are poor, and because you are cheap, and how can you help the poor if you pay them enough so they are no longer poor? That defeats the system and we need to work together. We love poor people, - just as they are.

9.   PROFITS Say you donate a percentage of profits because people don't understand that even small corporations can expense virtually everything so that after everyone is paid with salary and bonuses, very little is left over. Then tell people you'll give back 10% of the pittance that is left. Most people will think you are talking about 10% of the sale because most people do not run corporations or businesses. Be a private company, and by using profits as a guide, you can claim privacy concerns and never reveal what your profits are!! You're good! Skip to the bank with the additional 90%!

10. ETHICS Give the appearance of ethics whenever possible. Make a big deal out of every little thing you do, but never submit to an actual ethical foundation. That could cut into your profits and bonuses. We love ethics. I mean without poorly informed but ethical people, who would buy from us? That is our target market - the poorly informed.

11. WORKERS Oh yeah, this can be problematic because the reality is most of them will never even know what 'fair trade' means. After all, you're rich and they're poor. If they're studying english, just knowing you will give them pause to look up the word 'fair', and scratch their head.

12. ENCOURAGE YOUR BROKERS NOT TO SPEAK TO STRANGERS   If the broker is new, he/she will do whatever you ask as long as you are a good customer. If they breach protocol, you must immediately feign suprise and indignation should they reveal any 'fair trade' inconsistencies. Distance yourself at least enough for show. You are also safely insulated from worker concerns like if someone gets deathly ill - although you still count all these workers as a statistic among the many thousands or people you claim to help. Forget about their names or medical or emergency needs. This is the broker's job, I think.

13. TRAINING Why should you spend significant funds training for new products if you can find a product another company has already developed at their own cost? You can talk about it- just don't do any. Just find a product to copy and throw it out to some poor neighborhood like you're feeding the birds. This takes next to no effort on your part. Then charge the same retail price as the company that has absorbed the cost of developing these products. Yell 'fair trade' and show the sign of the cross if someone calls foul.

14. QUALITY You're not selling quality. You're selling a feeling akin to giving someone a holy blessing - for blessing - your commercial activity. Just sprinkle some 'fair trade' angel dust in their face. But beware!- Emphasize quality and the workers will want more money and before you know it they may have a future and a high sense of self esteem. This is not compatible with poverty, and also cuts into 'fair trade' profits. After all if salaries moved up, what would be the future of 'fair trade'?

15. SLICK PACKAGING Now make slick promotional material to summarize all the above, and in your literature constantly stroke the ego of your potential buyer for their charity, their awareness, their absolute intelligence, insight, and compassion along with anything else that makes their heads spin - just keep them from dwelling on anything in particular. Then give them one more spin just for good measure until you have gained cult-like acceptance. Congratulations!If you have done your job properly, your buyers are now literally saving the world (in their minds), and you're making super profits from exorbitant markups on cheap handicraft.

GIVE BACK- Now is the time to be serious. You must give back- but remember a $100 donation can easily look like a $10,000 one if you describe things in glowing terms- I mean really glowing terms. This is why we learn english.   Make $500 seem like $50,000. Make a $1000 look like- well, if you 're talking $1000 you need to go back and work on your english - just go back and polish those descriptions and pocket this amount. If you can't produce a warm glow out of $500, hire a publicist.  Giving can be a great advertising value, just don't parse hairs over how much you give - You're giving. Bill Gates gives. You give. We all give. We give because we care. Nuff said.

God bless. Peace and love.

'Fair Trade' Charley

PS- Donations Warmly Welcomed
plus they are tax-deductible!

NEXT: A Serious Look at Transformation

Socialism, Globalization and Fair Trade

2008-06-24T07:06:00Z

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9431

Concludes that 'fair trade'cannot exist with capitalism. Good overview of 'fair trade'. The basic error in judgement is that it assumes something must be 100% effective to be effective, but makes interesting reading.

TY

More Healthy Debate from the UK

2008-06-22T00:10:00Z

http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/features/display.var.2348064.0.If_you_can_afford_to_pay
_a_fair_price_why_dont_you.php

What is it about England? They seem to have a healthy debate going on all sides of the issue of fair trade where in the USA it seems people would rather not know.

FACT: 'Fair Trade' is being exploited for the lack of details accompanying the indiscriminate use of this term. Will those benefitting from this lack of detail succeed, or will the responsible public demand accountability and help to build a foundation of ethical trade that does not depend on platitudes, exagerrations, and misstatements?

TY

Good Questions from the UK About Clothing

2008-06-17T03:45:00Z

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article4150771.ece

This is truly one of the more thoughtful approaches to 'fair trade', clothing in this instance,although it deals with large producers. The important point she picks up on is that quality matters, not merely buying cheap articles of clothing. And she also deals with the sourcing of materials. And she also notes how every company seems to have an ethicist now. And seems to wonder if lip service is the biggest contribution of late to 'fair trade'. But it's wonderful to see someone with healthy skepticism instead of blind acceptance.

TY

The Other Side of 'World of Good'

2008-06-14T15:01:00Z

Is What World of Good Doing Really Good for Fair Trade?
Reed-y for Change - Cheap purse copies at whose expense?

World of Good (WOG) or OriginalGood.com or World of Good.org operate fundamentally together to create a for profit 'fair trade' enterprise. The .org site makes for great press, although it appears bereft of the most meaningful details, like exactly how much is actually spent, where, and for what. This use of the .org in this way seems to be on the increase.   WOG also use the term "reed-y for change" to refer to purses that are copies of purses originally designed by Baskets of Cambodia.

I use 'fair trade' in parentheses, because it is among the most loosely applied terms in commerce at present. It is not a licensed term and there is no surefire way to define 'fair trade', but it is a great marketing tool. This creates a great loophole for any company to exploit, and I only scratch the surface here with this example.

Most companies who want to market themselves in this way choose to associate themselves with a 'Fair Trade' Association of some sort and then parlay this association into a 'fair trade' identity for their business. Once you are 'certified' 'fair trade', then you have achieved a very important goal and can now sell your products under this umbrella. You also have just lost the main incentive to pay higher wages!

One problem with this umbrella approach is that once certified, you can source product from multiple locations, in many cases from sources distinctly not even close to 'fair trade'. If you don't make this clear, the customer can imply that everything you do is under 'fair trade' principles.

There is also often very little underlying certifiable data to support your certification, certainly nothing warranting the use of the term 'certification'. 'Loosely certified' would be more accurate and most every 'fair trader' understands this. With World of Good, they claim over 100 associations, yet give only limited and incomplete information on their website. Who is certifying all these sites they source from?

In my opinion, WOG started their business plan knowing full well about these loopholes and also knowing full well that 'certified' or even labelled 'fair trade' products command a higher price.  I was one of their first suppliers. They are now in business with eBay to further this business concept.

Let me give you an example of how this can affect other well meaning companies. From the inception of WOG, my company (Baskets of Cambodia (BOC)) supplied WOG with baskets and purses, all designed by BOC. BOC paid all necessary overhead and development costs. Basket makers are the lowest paid workers (about $50/month) and live in Siem Reap, Cambodia. But because of the markup in the states, purse makers can be paid at a higher rate (usually between $80 and $200). They can also be paid less if you choose not to have higher wage goals.

Two years ago I received a call from WOG saying they wanted to specialize in some purses and wanted to know the best sellers. Assuming they were sincere, I told them.    About 6 months later, my staff in Phnom Penh, Cambodia tell me that our best selling purses were being copied by a group of about 20 people living in a small house in the city, and making $50 a month!   We could never find this house but we later verified a broker had set up an operation of several houses near our own place of business in Phnom Penh. The broker would give them copies of our purse, a piece of woven mat, and the makers then scrounged the local market for the other materials to make a purse.

Some of these purses were being sold to WOG. It appeared that WOG took the 3 best sellers I had recommended to Cambodia and had them copied.     They were labelled and sold as 'unique' and 'fair trade'. BOC products were not labelled as 'fair trade', because of ethical issues with using this term so loosely, but we were paying considerably more than WOG for these purses, and we had developed this product.

At the same time, WOG stopped buying baskets that were being made by the poor people in Siem Reap.

Since that time, WOG continues to market near exact copies of not their own styles, but instead styles developed by BOC coasting into stores with the 'fair trade' label. The rate they pay for their purses has risen, but this coincided with BOC complaints and threats to expose this operation. The rates they pay now are still less than BOC pays and BOC provides more benefits to its employees.

Here is the problem- WOG does not invest significantly in these companies it buys from. In this case cheap copies are acquired by brokers and sold in the USA for about the same price as BOC while the workers get less with no noticeable benefits. Meanwhile, BOC covers all the costs of development and design, as well as other benefits for its workers.

You could argue that WOG is giving work to poor people. I would argue that actually creating something would be a better way to give work to poor people. Then people could buy different styles. Their current method of copying others takes away from Baskets of Cambodia workers who are also interested in staying out of poverty and do not deserve this kind of unscrupulous competition.

One of the main issues here is the cost of development and the lack of openness.   The WOG model is not a good one because it does not invest fully as a business on the ground so they have no consequences for example when they stop buying baskets from the poor people in Siem Reap. At BOC, we have to struggle to keep these people employed or suffer the consequences. Instead, a company like WOG reaps unearned rewards for product they did not develop, and discourages development of further products by piggybacking on the backs of companies that do develop.   And their responsibility to the actual workers is limited.

In our case, it is interesting to note that after we exposed this, KNN, the local broker in Cambodia used by WOG to make these copies is featured on the WOG website.   No mention of the origin of the design of these products is given to BOC. That would be to admit the obvious. The products are still called quite shamelessly 'fair trade' and 'unique'.   And if any case is addressed publicly by WOG, it will be this one because I have chosen to go public.

You can buy products designed by us at stores like Whole Foods, Earthfair, Amazon, Pronto and Pharmaca Pharmacies or even on the WOG website but you would never know that BOC designed and developed these products.    The WOG workers will be getting less, not more, and our workers will lose work by this downward bias on the market and the cheapening of quality. If you buy from Baskets of Cambodia, we can guarantee worker benefits and trade significantly better than World of Good pays, and you will be buying from a company with employees that developed this product. We are not brokers capitalizing on the 'fair trade' charade. We have developed and created these particular designs and our workers will benefit the most from your choice as consumers. (You will also see the difference in quality and expertise.)

This type of behind-the-back copying of the development efforts of other companies, in the long run will benefit only the 'fair trade marketeers', as they move from one innovative company to another seeking product to copy.

Our philosophy- BOC philosophy has always been to pay as much as the market will allow and to produce our own designs and ideas. That is the lifeblood of development. Companies invested on the ground should always hold a higher status than companies who can buy and leave as their market dictates.

In a busy month, our purse makers make around $150. We also pay for emergency health care and birth related expenses. We also know their names. Do you think $150 is too much to pay? We do not. That is our goal.The 'fair trade' base wage seems to hover around the poverty rate or minimum wage, currently about $30-$50 a month in Cambodia. To us, that is not enough. How much virtue is involved when you buy at the lowest rung on the ladder when you do not invest directly? There must be an upward bias, and there must be notice for companies who actually create, and sustain the costs and risks of development.

When people have more to spend, this also stimulates commerce in the entire community. When wages just barely pay for food, there is nothing left to contribute to the community.

This is just one example from us although other examples are being researched. We believe these issues will only be addressed by complaining openly.

"Fair Trade' deserves better than just clever marketing and promotion. 'Fair Trade' does not need business school antics. It needs ethics and absolute clarity.   Those creating products under honorable conditions should be the real foundation for this.   Brokers like World of Good need a lot more scrutiny.

UK Town Debate over Fair Trade

2008-06-13T19:05:00Z

http://www.ripongazette.co.uk/ripon/Disappointment-at-Fair-Trade-backing.4179569.jp

Comment: In this case, both sides have issues. the town is right in some sense- 'fair trade' is being used by those involved to get a leg up on the competition. At the very least, there should be a real comparison between products- not just a fixation on the label. Anyone using the label should also show in detail how their approach to business differs from the competition. That should be a responsibility and expectation of anyone using the label.
Any other company should be allowed to supply competing information. That would protect all workers' interests.