Three Benefits of Fair Trade Month, October 2015

October is a big month for public awareness: Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Non-GMO Month, World Food Day, International Day of Rural Women and there is, of course, National Cat Day. It was also Fair Trade Month, a month long celebration of awareness, information sharing, and opportunities for all expressions of fair trade. Jenna Larson wrote a piece just a few days ago on how Fair Trade Month helps everybody.

1.)  Fair Trade Month is the time to spread the word about who and where our products come from, and learning more about what fair trade is and means.

2.)  Fair trade products are more accessible than ever.  They started off as coffee in 1998. Now, you can find Fair Trade fruit, vegetables, flowers, sugar, cocoa, tea, coffee, spices, grains, sports balls, apparel, home decor, coconut (and coconut water), seafood and many other products from over 1,000 different companies.

3.)  The impetus, ideas and tools of Fair Trade Month don’t end on October 31st. It continues on for the rest of the year and beyond in our personal commitments and lives.

As you’re undoubtedly aware, the holiday shopping season is coming up fast. We invite you to shop in our Accessories selections 

where you’ll find some of our exceptional items to buy online. Our selections are curated by our returning shoppers so we know what is popular. Also, take a few minutes to look at our Jewelry collection (hot link). All are perfect for Christmas, Hanukkah and all other December festivities.

Enjoy your shopping with us, and be sure to like us on Facebook and recommend us to your friends. Shopping for a Change is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization.

What Truly Makes Fair Trade Fair

In today’s fair trade public debate world (October 2015 is Fair Trade Month)—which is evolving into a significant market share for cash crops and cottage industry products—there’s now a growing discussion on what really constitutes fair trade. There are always those who take advantage of market opportunities to cut environmental corners, to not provide for the employees as should be done, and other shortcomings. Among the top four qualifications for true fair trade are: fair working conditions, fair pay, safely structured buildings and worker empowerment. And there is also a distinction between “ethical fashion” and “fair trade.” The understanding for “ethical fashion” is loose and doesn’t necessarily cover all the life-assisting expectations for fair trade artisan workers. Fifty five percent of Americans understand what fair trade means (according to a recent survey), which means that they are looking for fashion, accessories, home décor, clothing, and baby items that are truly fair trade. Here at Shopping for a Change, all of our artisan vendors surpass fair trade guidelines.

We have some lovely, exciting new products appearing in our Accessories collection, and it’s not too early to start thinking about Holiday shopping. Please go to our Clearance Sale page to browse through all our on-sale items that you can purchase early for Christmas, Hanukkah and all holiday celebrations.

Enjoy your shopping with us, and be sure to like us on Facebook and recommend us to your friends. Shopping for a Change is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization.

October is Fair Trade Month 2015 and Why Buy Fair Trade Site

Here we are in October 2015, the month that is being promoted and celebrated around the globe as Fair Trade Month. Cottage industry manufactures and growers in over 80 countries are joining with fair trade distributors, retailers and nonprofit advocate institutions to exponentially grow awareness of and commitment to fair trade buying.

Over 1.8 million fair trade farmers and artisans are now involved in this sea change market movement. This includes food crops and products, fashion items and home goods. This means 1.8 million individuals are being paid fairly for their work and are able to enjoy a living (even thriving) wage and good working conditions, livelihood protection and participating in eco friendly policies.

To quickly understand how your purchasing of fair trade products helps, please visit this Buy Fair Be Fair site. There’s a wonderful graphic that depicts the virtuous circle created from buying fair trade from whatever community you live in.

As we move into the Fall season, we’d like to share with you the beautiful, exciting new items we’ve added to our fair trade accessories. Lots of purses, cases, scarves, belts and more to choose from—for yourself or as gifts to others.

Enjoy your shopping with us and be sure to like us on Facebook and recommend us to your friends. Shopping for a Change is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization.