World Fair Trade Day Green Tips for Retailers

In the last post I gave the general public tips on how to be more socially and environmentally responsible. Now, here are 5 tips to make your retail/wholesale operations more environmentally friendly:

5 tips to make your business more socially and environmentally responsible

1. Choose to use compostable plastic for product bags and wrapping

The fair trade philosophy promotes environmental sustainablity. Therefore, all of us should adopt environmentally friendly business practices in as many aspects of our businesses as possible. Because of this, Handmade Expressions is researching for ways to wrap and protect the products in plastic that bio-degrades. We know that the transition from conventional plastic to sustainable plastic can be costly and time consuming, so make sure it's a gradual transition that won't hurt your business too much. However, this doesn't mean that it should not be in your plans! As a first step, here are some sources of compostable plastic:

Trellis Earth wholesale compostable bags
World Centric Bioplastic Products
EcoSafe Degradable Plastic solutions

2. Make re-usable, cotton shopping bags available to your customers

We believe that natural cotton bags with 100% natural dyes make the best re-usable shopping bags. They are far more durable than paper or plastic bags (thus more eco-friendly), and our eco-shopper bags are far more attractive as well! We also carry organic totes that get the job done. They’re more environmentally friendly than synthetic bags too, since it takes fewer resources to make them and are safer for your groceries.

3. Choose ground shipments over air shipments

When it comes to distributing products around North America, ground shipments burn less fuel than air shipments, therefore having a smaller impact on the environment. They may take longer to reach you, but if you expedite too many shipments then the environment is paying a high price. According to an article titled "Ship it, ship it good" in www.grist.org, "aircraft transport boasts greater fuel consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions per ton-mile than any other mode of transport. And their emissions' negative impacts are amplified due to the high altitude where they occur." Of course, it's understandable that sometimes air shipments are necessary, but reserve these for emergencies.




4. Encourage environmental responsibility in your office/store

If you and other people you work with are committed to fair trade or social responsibility in general, then you should consider adopting environmentally friendly practices in your day-to-day operations. For example, try to recycle the paper used in your office, try to encourage the sharing of information over digital media rather than paper, buy office supplies made of recycled materials, carpool with co-workers, and brew fair trade coffee at the office. By projecting an image of sustainability you will increase your customers' trust in your company and improve your internal marketing.


5. Attend a Fair Trade event on World Fair Trade Day

The Fair Trade Resource Network has a list of events in your area. Show your support for fair trade and environmental sustainability by participating as an organization. This can improve your company's image and it will raise awareness for this sustainable business model.

Finally, on this special day we would like to thank you for your support of our company and our cause.

Celebrating World Fair Trade Day 2008

World Fair Trade Day is an international celebration of Fair Trade, and this year it is on May 10. IFAT, the International Fair Trade Association, is the main organizer. It has members in 70+ countries running events that will increase awareness of fair trade as an acceptable business model.

This year’s theme for World Fair Trade Day is “Fair Trade + Ecology”. This is because while fair trade producers have little impact on our environment, they are the ones most affected by climate change. Some of our producers live in desert regions affected by drought, or regions affected by flooding. Therefore, on this special day Handmade Expressions will give you 5 tips to help you choose fair trade products that have little impact on the environment:

1. Choose to use organic-cotton handkerchiefs over tissues

It takes 90 years to grow a box of tissues. We say this because manufacturers of tissues still use old-growth, virgin tree fiber to make tissues. Instead, you can choose to use fair trade, organic handkerchiefs. For example, these Hankettes are handmade of organic cotton in British Columbia, Canada.

2. Take part in the world’s biggest Fair Trade Coffee Break.

By drinking fair trade coffee, you are ensuring that coffee is grown following environmentally friendly standards. For more information on the world’s biggest Fair Trade Coffee Break you can visit the Fair Trade Resource Network here.



3. Use re-usable shopping bags made of COTTON

A lot of people debate whether plastic or paper bags are the best shopping bags. Well, we think that natural cotton bags with 100% natural dyes are best. They are far more durable, and our eco-shopper bags are far more attractive as well! We also carry organic totes that get the job done. They’re better than synthetic bags, since it takes fewer resources to make them and are safer for your groceries.

4. Choose fair trade, organic flowers

Transfair USA has many fair trade certified flowers available in North America. They are made in a way that ensures the safety of the growers, and it prevents rivers and other water sources from being polluted. Click here to learn where you can get them.

5. Attend a Fair Trade event on World Fair Trade Day

The Fair Trade Resource Network has a list of events in your area. Show your support for fair trade and help raise awareness of this movement that promotes sustainability!

Buy fair Ad

Check out this UK Ad from FLO International. It really gets the point across:

Earth Day 2008 & Fair Trade Trends

Today is a day to respect our planet. It's a day where we try to set a goal for ourselves to not waste energy or water, to not pollute the air, to not buy unsustainable goods, and to do our part to make this world a healthier place to live in.

Luckily, fair trade fits into the philosophies of Earth Day, but I can't get lazy just because I work in Fair Trade! So on this Earth Day I make a pledge to be a more environmentally responsible person!

If you, like me, want to help the planet and its people, then on this Earth Day consider the possibility of switching one of your daily items to a sustainable product. This can include switching to biodegradable detergent, buying a hemp & cotton casual purse, using biodegradable "plastic" bags (made from corn), buying fair trade coffee (now sold by Wal-Mart!), etc!

Actually, let me give you a list of sustainable products you can choose to buy to improve your impact on Earth:

-Wal*Mart's Fair Trade coffee blends: Sam’s Choice® Fair Trade Certified House Blend, Sam’s Choice® Fair Trade Certified Espresso and Sam’s Choice® Fair Trade Certified French Roast, which are now available at all 3500 Supercenter locations.


-Mrs. Meyer's Biodegradable Detergents


- Reusable shopping bags (found at many places and in many forms, the example provided is from Handmade Expressions and can be found at World Goods)

- Fair Trade clothing (e.g. Global Mamas)


- Seventh Generation green and safe feminine care and baby products

I also want to show you this clip from John Oliver. He is a correspondent on Comedy Central's Daily Show, and in his stand up debut he talked about fair trade:



People in North America are becoming ever more aware of fair trade and their impact on the planet and its people! The media and the marketers are noticing this trend, which is highly encouraging because there are more companies choosing to take steps towards sustainability. Handmade Expressions (like many of the companies mentioned in this entry) is there to help customers and companies take those first steps towards sustainability. We want to educate both corporations and customers in order to help the fair trade industry grow and introduce more fair trade items into the mainstream.

Have a great and sustainable Earth Day!

Saving traditional desert village jobs

Kashida Weavers



Kashida, from the Persian word “to weave”, is a beautiful and unique art practiced by artisans in Rajasthan, India. Artisans bring the work to life using wooden pit looms, weaving intricate patterns into the product. They do this by counting threads and not using knots, therefore having the same pattern on both sides of the weft. The patterns are made following four types of stitches: backstitch, horizontal, vertical or diagonal. Handmade Expressions has been working with this cooperative for a few years now, and we are proud to help them keep this ancient art alive.



Industrialization threatens the traditional jobs and the culture in desert communities, since it draws artisans to factory work or motivates them to migrate into cities. Kashida is an art at threat, since it is practiced in desert villages of Rajasthan. In the past, this traditional weft provided profitable employment to numerous families. However, in recent years it has started struggling, as it is finding it hard to compete with the modern textile industry.



Handmade Expressions visited this artisan cooperative and decided to partner up with them to create functional products using this traditional art. Part of our mission is to preserve culture and art through the market-based solutions that fair trade offers. We now carry sling bags, mobile phone bags, table runners and cushion covers made with Kashida art. When retailers buy these products, they are actually keeping an art alive and providing sustainable livelihood for numerous producers and their families!



Their fine embroidery products that we carry are:

Kashida sling bags

Kashida mobile case

Woven Wonder table runner

Woven Wonder cushion cover

You can contact us if you have a question about where in your area you can find these products.

Toward New Horizons: Growing the Fair Trade Market in North America

The Fair Trade Federation (FTF) conference took place this past weekend, April 4-6. It was a wonderful event where over a hundred fair trade retailers and wholesalers got together to discuss the issues that matter most to socially conscious businesses and consumers. It was a wonderful experience that allowed the Handmade Expressions team to meet people at different levels of the value chain of fair trade. We also had the chance to attend special interest sessions to learn about the current state of the Fair Trade industry.

The theme of the conference was “Toward New Horizons”, since we all participated in the development of the new aspects of the Fair Trade Federation. Working together to develop the values, goals and mission of the FTF made us feel like we were really part of a family that consisted of socially conscious business owners. It also opened our eyes to the different ways we can help the industry grow if we work together. It is a small industry, but with huge potential for growth. Even in a state of recession, it has been shown that people are still choosing to buy more green, fair trade products!

It is also wonderful to see that some large corporations are moving toward responsible business practices and sustainability. However, it is debatable whether large corporations entering the fair trade market is to the benefit of producers and the strengthening of the movement.

The fear of large companies wanting a share of fair trade and not providing sustainable income to producers around the world is real and legitimate. Their business model doesn't allow them to build relationships with the producers. They see people as resources, not partners. Therefore, once they finish using a "fair trade" label, they may discard the groups they were working with. They may also persuade artisans, farmers and other producers to move away from smaller fair traders by seemingly offering an attractive amount of work, unsustainable as it may be. Another debatable issue is the dilution of "fair trade", since this is an unregulated term that can be used for mere marketing purposes.

Still, large corporations also offer a great opportunity for the movement. Many companies are trying to find a way to introduce sustainable products without cheating on producers, and experienced fair traders can partner with them as suppliers or consultants. Surely, corporations cannot call themselves a “fair trader” or “socially responsible” company, but this is a positive step towards making fair trade more mainstream, and not just “the alternative”. If we want more and more people to adopt fair trade, not growing our capacities is not an option. Even though it is risky to help large corporations enter this market, we must develop an understanding of trade and gradually work towards making fair trade mainstream.

Take for example Starbucks: even though it's not their primary business, they promote fair trade so much that a large number of people now know about fair trade coffee. And we can agree that them entering the market did not affect fair trade producers, wholesalers and retailer in a negative way. It actually opened a market for fair trade coffee and helped the industry grow! It was a positive step towards the promotion of fair trade as an acceptable business philosophy.



Eventually, we believe, fair traders should be able to develop a system where we can introduce functional, fair trade, every day products to more mainstream markets. We cannot remain “the alternative” all of our lives. We must do all we can to make fair trade a standard business philosophy. If that means that we have to educate large corporations and consumers, and we must take risks to help the industry grow, then we should all give it a try. No one else will.



We have already experienced doing some successful business with larger corporations. As long as the trade contracts are transparent and a good relationship between businesses exists, large companies can be supplied with fair trade products. The way we have done it is at a slow pace, developing products that can satisfy a big company’s demand and still maintain fair trade standards. We are also educating the large corporations about fair trade, and why it should be adopted. At the same time, we leverage on the magnitude of their reach, since many more lives will be touched by fair trade if large corporations carry socially responsible products.

Two worlds: A trip to Kutch (message from our founder)

Part of our team spent the last two months traveling India, working with our partner artisans to develop new and exciting products. At the same time, we were identifying new artisan groups in need of support. I went to different areas of the country, but the most impacting one was the earthquake affected region of Kutch, in North West India. You will see pictures and stories of our travels in the coming weeks on our website and our fair trade blog, but for now I want to focus on one particular reflection I made while traveling there.

Traveling to India gives me an opportunity to spend time with the artisans, understand their culture, their thoughts, their motivations and what brings a smile to their face. While traveling through these marvelous but non-familiar places, I couldn’t help but remember John Edwards’ speech about two worlds within the United States. I thought about it carefully and realized that there are many worlds within our one Earth. These artisans live a different life than ours. They have a very different interpretation of the world, and suffer entirely different problems from ours. They are fighting hard to rebuild their communities, obtain a good education for the children, and provide decent healthcare for themselves. Still, they seem to have a sense of peace, calmness and happiness that most of us struggle to find each day, even in our "developed" world. In that sense, we have much to learn from them.

So is there anything that connects us? Are we too different to understand each other? I realized that art is the one thing that brings our worlds together. The most exciting part of this interaction is that we can connect without imposing our values and beliefs on each other. We are not taking their lands or imposing industrialization on them, but rather seeking them for their beautiful, original art. At the same time, they are trying to understand our tastes to be able to deliver a quality product in an exchange that involves consideration and respect. This connection brings prosperity to both sides. It paves a path towards better education, healthcare, and sustainable living for the artisans, while we are able to take part in the artisans' rich culture and tradition. Truly, sustainable is beautiful.