Do You Fair Trade?

Sometimes I get so caught up in what I am doing – running errands, ordering supplies, trying to market Roots and think of new ideas to keep it fresh – that I forget why I do what I do. All you small business owners out there – you feel my pain. You have a great idea to do something that you hope will change the world, at least in the smallest way. Usually the idea is based upon some heart-felt ideal or vision or goal that will make the world a better place. But all the sudden, you find yourself completely overwhelmed with the mundane thing we have to do just to maintain – you forget to be innovative, you forget to be philosophical, and you even sometimes forget the most important thing – the original idea, the original reason you got yourself into this in the first place.

The philosophy that launched my vision was fair trade. In college, I was so relieved to finally find an idea that could make the world a better place. Fair trade is based on the idea of using resources and systems already in place to build more sustainable work environments for the exploited and under-appreciated laborers in the developing world. It’s simple really: don’t exploit people; pay a fair price. But maybe its not simple. Is it possible that we have become so accustomed, and dare I say comfortable, with exploitation that we fail to take even the simplest steps to stop it? Virtually everything we buy in any clothing store or any gadget or anything from big boxes comes from over-worked and under-paid adults and children abroad. And what are we doing about it? I think we all know its happening, at least to an extent, and yet we continue to not change our buying patterns.

Roots Coffeehouse was birthed out of the idea that you can change the world through what you buy. By choosing fair trade coffee, tea, cocoa, and handmade goods, you are valuing the work and lives of farmers and producers abroad. You are helping lift them out of poverty and into a sustainable way of life.

I know its hard to change our habits and I am the worst at change. But consider the few ways below that we can change the world with our eating and buying choices:

1) buy fair trade products -

want to see what you can get fair trade? www.transfairusa.org / www.fairtradefederation.org

2) buy local

start with your food: www.localharvest.org

3) look at the tag

find out about the worker treatment and environmental practices of some popular companies: http://www.greenamericatoday.org/programs/responsibleshopper/learn_hub.cfm

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~ by rootsfairtrade on May 23, 2010.