Green Options » world of good

What Is the Matter with Us? Lead and Other Toxins into the Mouths of Babes

Allison Wolff — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:10:48 +0000

Over the weekend, someone sent my husband a link to a video called “The Girl Who Silenced the World” from 1992 where a 12 year old girl named Severn Suzuki addresses the UN’s Earth Summit Meeting in Rio de Janeiro. Severn essentially gives the panel and every living adult a well-articulated lashing for leaving the planet in this state for her generation to contend with. Had the Internet been in full force then, this video would have flown around like wildfire. I’d like to help spread it around now. Everyone on this planet should watch it-it is more relevant now than ever.

ECOpreneur Profile: World of Good Sells Shopping with a Conscience

John Ivanko — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:55:42 +0000

“Empower people in the US to realize that they have power to influence the global economy through their purchasing choices.” That isn’t some pie-in-the-sky wistful, unrealistic dream. That inspiring vision forms the Earth Mission, that driving force behind World of Good as they aim to transform how we shop by connecting us directly that individual who made our product, even if they are half-way around the globe.

Fostering an economy based on social and economic justice, World of Good, launched by co-founders Priya Haji and Siddharth Sanghvi — just after they graduated from University of California Berkeley Business School — features unique gifts and handcrafts from artisan communities around the world. By selling through an ever-expanding distribution network of retailers nationwide, they are building a whole new economy based on Fair Trade.

Ten percent of their profits get funneled to their sister non-profit organization, The World of Good Development Organization, which helps support artisan communities and works to strengthen international fair wage standards.

“Our aim is to make it easy to help customers make a good choice — not to buy more, but to buy differently,” explains Priya. “They can expect quality, convenience and style — yet the products can be made in a way that actually helps the people who make them. Right now, our products are women’s accessories and housewares. As World of Good grows, our aim is to make the choice for people-positive products easy to find in every category of daily life. We want every human-made product to be a tool of relationship and empowerment for the person who crafted it. Imagine every product not as a material thing but as a bridge of connection and transformation.”

Can Your Jewelry Save the Earth? Ours Can!

Talancia Shelvin — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:11:07 +0000

Ladies, we all know that a new, chic outfit is not complete without an accessory. It doesn’t matter if you are getting ready for a time out with friends or a day at the office; it’s a must-have! In this three-part series, we’ll focus on eco-friendly bracelets, necklaces and earrings which help to minimize any size carbon footprint as well as compliment your look.

Original Good, a new product line by World of Good, Inc, shows us a new way to appreciate the nature all around us with handcrafted jewelry made from shells, glass, wood and real bone beads. After looking at different sites about the art of jewelry making, I was happy to find out that animals are not being hunted for their bones but rather a by-product of the environment. Whew!

Fair Trade: Fair Wages

Brady Swenson — Fri, 18 May 2007 13:51:31 +0000

Prema of Teddy Exports in India with her Floral TotesThe guarantee of a “fair wage in the local context” is one of the most often publicized of the fair trade criteria. Fair Trade attempts to empower disadvantaged producers in countries that often do not have adequate workers’ rights laws including a minimum wage. Fair trade guarantees at least the minimum wage even in countries that have a minimum wage law but do not enforce it. In countries that do not have a minimum wage the buyer of the product is still bound by the fair trade criteria to pay a fair wage in the local context.

For some products, such as coffee and bananas, a Fair Trade price is set by the Fair Trade Labeling Organizations. These minimum prices are always paid despite fluctuations in the market price and, of course, the market price is paid if it ever rises above the Fair Trade price. These prices also have a social premium included that producer cooperatives use to enhance infrastructure, provide social services and educate and train.

However, there is a large set of Fair Trade products that are not certified at the product level, mostly decorative arts and handcrafts. With these products Fair Trade, for pragmatic reasons, takes the approach of certifying wholesale importers and retail outlets who deal directly with artisan cooperatives. In this scenario the responsibility to pay a fair wage rests with the importer of the goods. So how does an importer know what a fair wage is "in the local context" of the producers? The primary and preferred mode is to simply talk with the producers to find out what they deem is a fair and living wage. There is some additional help in the form of an online fair wage calculator, created by World of Good Development, to help determine what a fair wage might be in any given local context.

I input the required information for Teddy Exports’ Floral Tote that we offer over at the shop (which we buy wholesale from direct importer World Finds, a model Fair Trade organization) into the calculator. I found that the women at Teddy making the Floral Totes are making roughly four times the minimum wage of 2.15 USD per day in India. This wage is in addition to the free health care, daily meal, child care and schooling each artisan is entitled to at Teddy. The wage is also two times the Acumen Fund poverty line for urban India. The tool simply aggregates all the freely available economic information necessary to determine a fair price for goods. But it makes the process of determining a fair price price more streamlined and accessible.

Paying a fair wage is the most basic of the Fair Trade criteria but is perhaps the most important. A mutually respectful trading relationship cannot exist without it.

This is the second in a series of posts discussing the Fair Trade criteria. Also check out Fair Trade: Transparency.