Category Archives: My Purchases

People Unseen

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“I pity a man who wants a coat so cheap that the man or woman who produces the cloth will starve in the process.”

Benjamin Harrison,23rd President of The United States

I was trying to find some funny quotes on pity the other day to make a comment on a friends Facebook page when I came across this quote from Benjamin Harrison. It immediately made me think of the principles of Fair Trade and the journey I have been on over the past 2 years. It got me thinking about the different ways we treat people and how that treatment may differ based on two categories: people we see and people we don’t.

I’m sure most of us have seen people in desperation, people begging for assistance. In my community they can be seen on a bench outside the local Safeway playing some type of musical instrument with an open container at their feet that has a few coins or bills in it. Continue reading →

Not Everyone Knows…

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I know. Many of my friends and family know. But the fact remains that there are still many people that we come in contact with don’t what Fair Trade is. This is a problem! It comes down to this; If we know of something good, we need to let others know about it. We need to share with others the good things we have experienced. We do this already with restaurants, movies & vacations spots. Lets just keep in mind that Fair Trade is something good that we can share with friends, family and complete strangers.

I had a Fair Trade education moment today as I was picking up a few groceries from Safeway after my evening run. I was going through the isles gathering a few things, (I only had a hand basket) when something on the shelf caught my eye, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap. Dr Bronner;s is the soap that I use now and it is Fair Trade certified by Fair For Life. To my knowledge, my local Safeway has just begun carrying this item. I usually buy this product from one of our other local grocery stores that carries a wide variety of Fair Trade goods. So needless to say I was surprised and excited to see Dr. Bronner’s on the shelf in Safeway. I threw a bar in my basket, as I was out of it at home, and headed to the checkout. See the Soap and read what happened next!

A Step in the Right Direction

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It’s simple to think about but harder to actually put into practice at times. I’m going for it though! I’m searching for new ways to live a Fair Trade lifestyle. It’s not about huge, crazy, radical restructuring of my life. It’s getting to that, but to put in more simpler terms, it’s about choosing differently about how I’m going to spend my money. Today, it’s about Flip Flops.

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Read more about Autonomie Project here!

I Thought Fair Trade Was Better

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This was supposed to the Valentines Day that I went all in with Fair Trade. I wanted to do something special and unique for my wife and I didn’t want to just go down to the store and get something. I wanted it all to be Fair Trade.

I located Organic Bouquet on the web and saw that they were having a special on “Fair Trade USA Certified” roses.Everything looked good! Lets remember however, that I am a man and I was doing this on Monday the 13th. So I called the company to see what the deadline was for getting the roses shipped out and delivered on Valentines Day. It was confirmed that if I placed the order by noon my time I would have it on my doorstep on Valentines Day. So I placed the order: $50 for 2 dozen assorted roses and almost $20 for the shipping. Continue reading →

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Ganesh Himal Trading

This is the artisan group in Nepal that made the gift I received for my birthday this past Saturday. On their website you can search the list of retailers that offer their products. Mine was a messenger bag made from recycled inner-tubes. I love it. I’ve been using it every day.