Please note, this post is sponsored by Diamond Bloggers. All opinions are my own. Thank you.
According to the American Apparel and Footwear Association, in 2016, Americans spent $361 billion on apparel and footwear. With 97 percent of that clothing being imported from other countries. Clothing made by millions of factory workers. Workers that are real people in real factories that are, oftentimes, not paid a real living wage for their trade.
With those billions only accumulating to 1:20 of the international trade purchased by Americans each year. While the average international worker makes less than $1.00 USD per day for the goods the average American pays nearly a 2000% markup on.
It’s easy to distance ourselves from the manufacturing process. Purchasing clothing we assume is sourced from a country that offers a great deal of protection to workers, without considering that the person who made our garment might be working well outside of those protections. Protections we would not find suitable in our workplaces each day.
It goes without saying that our clothing purchases have a direct impact on the lives of these people. The people who work hard to provide us with the things we purchase freely each and every day. Because unless something previously heinous occurs, we often fail to take notice what happens to those who work behind the labels we wear.
A prime example? In 2013, more than 1,100 factory workers died in a building collapse in Bangladesh. The building housed several apparel factories that produced mostly Western brands.
In the aftermath of this tragedy, reports about poor construction, code violations, and no building permits rolled in. It was also reported that on the day before the collapse, an engineer deemed the building unsafe, but factory owners kept the doors open to meet the quotas for the year’s upcoming American and European holiday season.
A tragedy that made me take pause and reflect on the social, economic, and environmental weight of my purchases. To begin to understand that the clothing I purchased was less a fashion risk and more a vessel of inequality and environmental peril. To make the connection between human beings thousands of miles from where we stand and the clothes on my back.
So, what can we do as Americans whose demand for more apparel leads to greater pressure on workers in developing countries? We insist on fair trade certification for the companies that we purchase from. And here are 3 steps to help you get started seeking out Fair Trade compliance at home:
Verify that your purchases are Fair Trade Compliant:
The first step in bettering the working conditions of workers internationally is to learn about Fair Trade partners domestically. One of my favorite watch groups is Fair Trade USA. Founded in 1998, is the leading third-party certifier of fair-trade products in the United States.
They work to provide farmers and workers producing Fair Trade Certified goods with fair wages, safe working conditions, and environmental protection. They also provide development funds to empower their communities internationally.
In 2012, the organization expanded its focus to include clothing, which sets forth more than 330 compliance criteria for textile factories. To earn Fair Trade certification, companies must meet specific factory and trade standards, which in 2006 was expanded to include clauses ensuring human rights, LGTBQ rights, and anti-harassment criteria as well.
Becoming familiar with Fair Trade Compliance watch groups, and buying from companies committed to meeting and maintaining Fair Trade practices helps set the foundation of fair trade mindedness for yourself and your family at home.
Especially when it comes to common food items at home. Particularly that of produce, imported coffees, teas, beauty products, oils, vanilla, spice, and chocolate products. Products often sourced from nations with the harshest working conditions for growers in nations with the least standardized worker’s rights policies.
Because when you choose to buy fair trade, you’re benefitting both the farmers and the workers who manufacture the products. As with other goods that meet certification standards, you’re helping to provide better wages, working conditions, and put in place more environmentally friendly practices, such as encouraging farming of organic cotton. You’re also empowering communities.
Commit to buying Fair Trade:
As consumers, we have a social responsibility to spend our money wisely. We have a choice where our portion of global finance occurs. We can continue to blindly support industries that show little regard for human rights or protection of the environment. Or we can take a stand make the intentional decision to know what we’re buying, where it’s made, and who is making it. Overall helping to improve the lives of other humans just like us. This includes buying locally and from makers as well.
Building our Fair Trade Knowledge:
Knowing what to buy and from where is only part of the battle. As consumers, it’s paramount that we continue to educate ourselves by reading reputable sources, subscribing to watchdog groups, as well as reading leading globalization and trade scholars on not only Fair Trade practices abroad but about issues of domestic trade, globalization, and international trade as well.
One such author of merit is Andrew Charlton, a leading authority on globalization and trade in both print and forum discussion online.
So, friends, those are just 3 of the ways you can start the process of being more Fair Trade compliant in your little corner of the world. Now I want to ask, do you purchase Fair Trade goods or are you looking to do so this year? Share your thoughts below.
