Why I buy Fair Trade (sometimes)

First, let me preface this post with: I don't always buy fair trade products, but when I can and they're available, I do.

In honor of Fair Trade Month, I'm sharing 5 Reasons I buy Fair Trade as much as possible:

1. I feel good when I do it. There's nothing like the smile on my face when I put on a new piece of fair trade jewelry that I adore and I know I helped a woman provide for her family halfway across the world. I feel happy every time I wear it, because I know it made a difference in someone's life.

2. I like that there are better working conditions. Hearing about the collapse of Rana Plaza 3 years ago in Bangladesh was one of the things that prompted me to start buying fair trade. Here is a quick video about it if you haven't heard of it.

After this horrific collapse due to unsafe working conditions for

millions of Bangladeshi garment workers, retailers made promises to take measures that would protect these workers. In the first rounds of evaluation, they found 108,538 safety issues, and categorized every inspected factory as “high risk” with issues requiring “extensive repairs”. Fair trade is trying to change these statistics using strict safety standards.

3. It always matches my wardrobe.

I used to think I had to buy wool ponchos to buy fair trade. Luckily in the last few years, fair trade has become more mainstream making it easier to shop for just about anything I need ethically. I love that I don't have to buy an entire outfit to be able to support fair trade. I can buy a scarf or a pair of earrings and they go beautifully with the clothes I already have!

4. The cost isn't that much different than major retailers. I've noticed that fair trade products are only a few dollars more than other products and almost always better quality. So, the fair trade products will last longer making them worth the extra money in the long run. When cost is an issue, I sign up for email lists and wait for coupons or sales.

5. It's better for the environment. Fashion is unfortunately the second highest polluting industry in the world, second only to the oil industry. Fair Trade Certified environmental standards are some of the strictest in the industry. Fair Trade certified products ensure that farmers follow internationally monitored environmental standards, while empowering farmers and farm workers with financial incentives and resources for organic conversion, reforestation, water conservation and environmental education.

So, those are a few of the reasons I buy fair trade whenever I can. What are yours?

XO,

April

#fairtrademonth #ranaplaza