A few years ago a garment factory in Bangladesh blew up. It was overcrowded, had almost no ventilation, and its *employees* were working with any breaks at all - meal, bathroom, etc - with only 2 days off (maybe) a month. They got paid pennies per hour, keeping them well below the minimum wage considered acceptable for Bangladesh and keeping them out of reach of the acceptable income a family needs to have shelter, food, and education. I was already tuned in to the problem of these modern day sweatshops and the trafficking it encourages as well as the poverty level it keeps people at. But this garment factory tragedy really bothered me. That same week I was in Kohl's shopping and I walked out of there not buying anything because I had looked at every label to see where the clothing item was made - Bangladesh was the clear winner. I felt sick. What a freaking conundrum. But let's start at the beginning - at least for most clothing - cotton. Cotton is the world’s o...

Coffee. It's more a verb than a noun these days. In fact, the other day I had coffee with a friend...we both had tea drinks! But we still referred to it as "having coffee."  Coffee: a brief history, how it gets to your cup (and what do those labels mean?) The facts say that 125 million people worldwide depend on coffee for their livelihood - and no wonder! Here's the top 10 countries in the world that consume the most coffee ....nope the United States doesn't land in the top 10, but doesn't it feel like our nation drinks truckloads of coffee each day?! Anyway, it's safe to say the world loves its coffee. But I think we might all love it a little more if we knew that 125 million people working to bring us the coffee were getting fair treatment, fair wages, fair working environment. At least I know the coffee I drink tastes better when I know that everyone involved in making sure I get that cup of coffee was treated with dignity and equalit...

   Let's talk chocolate today! Chocolate is a popular sweet in the world. Americans consume approximately 11 pounds per person each year of it. And that's nothing compared to what Europeans consume. The average Brit, Swiss or German will each eat around 24 pounds of chocolate a year! So needless to say chocolate is in demand.  But that high demand comes at a price we either are unaware of or refuse to think about. The majority of chocolate products found on shelves around the world are because of forced child labor.  Well. Now that chocolate tastes pretty bitter right now, doesn't it? (By the way, I hope it does taste bitter and you have to spit it out.)  Listen, I'm not here to be a killjoy but I am here to ask you to think outside of the little world you have created for yourself (which we all do) and help aid others in getting the benefits you enjoy - like good health, education, fair wages, etc.  It's easy to...

The concept of fair trade came into being following World War II. It actually has its roots in church organizations that were involved in the efforts to rebuild European cities. The actual term “fair trade” was first used by the United Nations soon after World War II. It was coined to describe a form of equitable trade relationships between developing and developed nations that took into account developing nations comparative disadvantage. (source) The best way to describe fair trade today is that it is about better prices, decent working conditions and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers. It’s about supporting the development of thriving farming and worker communities that have more control over their futures and protecting the environment in which they live and work. ( source ) Supporting companies, by purchasing products they produce, that practice fair trade practices is important because it sends out the message that all human life is valuable an...