Fair Trade, Commerce Equitable, and Shiny Things to Wear

Many of you know that the concept of fair trade is an important research and personal interest of mine. It is intellectually interesting to me because I support many of the principles associated with it, and because I respect and admire the work of many of the artists, activists, businesspeople, and NGO employees involved in "fair trade." The topic has become that more compelling and complicated for me in the last couple of years since I have learned about the direct colonial roots of some of the most prominent fair trade organizations.

This is not to say that I do not support the projects of many of these same companies, but I do think it is important to interrogate just what these projects are and whether or not they are perpetuating the very power dynamics they claim to be ameliorating. In fact, one of the reasons I'm here in Paris is that I hope to make a connection or two in the world of "commerce equitable," the French translation of "fair trade."

Ultimately, I hope my work can result from a collaboration with both artists and those working within fair trade businesses and organizations, and be a way of disseminating insights from various sources that sometimes get a little lost in the various agendas.

If you'd like to learn more, you can start by checking out the website for the Fair Trade Federation (www.fairtradefederation.org)

All that goes to say is that I was very pleased to receive an email from an old college friend the other day telling me about a new company for which she is working, Trade as One (www.tradeasone.com). The website's content is clever, and differs from some of the usual fair trade rhetoric in a few interesting ways. They have a broad range of products that you might find appealing, and I would encourage you to check it out!

My favorite line from the website: "Diamonds are only a girl's best friend until she learns how they're mined."


And, a-hem, I hope that Krissy won't mind being interviewed by me for my work some time in the future.


Here are some earrings from their website:




While I'm advertising, Krissy also has her own jewelry company, which also has many lovely things, and you can find that at www.orangeboxjewelry.com.

Some Orange Box Jewelry earrings:



And I'll just keep going by reminding you of a site with which many of you are already familiar: www.africancraft.com. Africancraft.com is full of informative profiles in addition to containing a shop where you can find the Krobo beads that most of you know and love by now, in addition to Basotho weavings and much, much more.

Krobo beads available at africancraft.com:



This is brief, so Krissy and Siiri, feel free to jump in with anything else that you'd like to share!