| By :
Stewart Wrighter
It is becoming more popular of late but fair trade products have been with us for some time. Eco-friendly products encompass all the goods that are either recycled or made by artisans in poor countries that get a return on the effort that they make to produce goods that would otherwise be sold in the local market bringing in just a tiny amount of money. Indeed, it is often only enough to feed these families on a hand to mouth basis. Good companies from around the world buy up these goods after putting in some effort to employ local women or youth and sell them outside the country of origin. Of course, the western world can afford to pay higher prices for these goods and will often do this so that they know that they are helping those people in poor countries at the same time. These goods can cover just about anything from paper goods like leather-bound diaries, all made from either recycled or sustainable resources, to sandals made from worn out tires. After adding some decoration they are surely up to western standards and have become popular choices as gifts for special occasions etc. Women and children benefit very much from this kind of entrepreneurship since they are often overlooked when there are jobs to be had. Unfortunately, these third world countries are still very much male dominated areas which put women in second place when there are jobs available. Since it is often left to women to bring up the kids too, this can cause extreme hardship for those who are left literally holding the baby. The world is a much 'greener' place too since the onset of the recycling phenomena which really picked up several years ago. People are far more likely to look on the wrapping these days to see where goods were made and many top fashion stores have been boycotted when people found out that child labor was being used to produce high- priced goods. Of course, the kids only got paid subsistence wages and, instead of going to school, they were exploited by companies who really did not care where their goods were coming from. Though this is slowly dying out, the need to watch carefully where we put our money and which company we buy from is still not in full flood and everyone should be aware that cheap pair of jeans or handbag may have been made by a six or seven year-old child in some far-flung place. Add to this the cruelty of working in slave like conditions and the whole picture will become more evident. By looking for companies who display the right logo, people can be assured that they are buying goods from companies who have foreign communities at heart and who provide some good facilities for the community in that particular country. Just this small adjustment in spending will surely put some kids through school and will allow some mothers the chance to enjoy their children without having to work every hour in the day just to eat a meal.
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