Social Responsibility |

Carrying Less

July 22, 2014 by Julia 2 Comments

Since the beginning of this year I’ve been meditating on the idea of living with less, and for the last few months I’ve been working on what I call “the purge”—a conscious effort to reduce my possessions by donating, giving things to family and friends, and recycling.

Having too much stuff is a first world problem in the extreme, and I still have more possessions than probably 95% of people in the world. But now that I’ve made visible progress, I realize that for me, getting rid of things is less about living with less than it is about carrying less.

There are two kinds of things worth having: things that are truly useful, and things that have personal or emotional significance. I tend to overdo it when assessing both traits in items. I hold onto a lot of things “just in case” they become useful in the future (I kept two burnt-out lightbulbs on my kitchen counter for several months. Why??), and I also like to keep things to document my life. I call the latter category my “archives,” which I half-jokingly maintain for the benefit of my future biographer. I recently realized that every time I add something new to the archives, it diminishes the significance of everything else I’ve kept. There’s no point in keeping an archive of personally meaningful ephemera if the stockpile becomes so large you never peruse any of it.

My strategy now is to keep only the truly useful or meaningful items, take photos of the rest and then discard it by donating or recycling. Going through my stuff is giving me the chance not only to reduce the quantity of physical items I have, but also to reflect, pay those items their emotional due, and move on. As long as I have a record that I once had whatever artifact, it’s less important for me to actually carry it through life.

From an ethical shopping standpoint, reducing your possessions to your most loved and useful items can make you more conscious of your shopping behavior. If every new thing you buy is more conspicuous in your home, you may consider each purchase more carefully. My current possessions are the result of 20-odd years of unconscious accumulation. My goal is to accumulate dramatically less over the rest of my life, and for each item I acquire to have real value.

The purge has been way more time-consuming than I thought it would be, so I still have a long way to go. But I figure it’s definitely easier to go through my stuff now than it would be to do it in another five or ten years. I’m sure my future biographer will thank me.

Are you a minimalist, a hoarder, or somewhere in between? Have you ever conducted your own purge of stuff? How did it go?

News Roundup: June 2014

June 24, 2014 by Julia 3 Comments

Circle the wagons, it’s roundup time! To be honest, I didn’t spend a ton of time reading this month. I was too busy trying to get outside as much as possible! However, the stuff I did read was top-notch quality. Check out the links below!

You Don’t Have to Feel It —This post blew my face off with truth. It explores our motivations for doing good, and how emotion can’t be the only motivator we have. (Style Wise)

Dov Charney: the man who put the sleaze factor into American Apparel — American Apparel founder and CEO Dov Charney was ousted this month in relation to alleged misconduct (he’s a notorious creeper, to say the least). I love the manufacturing ethics of American Apparel but have always felt weird supporting them because of their over-sexualized photography and Charney’s grossness. Hopefully his removal means the brand can move in a less offensive direction. (The Guardian)

Benefit Corporations Look Beyond The Profit Motive — Basic overview of the concept of “benefit corporations” (commonly known as B Corporations). The quote below addresses what I think is one of the keys for social enterprise to really take off. Profit isn’t everything! (NPR)

There are legal protections when a state signs on: A shareholder can’t sue a benefit corporation for valuing the environment as much as profit.
— Benefit Corporations Look Beyond The Profit Motive

Greenpeace Reviews Major Food Retailers for Sustainable Seafood Purchasing — One of the best and easiest-to-understand articles I’ve seen about sustainable seafood. (Triple Pundit)

2014 Trafficking in Persons Report — This annual report ranks countries into tiers based on their efforts toward combating human trafficking. (U.S. State Department)

Reader Request: Ethical Jeans — In my post of pants recommendations for Sarah, I noted that ethical high-end jeans being pretty widely available. And what do you know, Jamillah coincidentally just wrote a post with ethical jeans recommendations! (Made to Travel)

Host a Clothing Swap! — Dominique shares helpful step-by-step instructions for organizing a clothing swap with friends—a great way to give old clothes a new home! (Let’s Be Fair)

Top 3 Resale Sites — Elizabeth reviews her favorite apparel resale sites with helpful notes on return policies and how to sell. (The Note Passer)

Did you read the Style Wise link at the top? Go do that now. Then have a great week!

Living Your Values at Your Job

June 10, 2014 by Julia 5 Comments

Image of tag inside baseball cap that reads "Made in China"
Over the years, I’ve defined a fairly rigorous ethical shopping process for my personal purchases. I do a lot of research into retailers’ labor practices; I look for used, recycled and made-in-USA options; and oftentimes I decide I don’t need what I’m shopping for at all. But I’ve realized that this process does not really carry over when I make purchases at work.

As a graphic designer, paper is one of the most common things I buy, and I do look for recycled and made-in-USA options. However, when it comes to other types of purchases, I tend to go with whatever my company has historically done. For example, my company has an event in May every year where we hand out baseball hats. This year the ordering of the hats fell to me, and I ordered them the same way we we’ve ordered them every year, which means they were custom-sewn in China.

There were many things I could have done to make sure our hat order was as ethical as possible:

I could have asked our vendor what she knew about the factory where the hats are produced.
I could have found pricing for hats made in the USA (though I had been informed that domestically-produced hats are much more expensive).
I could have looked at the hat options on Ethix Merch, a site I’ve known about for years that specializes in ethical promotional items like pens and branded apparel.

Why didn’t I do any of these things? One reason is that it can be scary to challenge the status quo, especially if you are suggesting that your company’s current way of doing things is unethical. It gets even trickier when you can’t prove their practices are unethical, even if in your opinion it’s highly likely that they are. I can’t prove that the hats we order from China are made in a sweatshop. But even investigating it would raise eyebrows.

I’m betting that a lot of individuals care on a personal level about human rights and the environment but don’t take action through their jobs. Raising questions of ethics at work is definitely a risk and, depending on the company culture, could cost someone their job. I’ve seen friends struggle through long-term unemployment, so I find it hard to blame anyone for not speaking up. The question is: how do we start to make it OK for ethics to be part of conversations and decisions in the workplace? What positive change could we realize if it wasn’t a risk for people to ask challenging questions?

We need to shift to a culture where the ethics of a decision or purchase can be weighed equally alongside other factors like cost and quality. Will the most ethical choice always win? Nope. But sometimes it would, and just having that conversation gives people permission to really think about the ethics and values of their decisions.

Have you experienced anything like this at your job? Do you find it difficult to live your values at work?

News Roundup: May 2014

May 28, 2014 by Julia Leave a Comment

Happy Wednesday! Another month has gone by, which means it’s time for another roundup of articles and links that caught my interest recently. Check out the links below for some great resources and thought-provoking insights!

Creating a Fair Wardrobe – A four-part blog series from For the Love of Justice

Rendering of solar roadways

Solar Roadways: The Most Groundbreaking Innovation since the Internet (Modavanti)

Why Textile Waste Should be Banned From Landfills (Triple Pundit)

Modavanti has teamed up with Green Tree Textiles for our Modacycle Campaign! – Details on Modavanti’s new textile recycling initiative (Modavanti)

Shopping for shoes is a minefield – This article points out how athletic shoes lag behind other apparel sectors in transparency/sustainability. (Dynamic Business)

The Rise of Conscious Business Needs the Support of Conscious Consumerism — Who should lead the way in ethical consumerism: business or consumers? (Pro Bono Australia)

Free2Work Electronics Industry Trends 2014 – Report on efforts being made by electronics companies to address exploitation and forced labor in their supply chains (Free2Work)

10 Biggest Excuses For Not Paying a Living Wage (And Why They Suck) (Ecouterre)

Fashionably Informed: 5 Ethical Fashion Companies (College Fashion)

Can fair trade clothing prevent the next factory tragedy? (Humanosphere)

Fabric generated from bacteria from The Next Black documentary

The Next Black – Review of a documentary about technology in the future of fashion (The Note Passer)

Youths Sue U.S. Government Over Climate Inaction (Al Jazeera America)

Ifixit – Website that provides resources for repairing items instead of replacing them, which helps reduce waste and unnecessary consumption

I’ll leave you with this excellent pin from Let’s Be Fair:

What have you been reading lately? Let us know in the comments!

The Two Approaches to Fair Trade

May 20, 2014 by Julia 3 Comments

One thing you may have noticed if you are just getting familiar with the fair trade universe is the abundance of logos, certifications, memberships and other marks that can appear on fair trade products and websites. (We’ve provided a short description of some of the most commonly-seen fair trade and ethical shopping labels on our Certifications page.)

Each organization or certifying body comes at fair trade with a slightly different approach, but according to Jonathan Rosenthal, one of the founders of Equal Exchange and the keynote speaker at the recent Fair Trade Federation conference, these approaches generally fall into one of two camps.

Approach #1: Small is beautiful

One approach to fair trade focuses primarily on small businesses working closely with small producer groups. The size isn’t what matters here, but rather the high standards that their small size allows them to uphold. This is the approach embraced by the Fair Trade Federation (FTF), the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), and Fairtrade International (FLO).

Approach #2: Volume creates impact

The other approach to fair trade follows the belief that a greater volume of producers and products will create a greater positive impact. In this model, large corporations and plantations can participate in fair trade. However, to allow these large players to participate, they are sometimes held to standards that are not as high as are found elsewhere in the fair trade movement. The most notable certifier following this approach is Fair Trade USA.

What is the definition of fair trade?

The difference between these two approaches begs the question, “What is fair trade, then?” Is it the high standards upheld by the smaller organizations, or is it the lower standards that allow bigger companies to enter the fair trade landscape? In his keynote, Rosenthal challenged that that’s the question the fair trade movement has to answer. It is our task to figure out what that future of collaboration looks like and, potentially, what it means to reinvent ourselves.

Not being deeply entrenched in the business side of fair trade, I personally haven’t made a hard-and-fast decision about which camp I support. In theory, I lean toward the higher standards followed by the majority of fair trade organizations. In practice, products certified by Fair Trade USA are becoming more and more abundant in stores, and I still buy these products with the assumption that they are ethically superior to their conventional counterparts. The two approaches have become more divided over the several years that I’ve been following fair trade, and to be honest I need to do more research on what specific standards are different between them, in order to make sure my purchases are doing what I think they’re doing. I’ll be sure to share what I learn with you!

What are your thoughts on the two approaches to fair trade? Do you have any helpful resources or articles explaining the differences between fair trade organizations?

News Roundup: April 2014

April 29, 2014 by Julia 6 Comments

Okay guys, for real, I think it’s spring now. No more false alarms like my last roundup. Read on for the articles and links that caught my eye this month:

The Shirt on Your Back – This interactive documentary profiles the garment industry in Bangladesh and shares the stories of Rana Plaza workers. I haven’t watched the whole thing, but what I have seen so far is informative and powerful. (The Guardian)

Jeopardy Contestant Accuses Alex Trebek of Wearing Sweatshop Suits – Contestant Tom Kavanaugh was talking about making a documentary about sweatshop labor and hit Alex Trebek with a kid of harsh accusation about the origins of his suit. It’s an amusing clip, and while it was probably an inappropriate comment, I don’t fault Kavanaugh much for it since I think it just shows his passion for the issue. Kavanaugh even shares his side in the comments. (Gawker)

Celebrate World Fair Trade Day – World Fair Trade Day is Saturday, May 10, 2014! Visit the link for ideas for participating, from wearing your favorite fair trade accessory to giving a fair trade gift to a loved one. (Fair Trade Federation)

The Importance of Organic Cotton – Did you know that cotton producers use as much as 25% of the world’s insecticides and more than 10% of the world’s pesticides? This post from Modavanti describes the downsides and dangers of conventionally-grown cotton and the benefits of organic cotton. (Modavanti)

World’s Most Ethical Companies – I’d take this list with a grain of salt, as it includes known offender Gap, Inc. (who received a Public Eye “award” earlier this year for failing to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh). (Ethisphere)

The Eco Edit – I just found out that People Tree has a digital magazine! The April/May 2014 issue focuses on Bangladesh and how things have changed there in the year since the Rana Plaza disaster. There are some more fun, fashiony features as well to balance the more intense stories. (People Tree)

The Stories in Your Closet: What Do Your Clothes Say About You? – This article explores the idea of people having meaningful relationships with the things they wear and respect for the craftsmanship it takes to make garments. (Triple Pundit)

Free2Work Coffee Ratings 2014 – This report assigns a letter grade to a selection of coffee companies based on their systems for preventing and addressing child labor and forced labor. (Free2Work)

Who Made This Fabric? – Interesting profile of a company called Thread that works in Haiti and Honduras to turn trash into fabric. (Fashion Revolution)

Former Architect Shows Untold Beauty Inside America’s Textile Industry – Speaking of making fabric, check out these interesting photos from inside American textile factories. Holy spools, Batman! (My Modern Met)

What have you been reading this month? Any plans for World Fair Trade Day? It coincides conveniently with Mother’s Day weekend, which I may or may not have almost forgotten about… (That’s what happens when I buy a card five weeks in advance!)

Why Fair Trade? Paying Fairly

April 11, 2014 by Julia Leave a Comment

I can’t get enough of this little guy I saw at the conference!

In our series Why Fair Trade?, I aim to illustrate some of the main reasons why supporting fair trade is important to me. Today we’re going to explore the fair trade principle of paying fairly.

At first, the term “paying fairly” by itself sounds great. Who wouldn’t agree that everyone should be paid fairly for their work? But if you think about it a little longer, the question arises: what does “paying fairly” actually mean?

Here is a summary of the Fair Trade Federation’s guidelines for paying promptly and fairly:

Empower producers to set prices based on the true costs of labor, time, materials, and sustainable growth
Comply with or exceed international, national, local, and, where applicable, Fair Trade Minimum standards
Equal pay for equal work by women and men
Ensure prompt payment to all partners
Offer producers access to interest-free advance payment or pre-financing with favorable terms

Fair traders also work to ensure that producers are paid a living wage that enables them to meet their basic needs.

I got a taste of the complexity of determining fair prices and wages in a session at the Fair Trade Federation conference last week. As described by Karen Gibbs from By Hand Consulting, the process of determining the artisan’s selling price of a fair trade handicraft goes something like this:

Determine the fair hourly wage for the artisan(s) by considering their monthly expenses and how many hours they work. Other cultures do not always follow the American model of 8-hour workdays five days a week, so it takes research to find out what it would actually take for the artisans to earn a living wage.
Determine the total cost to produce the item by tracking and adding the costs of materials, labor (using the fair hourly wage) and overhead. Artisans may not have accounting skills or tools, so some training is often part of this process.
Consider the target customer, competition, quality, and desired profit margin, then set the selling price. This is the price that the artisan will receive from the first buyer, often a wholesaler.

As the item passes through the distribution channel from artisan to exporter to importer to wholesaler to retailer, the price of the item increases at each stage. These increases are due to shipping costs and the overhead and profit margins taken by each “middleman.” Many fair traders attempt to cut out as many steps as possible to reduce costs, but it’s still not unusual for the retail price of an item to be seven times more than what the artisan was originally paid. (I had no idea importing goods was so expensive. Mind = blown!)

As you can see, determining fair prices and wages is a complicated process. This makes me a little more understanding of why more companies, especially smaller companies, don’t do it (even though it’s the right thing to do), and it also makes me incredibly appreciative of the fair traders who put in the effort and commitment to ensure producers are paid fairly.

Fair payment is one of the many reasons I choose to support fair trade. Why do you choose fair trade? Do you have any questions about fair trade? Let me know in the comments!

Spread Kindness with the Be Nice Box

March 31, 2014 by Julia 1 Comment

Today I’m excited to feature an inspiring project called the Be Nice Box that aims to help people spread kindness in their daily lives. My sister featured the Be Nice Box on her blog several weeks ago and when I read the post I said to myself, “My readers would love that too!” The Be Nice Box is the creation of Diana Neidecker, and I asked her to explain her idea in her own words.

What is a Be Nice Box?

The Be Nice Box is a monthly subscription box service, encouraging others to ‘spread their own kindness.’ You can think of the box as a ‘random acts of kindness toolkit’ that you receive in the mail each month. Each month, we pick a new theme & all of the acts of kindness revolve around the theme. Each box contains a list of 12 good deeds that can be completed throughout the month. Also inside each box, are four cool, handmade, sustainable items to help complete a few of the items on the list. And finally, every subscriber receives a small gift for themselves, as a thank you for helping to save the planet. We also donate $1 to charity for each box sold.

Monthly subscription box services are everywhere right now & as far as I know, this is the only box on the market where the items inside are for the benefit of others. Most box services give you items for yourself {clothes, make-up, food}, but the Be Nice Box is all about spreading kindness and being good to others.

Why did you decide to create this business?

Last April, after the Boston Bombings, I wrote a blog post about 26.2 acts of kindness we can complete to support those who were affected. The post got a large amount of traffic and it really made me think. Whenever tragedy strikes, we all decide to focus on kindness. We commit to hugging our children, to not freak out about the dirty socks on the bathroom floor and to call our grandmas more often. The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. So, I decided to launch a new blog called ‘A Year of Minnesota Nice.’ The goal is to complete 365 acts of kindness and to document the journey ; I am almost 200 days in and the project has, without a doubt, changed the way I view the universe.

This fall, the blog started picking up steam around the same time I decided to leave a 12-year career in education. I knew that I wanted to turn my blog into a business, but had no idea what that looked like.

One night, my partner Blake & I were out walking our dog and we were just brainstorming business ideas. As we were chatting, I said ‘I just want to find a way for people to spread their own kindness.’ And *boom* the Be Nice Box was born! We basically ran home & that night, I created a business plan.

The idea hit me on October 1st, I launched the website and sign-ups on October 15th and the November boxes went out two weeks later!

How do you incorporate fair trade and/or ethically-made items into the boxes?

Sustainability is extremely important to me as a human, so I knew that when I launched this business, I wanted to hold on to that. Everything we do revolves around ethical practices and sustainability.

The boxes and the address tags we use were both purchased from a surplus store. Some local businesses shut their doors and we were able to purchase thousands of labels and hundreds of boxes for pennies. Our purchase helped support a local business, and kept all those items from being thrown away.

The majority of our office supplies and packing materials are second-hand and made in the US.

Each month, I deliver all of the local {Minneapolis} boxes and mail the rest. In the winter months, I drive a hybrid car around the city and in the summer, all boxes will be delivered by bike. The post office is nearby, so most months, I load up the boxes {anywhere from 40 to 70} and walk to the post office.

The artists and businesses that we partner with also value sustainability. The products we include in the boxes are from companies who treat their employees, manufacturers and the environment with respect. I like to think that the Be Nice Box has a powerful impact that goes beyond practicing the kindness in the box.

Since launching, we have worked with awesome companies such as Mama Ganache Chocolates, Equal Exchange, Project 7, LIFEline fashion and Wild Harvest Organic.

The Be Nice Box has existed for six months now, and I am proud to say that with each passing month, I am becoming more passionate and excited to share this experience with companies, artists and people who truly want to create a better planet!

Dog laying on floor with cardboard boxes and colored paper

Diana’s pup Daphne helps assemble the April Be Nice Boxes

Explain how Be Nice Box partners with charities.

Each month, we pick a new charity and donate $1 from every box sold to them. Our charity always aligns with the theme, so as you are out in your community spreading kindness, its in the back of your mind that your good deeds are making a difference in of the parts of the world, as well.

Since launching, we have supported :

Ten Thousand Things: MPLS-based theatre troupe that provides free performances in prisons, homeless shelters & housing projects.
Himalayan Cataract Project: They provide low-cost eye surgery to people in developing nations
Open Arms MN: They grow, cook and deliver healthy, organic meals to Twin Cities residents who are living with terminal illnesses
Blessings Basket Project: They provide on the job skills & training for women in poverty to be entrepreneurs, create and sell their own baskets and lift their families out of poverty
Project Success: Local MPLS organization who motivate and encourage all students in Minneapolis and St. Paul to set goals and then offer resources to achieve them
LIFEline Fashion: Started by a small group of women in Kenya; all mothers of children with special needs. they create hand-made items to pull their families from poverty

Can you give a us a sneak peek into what will be in the next box?

The theme for the May box will be ‘feathers & fur!’ I have been planning this box for over six months and am super excited for it to launch! All of the good deeds in this months box will be about animals ; animals that provide for us {BEES!}, ways to support animals {local shelters and rescues} and more! There are a limited number of boxes each month; there will be 70 boxes available for May & they will ship April 27th.

The Be Nice Box offers one-, three-, six- and 12-month subscriptions with free shipping and is available in the US only. Gift subscriptions are also available.

Thanks to Diana for sharing her vision for spreading kindness! How do you try to spread kindness in your life? Tell us about it in the comments!

News Roundup: March 2014

March 25, 2014 by Julia Leave a Comment

Springtiiiiime! Let’s ignore the fact that it’s snowing in parts of the country. Spring is technically here, and it’s giving my mood a major boost, merely by the fact that it can’t be winter forever. I’ve even had a few days when I got outside to run and enjoy the sunshine. Of course, when I wasn’t doing that, I was reading ethical lifestyle articles like a boss. Check out my picks from this month below!

(I found several of the articles below in Modavanti’s new newsletter “The Weekly What.” I couldn’t find a subscribe link on their website, but I think if you just register for their site in general you’ll receive it.)

The Opiate of the Masses – Leah shares her thoughts on why ethical consumerism shouldn’t be the only way we express our values and concern for people and the planet. Very thought-provoking! (Style Wise)

Style Is the Way You Live Your Life – Gala Darling is one of my favorite blogs to read for a healthy dose of encouragement and girl power. This post emphasizes how your purchases don’t define your style—it’s more about being creative with what you have than about buying the latest designer item. (Gala Darling)

AllSaints, Urban Outfitters Fail to Address Forced Labor in Cotton Sourcing – This article summarizes a report from the Responsible Sourcing Network which surveyed companies on their policies and practices related to sourcing cotton from Uzbekistan, where forced labor in cotton production has been extensively documented. (Ecouterre)

25 Shocking Fashion Industry Statistics – This list includes statistics on global apparel spending, pollution from the textile industry, and garment industry wages. (TreeHugger)

Why I Invest in Ethical Fashion – This article provides a concise rationale for the ethical shopping movement, comparing it to the dramatic emergence of the organic food movement. (PandoDaily)

Retailers want answers from Cambodian PM over factory shootings – I’m not sure how I missed this… did you know that in January, Cambodian security forces shot at and killed workers who were protesting low wages? (The Guardian)

The Post-Landfill Action Network – This is a great program started by college students to solve the huge problem of waste caused by the year-end move-out purge. Students rescue usable items in the spring and re-sell them to students in the fall when they move back in. I love how this program connects unwanted items with people who want them! It’s such a key part of the sustainable sharing economy.

Organic Equal Exchange Chocolate Easter Eggs – Temperatures are rising (in some places… sort of…) which means the window for ordering fair trade chocolate online is closing. Equal Exchange is offering milk and dark chocolate easter eggs, plus their usual minis. Stock up before temperatures get above 75!

New ethical lifestyle blogs found this month:

New shopping sites found this month:

ThredUp – Online consignment store allowing users to recycle clothing from their own closets and purchase high quality used items (found via Style Wise).

What are you reading lately? Is it getting to be spring-ish where you live?