Fare trade clothing has taken a boom in recent years by providing a way for poorer nations and communities to have a fighting chance in today’s economic market. Fair trade goods and clothing are ethically traded, meaning the people who make them are paid what the item is worth, which often results in community projects to increase quality of life. In many third-world countries where clothing manufacture is outsourced the people who make the items are paid little in relation what the actual item fetches on the world market, resulting in extortion of the worker and exorbitant benefits for the owner.
But items, like those sold in Oxfam’s Fair Trade shops are all supplied through ethical payment. Luckily fair trade and organic often goes hand-in-hand. Whether the buyer supplies the workers with organic material or, as in the case of Coyuchi, (http://www.coyuchi.com/) the workers themselves make the materials, it can be easier to get organic cloth from nations without the large dependence on chemical and non-organic growing processes as first-world nations. It is also true that often fair trade and organic clothing cater to the same market- aware and concerned citizens of first-world nations.
While it is not true that every third-world nation refrains from using chemicals on crops, it can be a benefit to those communities that do not, allowing their goods to fetch a higher price, considering the current popular demand for organic clothing.
Companies like the UK-based Adila have even taken the fair-trade method father by using recycled paper, plastic and cotton materials to create unique works of household art, sourced from a number of communities and townships in South Africa. Others like Frank & Faith, use the same technique of sustainable recycling and organic fabrics to create classic clothing pieces for the entire family, as well as blankets and tote bags.
While it is certainly harder and more expensive to find ethically traded and organic, or recycled clothing, it is well worth the search to know where your money is going and how it is benefiting the worldwide community. Unlike a six dollar t-shirt bought from a major chain manufacturer, when you buy ethically traded your quality of clothing is elevated, so that you can look good and feel good about what you wear.
I am an junior English major/ Philosophy minor at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. Currently I am spending the spring of 2009 studying at the University College Cork in Cork, Ireland.
