Be the Change Blog

Fair trade for the little guys

Last night, Hoopla hosted its first Living Green Salon with Ellen Reich, founder of Three Stone Steps.  Ellen travels extensively in Cambodia to bring unique, beautiful and funky accessories to the U.S. marketplace.   Her great line of recycled mosquito net wallets, purses and messenger bags have been a great hit at Hoopla.

Ellen talked to us about her work with women in Cambodia, how she got started, and how she keeps it all going as a very small independent business.  You can hear more of her stories about Cambodia, travel, fair trade, food and more on her interesting, opinionated blog. Here is a link to some photographs of the women she works with in Cambodia.

One of the great things about last night's conversation was the audience.  It was great to be surrounded by a group of younger folks with well thought-out opinions about fair trade, the environment, politics, and more!  I hope Ellen doesn't mind my saying, she and I were a decade or so more seasoned than most of our audience, but they were able to challenge us and make us think about the choices we all have to make in trying to live a conscious green life.

Once Ellen got started with her talk, we pretty quickly moved from the basics to the complexities of talking about fair trade.  Ellen works only with certified fair trade producers and non-governmental organizations in Cambodia, but she does not just leave it at that.  Three Stone Steps takes a very active role in monitoring the workers' wages and living conditions, making sure that it is more than just talk and statistics about fair pay.   One of the difficulties she finds in working with established producer groups is that they are subject to the demands of much larger, "certified" fair trade importers who can make demands abut quantities, price or schedules that the producers groups don't feel they can refuse.  I guess the bottom line is that even in the fair trade world, big business holds a lot of power.

From my point of view as a very small independent retailer, I have grown skeptical of working with the larger, more established fair trade groups.  I'm not interested in selling the products that look almost mass-produced on the shelves of large chains like Whole Foods.  That is why I've made a decision not to insist on certification from my suppliers.  Sure, in an ideal world, certification would let consumers know that they were getting the real deal.  But many small producer groups and importers that I work with cannot afford the time (3-5 years) or cost (in the thousands of dollars) to get certified.  So I'm more comfortable with a grassroots approach to fair trade.  I want to make sure that my suppliers have actually seen the workers they are buying from, and can assure me that their lives are being improved by my purchase.

Please let me know what you think about certification or any other aspect of fair trade.  I'd love to hear your views.

Having fun for a good cause

December 31st has come and gone, and my mailbox has slowed down on delivering free address labels, greeting cards and calendars, all for a good cause.  I believe in supporting the community, but surely there must be a better way to raise money for a good cause.  Voila!  This Sunday's Source in the Washington Post gave me some great ideas with an interesting article entitled This is for Charity?  Raising Money for Good Causes Has Gotten a Lot More Wacky. 

It seems that a new generation of philanthropists has gotten creative about supporting the causes they care about.  Events like Washington's first Sweet 'Stache Man Pageant are good, clean fun for a cause -- and they won't bust a young professionals budget.  Hosted by a group called SMASHED (formally, the Society of Mature Adults Seeking to Help, Entertain and Donate), events aimed at 20 to 30-year-olds keep their cover charges under $20 to encourage as many revelers as possible to donate.  Other wild and wacky events they have sponsored include the D.C. Idiotarod, a spoof of the famous Alaskan dog sled race, and the Amazing Race Scavenger Hunt.  The point of all -- to have fun while raising money for a good cause. 

As business schools devote more of their curricula to "social entrepreneurship," it was only a matter of time before young philanthropists got their own blog.  FLiP (future leaders in philanthropy) is a great resource for young professionals without tons of dough looking for ways to make a contribution to society.

Of course, philanthropy has been around for a long time, and the young aren't the first to try to make it fun.  Celebrity auctions, benefit concerts, and luxury car raffles are time-honored ways to raise money for charity.  At Hoopla, we may not be wild and crazy, but we do like to have fun.  On February 10, we are hosting a very special art exhibit by Robyn Einhorn, entitled Compassion: Living Transfusion Dependent.  This is the artist's Valentine thank you to all of the blood donors who have kept her alive for the past seven years, and 50% of the proceeds from the sale of her artwork will benefit the Leukemia Foundation.  Plus, as we are sure you will agree, the artwork is irresistibly beautiful.  On February 13, you can win a free $10 gift certificate to Hoopla just for donating blood at our American Red Cross blood drive.  So whatever your style, make this your year to have fun and donate to a good cause.

Is vegan fashion the next great craze?

The great folks at the hip and zen pen turned me on to an article in the New York Times entitled "Uncruel Beauty," written by Ruth La Ferla.  It seems NYC has caught the vegan craze, not just for food, but also for fashion.  Boutiques are popping up all over the place to sell hipster gear such as vegan-friendly shoes, fashionable hemp and bamboo dresses, and suits made with ahimsa silk, a fiber processed without injuring silkworms.  Of course, being eco-chic in NY comes at a price.  Most of the fashions mentioned in the article carried a hefty multi-hundred dollar price tag.

Is this just a trend, or the beginning of truly responsible consumerism?  By the number of blogs and website cropping up, it looks like the uncruel fashion industry is more than a passing phase.  One of my new favorites is ecorrazi.com, which tracks the environmental hits and misses of today's hottest movie stars.  Another fun new site, global-cool, brings environmental chic to the rest of us in a hip format that makes you feel like an insider.  Ethical design lab is aimed at fashion industry insiders, with interesting new product lines that combine flair with sustainability.   

What does all of this mean to the future of fashion for the rest of us?  I think we are on a slow but steady path to more sustainable fashion.  At Hoopla, our customers have responded enthusiastically to recycled cashmere hats and scarves, organic cotton and alpaca sweaters, and hemp blend skirts.  But they aren't ready to give up luxurious silk blouses, and they don't want to pay $800 to protect the silkworms from harm.  Until there are enough affordable alternatives, our commitment is to find the most sustainable fashions we can, without sacrificing style or affordability.  Virtually all of our fashions are natural fiber, but not all are organic.  Many are made in the US, and if not, we assure you that they are sweatshop free.  With fashion, it is not quite as easy as changing to CFL lightbulbs, but each small choice leads us all to a better world. 

A delicious way to support the local economy

Ring in 2007 with a $20.07 lunch or $30.07 dinner at over 170 of DC's finest restaurants during DC Restaurant week.  In addition to fabulous food at budget-friendly prices, you will be supporting your local economy.  Of course, all the fancy NW restaurants are on the list, but I recommend that you use this as an opportunity to explore some Capitol Hill flavor.  If you have been saving Belga, Bistro Bis or Sonoma for a special occasion, now is the time to get a 3-course prix fix meal at an affordable price.  Or you could push the boundaries a bit and visit Cafe NoZU at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, a jewel of a building in the up and coming Southwest. 

By the way, you'd better hurry.  I just tried to make a reservation at Sonoma for Friday evening and they were totally booked!  But you might be able to sneak in during the week, and from what I hear, it will be well worth it.

By patronizing a local independent business, you will be making a difference in the community.  Buying local saves on energy costs, keeps our neighborhoods interesting, and keeps your dollars in your own community.  So beat those post-holiday blues with a fabulous night out that you can feel good about.

It's not too late to make a green New Year's Resolution

The most popular New Year's Resolution at Treehugger:  To actually carry and use a reusable shopping bag! This is an easy way to help save the environment.  By now everyone knows that plastic bags kill sea turtles and other swimming creatures, and paper bags (even recycled ones) kill trees.  Plus, both create toxic chemicals when they are manufactured and shipped across the country. 

Reusable shopping bags are the best solution.  They are compact, easy to carry, and some are even stylish!  At Hoopla Traders, we sell reusable Chico bags for only $5 (3 for $10).  They fold up into a pouch with a clip to stash in your bag or belt loop.  Many grocery stores sell large canvas shopping bags that you can leave in your car for your weekly grocery trip.  Start now, develop a habit, and save some trees in 2007!

The good, the bad and the green

Now that I've whined about how hard it was to find green packaging for Hoopla, let me share some of the good news about going green.

First, it is pretty easy to get environmentally friendly office papers and supplies.  We are using Treecycle as our one-stop source for most of our office needs.  Our inkjet printer paper and fancy stationery for hang tags are both 100% recycled.  They also supply 7th Generation toilet paper and paper towels that are 100% recycled and 80% post-consumer waste. 

Even more fun, we have started using biodegradable accoutrements for our Second Saturday celebrations.  Spudware makes "silverware" out of potato or cornstarch, cute in a funny-looking kind of way.  Our plates are tree-free, biodegradable sugar cane fiber, and our plastic cups for wine are made of biodegradable corn. 

We also found a great online source for environmentally friendly printing.  At GreenerPrinter.com, we get our Second Saturday postcards printed on 100% recycled paper using soy inks, with great prices and turnaround times.  For larger printing jobs, a local Maryland company, Ecoprint.com, offers the most sustainable printing practices in the industry. 

A new company in DC called Clean Currents makes it easy to switch to 100% wind power renewable energy, and they claim they will save us money as well!  With each little change, we believe that Hoopla is making a small contribution to the environment.  It may not seem like much, but if each person makes just one small change, together we can make a significant difference. 

Small green challenges

When we made the commitment to switch to green packaging, I thought it would be easy.  Just ditch the plastic bags, find recycled paper, and voila!  Famous last words.  This simple project turned into a frustrating wild goose chase. 

First, there is the paper v. plastic debate.  Everyone agrees the bottom line is that neither are good for the environment.  We really need to encourage people to reuse their bags.  It was relatively easy to find good, affordable reusable bags.  We decided on Chico bags, and sell them at a good price right at our cash register.  Great, as far as it goes, but we still have to provide something to customers who don't want to purchase a bag. 

That is where the real challenge came in.  Most of the large commercial packaging companies don't offer recycled bags of any kind.  We found one small distributor who could get them for us, but we had to purchase 5,000 of each size.  We don't go through 5,000 bags in a year, much less 5,000 of one size.  So we settled on recycled paper bags from Treecycle.  We can get them in small quantities (100-250 of a size) and at an affordable price.  The problem is they are only 10 - 20% recycled content.

Not only that, we still haven't found an environmentally sound way to customize them.  We tried to find a printer who uses soy ink, but couldn't find anyone who would print in such small quantities.  So we invested in stamps with the store logo and symbols.  But we still haven't tracked down an environmental stamp pad (soy or vegetable based ink).  So right now we are just giving out plain brown bags with recycled brown tissue paper.  Kind of boring, and they're not even that environmentally friendly.

But all is not lost.  We are going to order 5,000 of our most popular size bags, which will be 100% recycled material and custom-printed.  And we found great eco-friendly resources for our printing needs.  More about that in my next post.

By the way, if you do use large quantities of bags, check out Earthpack in California.  They specialize in stylish, environmentally friendly shopping bags for cool retailers. 

The best of intentions

Did you see the date of my last post?  I was full of enthusiasm when I started this blog last summer.  There was so much interesting info about going green, I was going to post something new every day.  Well, the reality gods had a different plan.  They kept me busy teaching all day and trying to run Hoopla nights and week-ends.  Sure, I took Sundays off, but little diversions like laundry kept me away from the keyboards. 

This year, I resolve to do better.  I know, most of you probably don't believe in New Year's resolutions.  I don't either, let's just think of it as setting an intention.  As in What the Bleep, don't our intentions create our own reality?  So I intend to post at least once a week in the coming year.  Three times would be even better, but I don't want to get carried away. 

You can help by posting a comment every once in a while.  Nobody likes to talk in an empty forest.  If someone is lurking out there, please let me know!

Cause related marketing

Should major corporations such as Kellogg's, Yoplait yogurt and American Airlines receive kudos for sponsoring the Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure"?  Or are they just out to improve their own bottom lines, at the expense of less popular causes such as poverty, homelessness, or HIV/AIDS?   

This ongoing debate has heated up recently with a posting entitled "Cause-Related Marketing:" Why Social Change and Corporate Profits Don't Mix, by Inger Stole at the Center for Media and Democracy.  Stole argues that Cause-Related Marketing (CRM) may seem like a fair exchange between corporations in search of goodwill and non-profits in search of funds, but the bottom line is that it benefits business much more than it benefits society.  Companies choose to partner with nonprofits that appeal to their customers, focusing on symptoms as opposed to core problems.  For example, she states that businesses are eager to support popular causes such as breast cancer research, but rarely focus on less popular causes, such as the lack of affordable and adequate health care for women.  In this scenario, the corporate sponsor reaps tons of free publicity and public relations activities, which more than offset the money or publicity generated for the charity.  In the meantime, corporations continue to avoid their responsibility to pay more taxes to support education, health care, and other social priorities.  She concludes that with CRM, business is "having its cake and eating it too."

Stole raises other concerns that also have to be taken seriously.  You can see a great summary of her points written by Nedra Kline Weinrich at Spare Change blog.  Weinrich sees Stole's position as "a little too alarmist," and argues that CRM alliances "can be an excellent way to reach new audiences and shape their own brands." 

Mike Swenson at Citizen Brand goes a step further, disagreeing with Stole's "implication that corporations conduct cause programs only as a means to push their own brand or specific products or services."   Swenson claims that his client, Lee Jeans, has never focused on whether or not they sell more jeans because of their signature cause program, Lee National Denim Day.  Swenson argues that "it is perfectly fine for companies involved in cause to get credit for the good they are doing whether it be awareness building or fund raising or both."  From his point of view, cause marketing is a "win-win" despite the potential abuses. 

I guess your position on this issue probably depends upon where you sit.  As the owner of a very small retail boutique, I don't have the clout of major corporations in choosing the sexiest causes to support.  But that is fine with me.  I choose causes that I believe in, and I bet most major corporations do the same.  We probably wouldn't have much to offer the Susan Konmen Foundation, but the small, local groups we work with seem to appreciate our support.  And we get to bask in the recognition when a customer comes in with the program book for the Lesbian and Gay Chorus of Washington or one of our other CRM partners. 

Maybe CRM only turns into a problem when you have more money than values.  I don't believe that is true for most small businesses, and would like to believe it is not true for most major corporations, either.  Leave me a post here to let me know what you think!

It ain't easy being green

It's been a busy week at Hoopla Traders, where we are working on a number of fronts to make our business more earth-friendly.  We have always used recycled office paper, but now we are trying to find business cards, stationery, and shopping bags that are more friendly to the planet.

The challenge:  we are an upscale retail boutique and good design is an important part of our image.  Although we briefly considered using the new biodegradable plastic bags, our staff quickly nixed that idea.  Who wants to buy a beautiful $200 organic skirt and put it in an ugly white plastic bag?  So it was back to the drawing board, trying to distill the paper v. plastic debate and come up with a solution that will work for us.

The debate in a nutshell:  Paper bags destroy lots of trees, but they are recyclable and will eventually break down in a landfill.   Recycled paper is even better, especially if it is made of 100% post-consumer content.  Plastic is a petroleum-based product that comes from oil.  It does not require as much energy to make as paper, and it is easy to recycle, but it does not compost.   Most bags, whether paper or plastic, will end their lives in a landfill.

It is a Hobson's choice, and the experts don't agree on which is better.  But everyone agrees that reusable bags are far superior to either paper or plastic.  In Australia, laws have been passed that require retailers to cut down on their use of plastic bags.  Most retailers offer an incentive for consumers to bring their own. 

So what is a socially responsible retailer to do?  At Hoopla, we seem to be moving in the direction of paper bags with as much recycled post-consumer content as possible.  We are also trying to find a printer who uses soy or vegetable based inks that are kinder to the environment.  We have located some jewelry boxes that are 100% recycled and attractive at the same time!  It's not perfect, but it's the best we can do until technology brings us a better alternative.

We also plan to offer customers the opportunity to buy reusable bags at an affordable price.  Some of the best designs fold up into a small pouch that you can carry in your purse or backpack, so you are never without a bag.  Together we can look attractive and still reduce our impact on the environment. 

Please post a comment to let us know what you think!

For more info on the paper v. plastic debate, check the following links:

The Environmental Literacy Council

Greenfeet newsletter

Reusable Bags website