Posts Tagged ‘Fair trade’

Many Americans are having to become quite creative in the past couple of years as the economy has continued to go down and most people are financially worse off than they were just one to two years ago. People have been realizing that you can live a more spared down life and that having more things will not make you happier and by getting a smaller house and eliminating some of your things may be a good thing in the long run. A lot of younger people were used to buying everything with a credit card and then when they lost their jobs they were left with a great deal of debt. They have had to learn to save their money for things they really want and to live within or below their means now. One thing that has become more popular and is one of the oldest forms of commerce is to barter or to give a fair trade for something rather than exchanging money. You can barter services or even goods like fair trade jewelry or handmade furniture.

Many people that work in service related jobs have been more used to bartering with their customers and it is definitely popular again. For example, a person that is a hairstylist may be able to offer their hair cutting or styling services to get something that they don’t have the cash for right now but must get immediately, like a new set of tires for their vehicle. rather than cash they can offer several haircuts to pay for the tires.

Another service job that would be a perfect one to barter would be the additional items that people have had to eliminate from their tighter budgets but really miss having. One example is a housecleaner who has had their business drop quite a bit might be able to exchange cleaning someone’s place for child care for her kids while she goes out to work.

Some people have products that they sell or make that would be great bartering things. For example, a woman that makes beautiful handmade jewelry could barter some of her jewelry pieces to receive some home cooked meals made for her family by a friend that is a fabulous cook but can’t afford to purchase the jewelry. Another example would be person that crafts beautiful personalized baby furniture such as cribs, changing tables and dressers that needs to get tutoring for her daughter but can’t pay for it. She could barter with a teacher that is pregnant and will be needing things for her baby and will also be on maternity leave and could help the woman’s child with the academic tutoring that they really wanted.

In the end, a lot of people like bartering as long as they feel like they are getting an even exchange of goods and services. It allows people to be able to get things that they want or need without having to have the cash to pay for it. A lot of people are returning to some of the lessons and techniques once used by their grandparents with their finances.

Connor Sullivan recently purchased a couple of fair trade bags and jewelry for his wife and daughter. His wife loves the selection of fair trade jewelry to choose from on the internet. Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory

In these days of multicultural communities and easy air travel, many people have noticed that so many products made outside of say Europe and America are made in third world countries. They have discovered that the person sitting for days on end making that beautiful basket or wallet is actually only getting something very small while those importing the goods get a big chunk of the end price. With all this going on the idea of Fair Trade was born. For example, Fair Trade jewelry, although still quite very economical for the end buyer, means that the person making that particular piece is likely to be paid more for the goods produced.

In many of these poor and destitute peoples lives on less than one dollar per day. Outside countries know this and will squeeze the price down to benefit from that fact. Women in particular are generally the ones left to bring up several children ensuring that they are fed and are healthy, but working all day for very small money does not help anyone.

Some forward looking companies have decided to bring some order into this bad practice and have started to bring new ideas to the fore. Very often they will not be taking a profit for themselves; they will just assist the third world country in getting very good contracts etc. Most of these entities will organize the artisans to produce what is needed and sell them on to wholesalers and non profit organizations around the world. In this way it is a sort of self replicating deal where they can virtually guarantee that all the goods made up will be bought. Imagine the relief for these underprivileged artisans, who are simply looking for a way to survive, just knowing that they will be making a constant and reasonable income on a regular basis.

Some adornments, like earrings and bracelets, come in beautiful and exciting ethnic designs which seem to catch the eyes of everyone throughout the world. Beads of all kinds, including glass, are perhaps the prettiest and available materials and are usually mounted with wire to be bent into exciting and unusual styles. This style of adornment is very popular especially during the hot summer months when people tend to want something a bit different. It adds a great focal point to beach wear, evening wear and any other occasional wear they can think of. Most of these artisans are encouraged to go green and will use anything and everything available to them. Recycling is hugely popular since the initial costs are very low and sustainable. People from all over the world are getting the message about global warming and changing weather patterns and are incorporating this type of gift into their holiday plans.

Indeed, many journals or diaries from these so called third world countries now go tree less. That is, no form of paper is used in the make up of the diaries. They usually use cotton based products for the pages and the cloth or leather bound covers are from known and dependable sources. Leather may seem to be an odd choice for these types of project but the skin comes from places where animals are kept cruelty free.

Connor Sullivan recently purchased a couple of fair trade bags and jewelry for his wife and daughter. His wife ordered some fair trade jewelry to use as gifts for many of her family members.