The definition of “fair trade” which has been accepted internationally is the one agreed to by FINE, a working group of four international Fair Trade networks:

“Fair trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, which seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalised producers and workers – especially in the South.”

The idea of “fair trade” is quite a few decades old, but certifying goods took off only in 1988 with the first Fairtrade label "Max Havelaar" by the Dutch development agency Solidaridad when fair trade coffee started being sold in the Netherlands. Incidentally, Max Havellar was a fictional character against exploitation of plantation workers in Dutch colonies! This was followed by similar efforts in markets of Europe and North America, including the "Fairtrade Mark" in UK and Ireland (1992) and "Transfair" in Germany, USA, Canada, Italy, Japan, etc.

In 1997, Fairtrade Labelling Organisation International (FLO) was formed in Bonn, W. Germany to unify and standardise certification across the globe. 21 labelling initiatives are members of FLO International. The FLO movement now has two distinct entities – FLO International lays down standards and provides business support to producers, while FLO-CERT looks after inspection, audit and certification of producers and traders.

In UK, the Fairtrade Foundation was formed in 1992 by CAFOD, Christian Aid, Oxfam, Traidcraft and the World Development Movement. A number of other organisations soon joined in, including the National Federation of Women’s Institutes. The Fairtrade Foundation has indeed come a long way from a tentative beginning in Fairtrade labelling in 1994, when the first Fairtrade certified product, Green & Black’s Maya Gold Chocolate with cocoa from Belize was launched.

Since then, a lot of water has flowed down the Thames. The Fairtrade Foundation has been a marvellous catalyst of social change. Awareness about the brand is now at nearly 60% of the adult population in UK. The number of Fairtrade certified products from food grains to footballs have crossed the 1500 mark. Among its patrons are a diverse range of organisations, including the House of Commons, The Transport and General Worker’s Union, the BMA, Youth Hostels, Salvation Army, the Co-operative Bank, Co-op stores and supermarkets like Sainsbury, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Waitrose, Safeway and Asda. In 2005 itself, Fairtrade crossed the 100 towns and 1000 churches mark in the UK. Retail sales of products with the FAIRTRADE Mark were estimated at £290m in 2006.

Accolades have been pouring in, too. The Fairtrade Foundation won the King Baudouin International Prize for Development in 2003, the Charity of the Year award in 2004, and The Directory of Social Change’s ‘Social Change Award’ in the category of Influencer in 2007. Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2006. The FAIRTRADE Mark also won Special Recognition as a Superbrand in 2005.

What is more important is the fact that Fairtrade is now a movement with a great momentum, directly benefiting millions of marginalised producers across the globe.

The Flamboyant Coin Purse

Most women will carry their coin purse tucked away in some deep, dark corner of their larger purse or handbag. All this will change when you are introduced to a coin purse that is handmade in Thailand; you will want to toss out your old bulky purse and show off your glamorous coin purse instead! Handcrafted in Thailand by a women’s cooperative, these coin purses are made using recycled traditional Thai-Burmese clothing. Once the clothing has deteriorated too far to be wearable anymore it is cut into strips and woven into these dainty coin purses.

Long lasting and seriously stylish, the one phrase that is sure to come to mind when you see these eco-friendly hand-made coin purses is the catch-phrase, “If you’ve got it; flaunt it.”

The Strong and Silent Shopping Bag

A few times a month, you find yourself browsing the aisles of your local grocery store in order to stock up on those last minute purchases you just have to have. When you finally make your way to the cashier you are greeted with the question, “Paper or plastic”. If you carry along an eco-friendly shopping bag when you go grocery shopping, you could be the one to proudly say, “Neither” in response to the cashier’s question.

Eco friendly shopping bags can make a big difference to the preservation of the planet. Recycled handbags are made in countries like Cambodia where they are handcrafted from reclaimed sarongs; the traditional clothing of the Cambodians. Not only are the exteriors of the bags made from recycled materials, the pouches on the inside of the bags are also made from recycled newspapers and old rice bags.

As durable as they are stylish, eco-friendly shopping bags are the ‘strong and silent’ type in the world of grocery bags. They are capable of carrying your groceries home without a murmur of protest and will happily accompany you on your next shopping trip and many more after that too.

The Marvelous Messenger Bag and the Hip Hobo Handbag

You can certainly find more than coin purses and shopping bags when looking for recycled bags. In Cambodia, they can fashion a totally recycled messenger bag from reclaimed newspapers and comic books!

Whether you are looking for eco-friendly hand bags or recyclable shopping bags, take a look online and you are sure to find something that suits your style. You can even find colorful hobo handbags crocheted out of strips from plastic shopping bags.

Time to Go Shopping!

So many choices, so little time! Don’t stop until you find a bag that is completely handmade from 100% natural or recycled materials. If saving the planet is as easy as bag shopping, imagine what you can do when you really put your mind to it!

The internet and commercials on TV give you so many options to choose from and that leaves you open to pick the perfect gift for the perfect recipient. With all of the things available online, there is only one gift that saves the planet and provides life long convenience… eco friendly bags.

Eco friendly bags are made of 100% recycled or all natural materials, and are always made by hand. Now that you know how environmentally friendly these bags are, who in your family wouldn’t want one?

Eco Friendly Bags for your Siblings

Yes, your brother or sister was a royal terror to you while growing up. They never did give you a moment’s peace. But now that you are all grown up! It’s time to put those differences aside and gift your beloved siblings something precious that they will treasure forever; something far more valuable than jewelery and gems.

How about an eco friendly handbag made of 100% recycled paper! Believe it or not, recycled newspaper is super strong and super durable. A 100% recycled handbag provides years of use that can literally save hundreds of trees and can stop environmental pollution and global warming in their tracks. When you gift somebody you love an eco friendly handbag or shopping bag you are in effect giving them the gift of a clean environment that is pollution free. It is in fact a gift that will be handed down to future generations. You’d be hard put to find a better gift.

Eco Friendly Bags for your Parents

The parental units weren’t always the coolest of people were they? Well, now you can show them how much you love and appreciate them by giving them something that is totally cool and represents something even cooler. Your mom will love having her very own 100% all natural carry all bag. She can put whatever her heart desires into it and the bag itself is earth friendly. Your dad will love his 100% recycled laundry bag. Well, if he doesn’t he can still help your mom by getting his dirty socks off the floor and into the laundry bag.

Eco friendly handbags, shopping bags, laundry bags and purses are some of the greatest gifts you can give to the people who mean the world to you. Not only are you giving your loved ones a gift that will for generations and just might be something they really need, you are also giving the Earth something it needs too…a helping hand.

You have heard about how they are made from 100% natural or 100% recycled materials. You have heard about how they are handmade in disadvantaged countries so that the men and women of those economies have money to feed, clothe and shelter their families. While all of this is true, were you also aware of how completely stylish and fashionable eco friendly bags are?

Here are just a couple of choices from a huge selection of eco-friendly handbags available over the internet:

Eco Friendly on the Red Carpet

More and more actors and actress have become involved in environmental causes. Not only are they devoting time and lots of money to these causes that they believe in whole heartedly, they are also supporting businesses that create eco friendly products for sell on the world market.

You would be surprised to know how many celebrities are sporting evening clutch bags that are made of 100% recycled materials. Also, there are tons of celebrities that purchase handbags made of 100% all natural materials for use as diapers bags. These guys just don’t mess with chemicals when it comes to something they use for their children.

This is one of those cases when it is okay to say, “Do what the celebrities do!” If they are supporting environmental causes, you should too. Buy a 100% natural handbag and tell all your friends that you saw your favorite star wearing one last week. They will be so jealous!

Eco Friendly at School

Kids these days are totally into what is hot at the moment. One moment this fashion statement is all the rage and in the next it is so “totally last week”. Your kids can create a totally new fashion trend by hauling their books to school in a tote bag made completely out of 100% newspaper and comic books. Not only are these tote bags eco friendly, they are durable and super colorful too. Your kids can start a craze that can really help out the environment.

Being eco friendly does not mean you have to wear brown sackcloth and carry a brown paper bag everywhere you go; you can save the Earth while still looking as chic and stylish as ever. Go online and browse through all the sites available that feature eco friendly bags. You cannot but help fall in love the fabulous the styles at the down-to-earth prices.

Eco friendly bags are poised to become the next big thing. Don’t get left behind! Buying an buy an eco friendly bag will catapult you into the forefront of a new fashion revolution and make you a trend-setter overnight.

The Eco Friendly Bag as a Shopping Bag

Few people actually know that you can use eco friendly bags for more than just toting around groceries. Consumers don’t just shop in grocery stores; they shop in malls, department stores, specialty shop and drug stores. Your 100% recycled eco friendly handbag can do the duty of carrying everything you purchase, no matter where you shop.

The trick to getting the proper use out of your eco friendly bag is to make sure the bag makes it way back into your car after every use. You are more likely to use it instead of the paper or plastic bags they offer if you actually have it on hand. With eco-friendly shopping bags, you can shop till you drop without feeling guilty about cluttering up landfills with unnecessary waste!

The Eco Friendly Bag as a Diaper Bag

New moms everywhere now have a whole new perspective on things. When you have a child you often wonder about your child’s safety and whether or not the world or environment around them is safe. Well, sometimes it isn’t, but you can do your part to help preserve this planet for your child by carrying around all his or her baby essentials in a 100% recycled eco friendly bag.

A lot of eco friendly handbags are on the larger side and can easily accommodate diapers, wipes, bottles, pacifiers and several changes of clothes. With several convenient compartments and pockets, these baby-friendly, eco-friendly handbags will not only save the environment, they will also save your sanity.

The Eco Friendly Bag as a School Bag

Finding everything kids need for school is a jumble of credit cards, trips to the school supply isle and a lot of tears. You can make part of the process easier on yourself by supplying your kids with 100% recycled eco friendly bags that will last them for years to come. Imagine the time and headache you will save if the school bag they use actually lasts through several school years!

Eco friendly bags are great for the environment, make a really neat fashion statement, cost less than some name brand back packs and have tons of space for all the things they need to carry.

Eco friendly bags are marvels of the modern age. You can save the planet and save money and actually get some use out of them before relegating them to the thrash bin.

How can you, as the consumer, make the best choices for the environment? Here’s how:

Less Packaging, Fresher Foods

Believe it or not, the fresher the food you buy, the less packaging is needed to keep it “buyable”. When looking for a lunch meat to satisfy your super hungry kids skip the packaged meat department and take a trip to the deli. Pre-packaged meat comes with labels and seals and dense plastic containers and after all that, the meat isn’t all that good. Buying meat directly from the deli case will guarantee that the meat is fresh and the only packaging you have to worry about is the sealed baggy they wrap the meat in.

Purchasing fresh veggies instead of frozen veggies means that you will have to put a little more effort into cooking them but think of the fact that fresh veggies don’t require being wrapped in plastic, they can go right into the cart and then into the crisper.

Go Paper!

When the cashier asks you if you want paper or plastic, say “PAPER”! Paper bags are actually biodegradable and have many uses around the house. Plastic bags take up to 1 million years to degrade and have limited use in your home. If you don’t like the bulkiness of the paper bag, go online and purchase an eco-friendly 100% recycled shopping bag. These bags are made of 100% recycled fibers and will last you a lifetime. All you have to do is bring it to the store with you when you shop and load it up with your groceries.

Shop Smarter

If you have a large family to feed, it might just be easier on you and the environment to buy in bulk for the month. Buying one large container of something uses less packaging that buying 4 or 5 smaller packages. Not only do you use less packaging, if you take less trips to the store, that is less plastic bags being used. Also, think of all the fuel you will save if you only take a trip to the store twice a month.

Going green at the grocery store is so much easier now. Saving money and the environment is not only eco-friendly, it is also smart!

100% Recycled? 100% Reusable?

With all of the shopping going on, you are bound to find yourself head deep in plastic bags. No matter where you go, your purchases will be bagged in some form of material that can be re-used in several different ways.

When the cashier at the grocery store asks you if you want paper or plastic, you should be able to give a better answer than, “whichever”. Plastic bags, once used and discarded, end up in landfills where it can take a minimum of one million years to break down. Even then, the chemicals used in the manufacturing of the plastic bag seep into the ground and poison it. Paper bags are a better choice but it still takes a tree to create piles of paper bags. So what can you do as a consumer to be an eco friendly shopper?

Eco friendly shopping bags are handmade from materials you throw out everyday. Those newspapers you toss into the recycling bin every week make their way back into your home in the form of a super durable, 100% reusable and recycled shopping bag. Because paper is made from trees it is much stronger than you’d think. Ever try tearing a phonebook in half? When bound and woven during the bag making process, it is given more strength and durability that will come in handy when your shopping bag is filled to the brim with cans of soup.

Other Uses for Your 100% Recycled Shopping Bag

When your bi-monthly shopping trip is over, don’t put that bag away! There are many other uses for your 100% recycled shopping bag. Your reusable shopping bag can be reused and reused and reused…

Here, to get you kick-started are just a few of the hundreds of different ways that you can reuse your eco-friendly shopping bag:

• As a diaper bag – tons of space for baby’s stuff and yours
  
• As a pet carrier – cozy and comfy for your furry friend
  
• As a crafts bag – imagine all the knitting stuff you can cram in there and bring wherever you go
  
• As a carry-all or airline carry on- it’s the perfect size for overhead bins

Being eco friendly used to be about living outdoors without the modern conveniences that pollute and destroy the Earth. Now, being eco friendly means making smarter choices about the things you buy and how you reuse them. Using shopping bags made out of recycled materials can’t give you super powers but it can definitely make you feel like a super hero saving the earth.

“Fair trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, which seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalised producers and workers – especially in the South.”

The idea of “fair trade” is quite a few decades old, but certifying goods took off only in 1988 with the first Fairtrade label "Max Havelaar" by the Dutch development agency Solidaridad when fair trade coffee started being sold in the Netherlands. Incidentally, Max Havellar was a fictional character against exploitation of plantation workers in Dutch colonies! This was followed by similar efforts in markets of Europe and North America, including the "Fairtrade Mark" in UK and Ireland (1992) and "Transfair" in Germany, USA, Canada, Italy, Japan, etc.

In 1997, Fairtrade Labelling Organisation International (FLO) was formed in Bonn, W. Germany to unify and standardise certification across the globe. 21 labelling initiatives are members of FLO International. The FLO movement now has two distinct entities – FLO International lays down standards and provides business support to producers, while FLO-CERT looks after inspection, audit and certification of producers and traders.  In UK, the Fairtrade Foundation was formed in 1992 by CAFOD, Christian Aid, Oxfam, Traidcraft and the World Development Movement. A number of other organisations soon joined in, including the National Federation of Women’s Institutes. The Fairtrade Foundation has indeed come a long way from a tentative beginning in Fairtrade labelling in 1994, when the first Fairtrade certified product, Green & Black’s Maya Gold Chocolate with cocoa from Belize was launched.

Since then, a lot of water has flowed down the Thames. The Fairtrade Foundation has been a marvellous catalyst of social change. Awareness about the brand is now at nearly 60% of the adult population in UK. The number of Fairtrade certified products from food grains to footballs have crossed the 1500 mark. Among its patrons are a diverse range of organisations, including the House of Commons, The Transport and General Worker’s Union, the BMA, Youth Hostels, Salvation Army, the Co-operative Bank, Co-op stores and supermarkets like Sainsbury, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Waitrose, Safeway and Asda. In 2005 itself, Fairtrade crossed the 100 towns and 1000 churches mark in the UK. Retail sales of products with the FAIRTRADE Mark were estimated at £290m in 2006.

Accolades have been pouring in, too. The Fairtrade Foundation won the King Baudouin International Prize for Development in 2003, the Charity of the Year award in 2004, and The Directory of Social Change’s ‘Social Change Award’ in the category of Influencer in 2007. Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2006. The FAIRTRADE Mark also won Special Recognition as a Superbrand in 2005. 

What is more important is the fact that Fairtrade is now a movement with a great momentum, directly benefiting millions of marginalised producers across the globe. 

A direct fallout of this has been the relocation of many low-technology industries to low cost economies in the developing world. To remain competitive, a large number of companies have shifted their manufacturing base to low-cost economies of the “South.” The cost advantage in these countries has also helped consumers in the developed countries by keeping the prices of many essential commodities low. In the textile sector, most of the world production is today sourced from Latin America, Asia and Africa.

However, a completely different set of problems started surfacing soon after this transition. To keep costs low, the majority of producers looked for countries with the lowest possible wages to locate their manufacturing facilities. This in turn led to concentration of industries in countries with inadequate safety net for industrial workers – whether a poor legal structure or a poor record in their enforcement.

Horror stories soon began pouring out of many such manufacturing hubs, a return to the dimly lit, unventilated ‘sweatshops’ of the early days of the Industrial Revolution. A kind of industry where there are no maximum working hours, no overtime pay, no holidays, no benefits, no trade union or collective bargaining rights. Where little children work in the unhealthiest of environments, and getting pregnant can get a woman worker fired.  There have even been reports of indentured or bonded labour and sexual exploitation of workers. The victims are inevitably the weaker and marginalized communities without a minimum access to human rights and freedoms we take for granted.  Governments in such nations sometimes hesitate to crack down on such abominable practices fearing that the industries would simply relocate to other countries, creating even more poverty.

It is against such inequitable and unfair practices that the concept of ethical and sweatshop-free production first emerged. The movement presents a case for discouraging these unscrupulous producers by simply refusing to buy their products, unless they follow certain norms of behaviour. A number of organisations on both sides of the Atlantic have campaigned for consumers to be aware of where the things they buy are actually coming from, and whether blood and tears went into making them.

What about the shopping bags already in existence or those which will come into circulation until they are banned altogether? The first obvious step towards reducing them must be to ensure that they are recycled as far as possible. A virtual cottage industry has developed in less privileged communities in many parts of Asia and Africa. People there have been harvesting and recycling discarded plastic shopping bags for quite some time to create aesthetically wonderful and useful household items – even shopping bags. Supporting their effort can go a long way to protect the environment, at the same time helping these communities sustain themselves.

Some eminent designers in the West have drawn inspiration from these eco-friendly alternatives and launched collections of their own.  Recycled items of both varieties are now easily available in the market.  When you buy them, you can have the satisfaction of doing your bit for a greener planet.

There are a host of alternatives to the plastic shopping bag. Paper is the most common and is recycled to a much greater degree than plastic.  But it has environmental costs as well. Production of paper itself involves deforestation. Again, though it biodegrades much more than plastic, most of the paper going into landfills along with other garbage do not break down fast enough due to the shortage of air, water and light in modern landfills.

Then there are substitutes of the plastic shopping bag, made from various natural fibres like jute, cotton, linen, hemp, and so on. Hemp is not particularly popular as the hemp plant is a source of cannabis. But bags made of jute etc. can be used a large number of times and are the ideal bag material. These fibres are composed of cellulose, a natural polymer. Not only are they biodegradable; they actually reduce the effect of carbon dioxide emissions as the plants absorb the gas, helping fight global warming. 

Using an eco-friendly bag makes sense moneywise, too. If you carry your own bag to shop, you are likely to get a discount for not taking a plastic bag from the store. The cost of a bag will soon be recovered. There are enough truly fashionable bags out there that you would want to be seen carrying. In fact, you will be making a statement when you walk into a store carrying an eco-friendly bag.

The main thing is to give up the plastic habit. It takes a little bit of effort to actually take our reusable eco-friendly bag along to the store and not to leave it in the car. Once we are able to change our mindset and make it our second nature to refuse plastic bags, the rest is easy.