good & fair clothing co.

I've been learning and telling you a lot lately about buying fair trade. It just makes sense. If we're going to be consumers, we should honor companies that respect their workers and the environment by buying their products & helping them thrive. It's about the only recourse we have as individuals to demand corporate responsibility from the monolith of multinational corporations.

That is why today I would like you to make the acquaintance of Good & Fair Clothing Co. Good & Fair is dedicated to using organic and fair-trade materials, ensuring fair wages for farmers and workers, and providing resources for people to get out of poverty in their own community. You can order cute & comfy men's & women's t-shirts and underwear on their website. I'm looking forward to seeing them add more clothing to their inventory like tank tops and maybe even cute summer dresses for women (hint hint!). And for my peeps in Austin, TX, you can find Good & Fair Clothing at Parts & Labor and STAG on South Congress Avenue.


In addition to looking for labels on products in stores that distinguish them as fair trade, I want to also point you to another website that I think is a good resource for fair trade products. Fair Trade USA is a 501(c)(3) third-party certifier of fair trade products in the United States. Check out companies that support fair trade on their Products & Partners page before you shop!

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flowers for good

Send flowers to someone on Valentine's Day and score major points. Send one of Organic Bouquet's eco-friendly Flowers for Good bouquets and do something good for the world at the same time. A frillion points.

Flowers for Good™ was established to help non-profits make positive changes in the work they do. Choose from any one of their charitable bouquets and 5% of your purchase will go toward making the world a better place.

Here's another cool thing: many of the bouquets are EcoBlooms, which means they have multiple certifications which include one or more of the following: Veriflora Certified (guarantees that flowers have been produced in an environmentally and socially responsible manner and meet the highest standards for freshness and quality), Fair Trade Certified, Florverde (which requires stringent workplace standards), EcoCert (sustainable), Rainforest Alliance Certified (which guarantees compliance with strict guidelines protecting the environment, wildlife, workers and local communities), Fair Labor Practices & Community Benefits™ Certified (which will guarantee strict compliance for labor practices), FlorEcuador® by Expoflores (covers sustainable agriculture production and fair labor practices), and more.

And as if all of that wasn't enough for rackin' up the karma points, each time you purchase a product from Organic Bouquet, the amount of carbon emissions from that shipment is offset by rolling funds into the Nicaragua Reforestation Project through Carbonfund.org. AND...they use eco-friendly packaging made from recycled and recyclable materials. Everyone loves getting flowers and now you can feel just as good about sending them. (Order early so you can guarantee they'll be delivered via FedEx Next Day by Monday.)

For those of you who want to walk through the door with a dozen roses on Valentine's Day instead of having them delivered, buy Fair Trade flowers. You can get them at Whole Foods and various other grocery stores.

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news: "Top ten Valentine's Day gifts that give back"

Want some more ideas for Valentine's Day gifts? Check out this article from Causecast from the Huffington Post that lists 10 Valentine's Day gifts that give back - from donations to conflict-free diamonds. Share the love, y'all.

Top Ten Valentine's Day Gifts That Give Back

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world of good

Valentine's Day is in a week. I am not so granola-y that I can't appreciate a holiday (such as it is) that is centered around love. And I am not alone. People are gonna be out there buying gifts for each other and I want to remind you that this is a perfect opportunity to shop smart.

WorldofGood by eBay is a global marketplace where every purchase makes a difference. They empower people to shop in ways that align with their personal values. Like a nutrition label on a food item, each item has a Goodprint that lets you know about that item’s positive attributes. They have products that are People Positive, Eco Positive, Animal Friendly, or Supports a Cause. Independent organizations verify the positive impact every product listed on the site has on people and the planet so every choice you make to buy a product is a good one.

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