Saturday, May 10^th, is Fair Trade day in the US. Blue Gobi practices fair trade and works with artisans from Nepal, Morocco, Colombia, Thailand, Mongolia and Haiti. We are celebrating this event and constantly working on increasing awareness of fair trade. So the question is what is Fair Trade?

Fair trade is a movement to alleviate poverty in the developing nations and promote sustainability. Most people know fair trade through agricultural products such as coffee, sugar, and cocoa. Some crafts are also now fair trade and they come from developing nations. When a product is fair trade, it means the following:

* Usually the product comes out of developing nations where the producers/artisans may not have access to the markets of developed nations.Blue Gobi works with artisans who are economically disadvantaged and normally would not be able to produce the goods without a starting capital.
*Fair pricing is given.There will be no slave labor or sweat shop labor.The buyers pay a good price for the goods to the producers/artisans.The producers/artisans in turn can use this payment to increase their living standards.

* Assistance to the producers/artisans on technology, business knowledge and help them move toward independence.Sometimes, you start with Internet 101.

*Safe working environment for the producers/artisans

*Promote sustainability for the environment; prohibit the use of genetically modified organism (GMO) in the produce.In the case of Blue Gobi, we focus on organic cotton, fruit seeds that are renewable.

From a more personal perspective, Mr. Davaamagsar who makes the Leather Wallet with Gemstone for us is a Mongolian artisan who received starting capital from Grassroots, Blue Gobi’s partner in Mongolia, for his business. The sum of the loan is small in comparison to what we are used to here. We are talking about only a couple hundred dollars. Since he got the micro loan in 2003, he has grown to hire four workers with a monthly business income of $1000 now. Because of his relationship with Grassroots, he is now a Blue Gobi fair trade artisan. This would not have been possible if there was not a micro loan or if there was not technology and business training, or fair pricing.

Why should we care and buy fair trade? I think the answer lies in what kind of person you want to be and what kind of legacy you want to leave for the next generation. There are plenty of disadvantaged farmers, artisans, workers in this world; many of whom live in countries whose government cannot or do not help. Most of us in the US have much to give. Most of us have a roof over our heads, food on the table, cars to drive to work, jobs to pay bills, and great public schools for the children. Should some of us be unfortunate and are down on our lucks, there is government assistance in the form of unemployment, disability, and welfare payments. The US is truly a wealthy nation for the majority.

The money spent on a cup of coffee you bought this morning could be enough to help someone in Morocco or Mongolia. Better yet, if one has the disposable income to buy that cup of coffee, why don’t we buy a cup of coffee one knows is fair trade? Becoming closer to the force and people that produce the goods we use and the food we eat is a good thing. Being socially responsible and aware of the choices we made is a good thing. Give your money to the producers you know are worthy of your patronage.

Do you want to instill the social responsible message on the next generation or do you want to instill consumerism –disposable everything-let’s buy because we have the credit cards- message? Buy the lowest price possible regardless of how a product is made? Look at the recent issues Chinese producers have had, our cheapest producer du jour. It’s a choice. Isn’t it?

It is always a choice. Make the right call. Be sustainable.

I was recently the guest speaker at an MBA class at University of Utah.  U of U, we call it, is the largest and the most prominent university in the state of Utah.  It takes up a huge area right in the smack of downtown.

A friend of mine, Julie, is the professor there.  She is teaching a class on “How to Improve your Return on Investment for Marketing Programs” or something along the line of “Maximize your ROI for Marketing Programs.”  Since I am no longer at my previous employer, I could not use the presentation I did for eTail conference and had to start from scratch.  The joy of PowerPoint!  Of course, I figured it would be a good practice for me to prepare for future investors…  I had done a couple of these guest speaker things for Julie before.  Sometimes, I get surprised by how bright and eager the students are; sometimes, I get surprised by how unenthusiastic students are.  These responses are all based on the same material and same level of presentation from me.  Believe me, my presentation did not suck.  Not with all that animation and pictures.

It made me think of the days when I was a graduate level student of economics.   I sat in Professor G’s class for econometrics.  So here is somewhat complicated math bred with supply/demand theories all in the same house.  I could not help but wanting to escape.  Mind you, all Asians are good in math and I am no different?  That was just boring stuff for me and I got a C.  The last time I had a C was in chemistry in high school and I knew to never major in chemistry.

I also thought about the fact that while I was in college, I had a full time summer jobs in a very s**!ty wholesale distribution place in the Fashion District in NYC and how I learned the value of a dollar.  I had a small desk in a completely enclosed room filled with cardboard boxes, floor to ceiling, all around me.  I was working for this woman from mainland China with bulging goldfish eyes.  I remember how she looked at me with those eyes and my desire to push them back inside the eye sockets.

I held down a tutoring job at night after the wholesale place, teaching English to high school students.  She was reading Hamlet, I think.  To be or not to be, that is the question.  But I did not care about the meaning of existence then – I wasted a good three years searching for meaning and was miserable.  I now only wanted to get paid so I could help my parents with my college tuition.  City schools were still very expensive for non-residents.  My mom was working a minimum wage job selling lottery tickets and my dad was selling miscellaneous low ticket items on commission.  I had a brother who was about to go into college, ivy league no less and a sister in school.  We were cramped into this tiny 3 bedroom apartment in the Kingsbridge area of the Bronx.  We all needed to get fed and pay tuition.

It also made me remember my first job at 16, I counted extra large bras in a women’s apparel store in the Bronx.  Never in my life before did I know that there was a size 48FFFF.  Never in my life before was I scolded because I took initiatives.  I was told to do “only what I was told.”  I had trouble with that concept…  What if there is a better or a different idea?  Should I not try it?  No matter!  The numbers on my pay checks for all these jobs were very small but significant enough for my immigrant parents who were struggling to keep a family of 5 going.

Once I got to a class that I was paying for myself, I gave the professor my all, my questions, and my difficult personality.  I wanted to get my money worth.  I wanted the professor to not chit chat.  I wanted real knowledge.  I did not want BS.  Time is money, my hard earned money.  I wonder how many kids in this MBA class feel the same way.

Over all, I thought the presentation went over well.  I talked about fair trade and sustainability.  Some have a good idea of what fair trade is.  Some feel the same as I do on sustainability and wanted to know what they can do in their daily lives to conserve energy and make the right choice in purchasing.  Some liked my story on the bad service I got from Dell.  I used it as an example of what is not customer centric.  It boggles my mind that there is plenty of bad customer service around and those companies continue to prosper.  The students were surprised that jewelry can be green.  They wanted to know about the artisans and how it is to work with artisans in different countries.  They were delighted to learn about the Mongolian nomad I met while visiting Mongolia last summer.  I am not sure how they took my description of his gert – on the one side, there is a laptop powered by solar panels and a digital camera; on the other side, there is a slab of fresh horse meat, being dried and hanging from the center of the tent; in the center, there is a dirty barrel filled with fermented horse milk.   I drank some that day.

I don’t think any of these students will be drinking fermented horse milk and salty tea with a Mongolian nomad anytime soon, but I think they took away some lessons in fair trade and how to care for our environment.  I guess it was worth it. 

One order at a time.  One blog at a time.  One MBA class at a time.

Khin is a 40 something refugee from Burma. Khin, her husband and three children lived in a Thai Refugee camp for years prior to coming to the US. She is now living in the west side of Salt Lake City with her family.

When I first met Khin a few weeks ago, she gave me a very shy smile and said “nice to meet you.” Her hand shake was soft and very polite, almost afraid to touch me. She does not speak much English. Her understanding of the language is limited to three-four word sentences with a 3 year old vocabulary. I also met her husband, Kaung.  Kaung is about my height, 5’5”, and sports a very short hair cut and a toothy smile. Every one of his teeth kind of have a dark outline that appears to be a result of chewing tobacco or beetle nuts which is very popular in Asia. Because of this outline, his smile really jumps at you signaling his happiness. When people are limited in the common (or official) language, they tend to use a lot of facial expression to communicate. The smiles can be contagious.

To give a bit of background, I have come to know Khin because I was looking to donate furniture to a “worthy” organization. Through my daughter’s teacher who works with some refugees from Somalia, I got in contact with this organization Khin belongs to.  Being an immigrant myself, I understand the difficulties in a new country that you must call home. I also understand what it means to a family to not speak the language and not have a means to support one. Thanks to organizations like this, these refugees have a support system that helps them acclimate to the new situation and even helps them find jobs.

And that’s where I come in. Since I already work with developing nation artisans, I think it will be pretty much the same working with Khin. Not too much English and with a huge cultural divide. Luckily, the employment counselors, Josh and Stacey, are here to help.

Our first meeting with Khin, she was a no show. Apparently that’s quite common since transportation is an issue for them and sometimes they simply do not understand the communication. The second time, she came with her husband and brought a lot of her work for show me. Khin is a skilled seamstress – she makes shirts, skirts, dresses. I am hoping I can help Khin to put her skills to use and figure out a way to market her work. Right now, the family has almost no income and they need to develop some skills to be employable.

That was a tough meeting for me… I looked at a whole shopping bag full of clothes she brought and tried very hard to say positive things. Her items are simply very dollar store like with grandma designs and 100% synthetic, non-breathable material.  But they are resting their hopes on me; this is their way to assimilation and to financial security. And there are those toothy smiles of Kaung. He just kept smiling at me while I was commenting on Khin’s work. Right there, I realized that there is a very steep learning curve and a long road to a marketable product. I could see it in Josh and Stacey’s eyes. They knew what I was thinking and they are used to working from the ground up. Josh quickly jumps to action and tries to take baby steps on the education.

We decided that we need to show Khin the “American Style.” We also need to show Khin the “Burmese” style. We need Khin to be able to merge the east with west and come up with an artistic creation that all women ages 20-55 would want to wear.

We gave ourselves home work – Josh to research the Burmese style, Stacey and I to bring catalogs or magazines that could demonstrate the American style. Khin was completely overwhelmed. So was I.

There is so much commercialism associated with this holiday. Starting in mid January, all one can see are pink boxes of chocolates, stuff animals and hearts. Hearts and hearts everywhere. Not to say that Valentine’s Day is not important to lovers, after all, Blue Gobi sells jewelry. Jewelry is one of the most tried and true, romantic “love” gifts a man can buy to demonstrate his love. Do you know that Ruby signifies passion?

But how can we make this commercial holiday more meaningful?

Picking up chocolate and flowers are nice. I like it as much as the next girl. It’s important for all the men out there to know that it’s the thought that counts for most of the ladies. Take some time to think about what is meaningful and what’s special and personalized. DO NOT wait until 2/14 to find something good. Spend sometime to make a purchase choice, if purchase is what you have in mind.

We are all powerful in our own ways. Consumers have a choice. Choose to buy things that helps others; choose to buy things that are fair trade; choose to buy things that is meaningful. Let’s not participate in the “disposable” economy. Quality of many massly produced items (from furniture, chocolate, jewelry, food, clothing, electronics) can be very poor and are produced in a country where human rights, social responsibilities are the last of the priority. Sometimes, we are so far removed from our the cycle of production, we have no idea what went into the product.

Just think about it. We can choose what we buy and how close we are to our purchases. If we make it a conscientious decision, people and the world will benefit.