Fair Trade Friday

Welcome to the first installment of Fair Trade Fridays!

It is my heart to spend my Friday blogs highlighting organizations, businesses, and ministries that seek to give us opportunities to buy products that promote fair treatment and compensation of employees.

Fair trade is a term that has become very well known over the last few years, but what exactly does fair trade mean? Well Wikipedia says "Fair Trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as social and environmental standards. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, chocolate and flowers." That is the online encyclopedia definition, but here is what fair trade means to me. It means that the products that I try to buy are not being made by the blood, sweat, and tears of slaves. Slavery is a term that (at least as far as I have seen) has really been coming to the forefront in the last five years. I have come to realize that slavery is not a thing of the past, but modern day slavery is real, is happening today, and is probably happening in your very own backyard (but that is a completely different discussion).

As I write this blog, I first of all want to throw it out there that I am by no means an expert on this subject. I just have a heart for justice and seeing people set free from bondage. I am not saying that everything that I have to say is right, but these are my thoughts and that is what blogging is all about right?

So there is the intro. for Fair Trade Friday. I have to say that I am really looking forward to learning more as I begin the quest to get stuff to share with you. Have a wonderful weekend and many blessings to you.

Thanks for reading :0)