New On The Block
NEW BREED OF DEALER ON 14TH. "Future Green" has opened its second retail outlet just off of 14th St. NW. Not another fancy shmancy furniture store that's part of chain to boot, you ask? Well if that's what you think, you'd be wrong.
This "eco-friendly home and family center" has just opened (their other store is in Milwaukee) at 1469 Church St. They specialize in organic body-care products, organic mattresses, bedding and clothing, non-toxic building supplies, various recycled items, plus "fair-trade" products, which are produced by laborers earning a living wage.
In general, the store seems to have an Asian vibe to it. According to their website, "Future Green was born with the idea to have a shop that your every purchase created some sort of positive impact. Thus our slogan: The power of purchase, the positive impact! came into being." See what I mean. Reads like a fortune cookie.
Anyway, this is the second retail outlet that has opened in DC recently with a mission in mind other than simply turning a profit. Books For America -- with its pro-literacy mission -- opened in Dupont Circle last year.
One Liners
HOUSING PRICE MAP. As spotted on bubblemeter, here is a cool google mashup of recent home sales laid upon a map of DC.
MARK TUOHEY SAYS HE'S AN OPTIMIST about closing a deal on a baseball stadium. DC Bubble says "it will believe it when it see it." Plus it adds "show me the money" and "talk is cheap." You get the idea.
January 17, 2006
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2 comments:
Ugh! Since when is "fair trade" a positive thing?
1) "Fair trade" hurts small family farmers because they can't afford the thousands of dollars that it takes to get the certification.
2) WORKERS do not get paid a better wage under "fair trade". The farmer gets paid more, but there is no guarantee whatsoever that he will pay his workers more.
3) SInce the companies that can afford the "fair trade" certification are large companies, you are paying the worlds largest corporations extra millions of dollars to help them extinguish the small family farm. Good work!
Isn't the whole point of certification that in order to be certified as "Fair Trade" the various elements in the chain of production --- including the small farmers at the start of the chain --- have to have been fairly compensated for their efforts? I.e., It isn't small farmers who sell directly to your supermarkets in the US. That would not only be impractical but prohibitably expense since each farmer would have to fly up here, make his/her own deals, etc. etc. ... with no economies of scale. Instead the small farmer sells his produce to some large collective or the like and they in turn resell to an exporter who deals with importers here who deal with the Safeways of the world. What the Fair Trade Certification does is put the onus on these "large corporations" to show that they are dealing fairly with everyone down the chain ... including the small farmer that actually produces the produce.
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