“A unique collaboration between Mexico’s El Hombre Sobre la Tierra and designer Alessandra Plasa of Via Nativa to create a line of textile jewelry for Global Goods Partners. Creating income and supporting sustainable development in the Yucatan.” – Global Goods Partners
Buy the jewelry here: https://www.globalgoodspartners.org/cart/results.cfm?cbo=22
First, on May 1st is the Arbor Day Festival at the Queens Botanical Gardens. Via Nativa as well as other NYC Fair Trade Coalition business members will be there to sell their newest spring wears! There will also be organic, local food, demonstrations and live music! Click here for more info!
Then, on Sunday, May 15th come on down to Sustainable NYC to celebrate World Fair Trade Day with chocolate & tea tastings by Kopali & Palo Mamajuana!
Meet the hottest Fair Trade businesses right here in NYC this Tuesday, 29 March, 9pm @ Arcadia, 228 Eighth Ave btwn 21st & 22nd St. Click here for more details! Via Nativa will also be there showing off some new jewelry painted with non toxic and environmentally friendly Milk Paint!
We are in the process to switching our blog to WordPress.com! Don’t worry, same great posts just a different URL 
This blog will no longer be updated, instead check out our new blog at http://nycfairtradecoalition.org/ !
According to Emi♥’s website, emi is Japanese for beautiful…and sure enough, Emi♥’s mission is beautiful. Coming from across the pond, Emi♥ is a fair trade jewelry and clothing brand in the UK. Emi♥’s products are made in fair trade factories in India and China, some even being BAFTs (The British Association of Fair Trade Shops) certified or part of the WFTO (World Fair Trade Organization).
Although it’s hard to visit these factories, Emi♥ ensures that the fair trade policies are carried out by having close contact with suppliers. “Having suppliers that are BAFTs certified or are part of the WFTO assures us that their ethical policies are really being upheld,” Padraig Tierney, campaign director, said.
However, Emi♥ doesn’t forget about its own country’s well-being. “As well as promoting ethical issues in other countries we wanted to keep something close to our hears,” Tierney said. “Our recycled jewelry collection comes from a factory based in the south of England and our new clothing line is handmade by skilled tailors right here in the UK.” According to Emi, fair trade isn’t all about fair payment, it’s about having a right to a fair way of life and that includes working practices, living rights and social interaction.
Emi♥ is also involved with the Tara (Trade Alternative Reform Action) Project, an organization that helps to improve social circumstances in Delhi, India by building schools and providing them with teachers and books. “New schools are being created all the time in under privileged communities, so by supporting our brand the profits from the jewelry you buy go directly to funding the project in India,” Tierney said.
Emi♥ only launched in 2009 and it has already seen growth in the fair trade movement, especially among designers. “It is our opinion, that if the new/smaller designers start producing ethical/fair trade clothing then the big corporate companies will also follow suit, like H&M’s eco-chic conscious collection,” Xander Kostroma, allocator, said.
The fair trade movement seems like an expensive investment, but Kostroma claims that it’s not as expensive as people think. Emi♥’s recycled jewelry has reasonable prices ranging from £25 GBP ($40.43 USD) to as low as £1.50 GBP ($2.42 USD). And remember, the profits go to the Tara Project!
Emi♥’s been working on their fall 2011 ladies work-night wear clothing line which is made from eco-jersey and super soft cotton. Their favorite piece, the hood dress is pictured below. Their collection is due to launch online in March/April and was featured at The Spring Fashion Show in Manchester on Feb. 11.
“We can’t choose what color skin we have, what family we are born into or where we first live but what we do have is a choice,” Kostroma said. “We can choose to help those less fortunate than us, we can choose to be part of a radical ethical movement and we can choose how we treat others.” Now that’s emi.
Emi♥’s rapidly expanding and always on the lookout for new designers to work with. Any new ethical designers out there who are looking for a platform to sell their designs though please get in touch with Emi♥ at info[at]ethical-emi.com
Emi♥’s Summer/Fall 2011 Clothing Collection
Emi♥’s Spring 2011 Jewelry
Acrylic Leopard Bangle
Antique Rose Bracelet
China Teacup and Pot Necklace
Birdcage Necklace
Feather Owl Necklace
Faux Pearl Ring
Photographer: Kera Robson
MUA/Hair stylist: Clare Arndern
50′s dresses designer: Steph Leopard
Jewelry: Emi♥
Couture hood dress: Emi♥
Models: Alana James, Nadia Arkhipova & Leah Slater
Copyright © 2010 Emi♥ Clothing Limited. All Rights Reserved
Are you an NYC social entrepreneur? Please join NYCFTC and Fordham University on Feb. 8th, 4pm, for a panel discussion and showcase.
Please contact Bryan Matis, President/Lead Manager of Fordham Students for Fair Trade – bmatis@fordham.edu.
Here are a few details for Feb. 8th:
3pm – arrival and set up in O’Keefe Commons in O’Hare Hall at Fordham’s Rose Hill (Bronx campus). Fordham will provide a folding table on which to display and sell your products
4:15pm – all entrepreneurs can participate in a panel discussion moderated by a student (why they’re involved in fair trade, how they founded a social business, the global implications of their work, etc.)
4:45pm-6:45pm – mingle again with the students and sell products, make connections, etc.
Fordham Students for Fair Trade and NYCFTC will cosponsor the event with Fordham’s Entrepreneurship Society and G.L.O.B.E., the international business club, for maximum student attendance. The Gabelli School of Business would also help us reach out to students to advertise.
Please join us for
See you there!
Carmen Iezzi, FTF Executive Director
Monday, Jan. 31st, 2011 from 7-9pm at Hudson Yards Cafe (35th Street and 10th Avenue)
Join NYCFTC and Fair Trade Federation for a casual evening of drinks, food and conversation with fellow fair trade supporters.
Are you attending or exhibiting NYIGF at the Javits? Come on by afterwards and join us! Interested in fair trade? Talk and meet like-minded friends!
We are excited that Green Bus Tours will also be on hand. http://www.greenbustour.com/
To learn more about Fair Trade Federation: http://www.fairtradefederation.org/
Cards from Africa (CfA), based in Kigali, Rwanda, manufactures beautiful hand-crafted greeting cards and other paper products for all occasions.
CfA seeks to break the cycle of poverty for orphaned youth by providing stable employment, fair wages, and job training through a nurturing, highly creative environment all with the goal of teaching them the skills to one day start their own business.
The card makers are all...
