With October being National Fair Trade Month, there is,
expectedly, plentiful conversation had around the tenets of Fair Trade. What is
the quality of the products being made? What is the compensation offered to the
producers? Are the working environments safe for those doing the work?
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| Alaffia Basket Weaving Coop in Ghana |
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| Sokode Shea Butter Coop |
In all
of this necessary conversation, a piece of Fair Trade that often goes without
mention is what the products are packaged in. Plastic packaging is everywhere,
global production of plastics has doubled over the past 15 years (2008), and
only in the recent past has a dialogue opened up about the toxicity levels in
this popular form of packaging.
A few of the more toxic ingredients used in the creation of
plastic are BPA, PVC, and Polystyrene. The dangers of these are relatively well
known, yet they are still widely used. Each are known to leach cancer causing
properties into whatever they contain, and in the case of beauty products, this
then becomes absorbed into your bloodstream within seconds. We include Fair Trade in our packaging process as well. We
source the majority of our packaging from local manufacturers, who work to
create non-toxic packaging made from post-consumer waste. By using packaging
from our surrounding states, we are supporting our local US based economy
rather than outsourcing to factories in places like China where the welfare of
the workers is in question. In many of those factories, the workers face
serious long-term health risks, including multiple types of cancers and
lymphomas. Additionally, by sourcing in majority from California and Utah, we
are working to reduce our carbon footprint by forgoing the expense of international
export.Our packaging supplier routinely inspects their domestic and
international facilities to ensure that employees are working in safe and
non-toxic environments; the well-being of the workers is a focus.
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| Sorting Shea nuts at the Sokode Coop |
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| Part of the Shea butter making process |
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| Alaffia products in the making at our Olympia headquarters |
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| Safely packaged, finished product. |
At Alaffia, we feel that Fair Trade should encompass the
entire production process from harvest to shelf. From providing fair wages to
those who harvest our raw ingredients in Togo, to those who formulate and
create our products here in Olympia, Wa. to the bottles those products are
filled in. We strive to maintain transparent relationships with all who contribute
to the creation of an Alaffia product.
Sources drawn from:
