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Fair Trade is Good Trade

A customer recently emailed us, asking:

"I'm trying to eliminate buying products made through inhumane labour practices and was wondering if you are aware of the practices of the manufacturers of your goodies?"

Well, yes we are aware of the conditions in which our products are made (we include this consideration in our buying policies - something we just recently wrote about for our  website).

We limit our electronic purchases to Europe (Swiss or German), Japan, Australia or North America. The Swiss, German and North American electronics are all made in small, worker-owned workshops. The Japanese electronics are made by a company that restricts its product line to personal massagers. It is family owned and operated, now by the second generation. The two exceptions to this are the Natural Contours Vibes which are made in China (they are designed and licensed by a woman and the institute that distributes them has vouched for the appropriate conditions of workmanship) and the vibes used by Downunder Toys (a woman-owned and operated manufacturer of silicone toys).

Most of our silicone makers work within small, owner operated, home-based businesses that are woman owned. A few have managed to build up enough of a business to get our of their basements and into an offsite location while maintaining a close-knit workforce. The oldest company is owned by a man who was the original inventor of silicone dildos in conjunction with the American Paraplegic Society.

Our leather wares are also made in small worker-owned cottage industries. 95% of our leather implements are woman-made. 100% of our harnesses are woman-made. In the case of such products exclusive to us, the goods are also made under  Womyns'Ware Inc.'s "better than a living wage" policy. We pay craftswomen working directly for us a rate commensurate with their training, skills and experience to recognize that highly skilled craftswomen should be able to live and support their families through their craft.

Even our lubricants and condoms come from small, independent (not the giant pharmaceuticals) companies dedicated to making better-than-average STD barriers and natural ingredient-based lubricants.  But that's not all! We believe that fair trade buying policies shouldn't stop at what goes on the shelves. Businesses often consume more in related supply and services than they do in inventory, so it makes sense to us that a thoughtful fair trade buying policy extend to the shelves themselves! Most of our supply and services traveled less than 10 City blocks to get to our door - this includes staff and our building trade labour, our fixtures (like custom shelving, planters and flowers, decorative metal work, glass in the windows, and the chairs we sit on), our packaging, marketing production and design, and the food we feed the store dog! When you think of the cost of fossil fuels to bring things from afar that could have come from next door, coupled with the economic back bone of a community that can be generated from secondary supply industries, it just makes sense for us to invest in our neighbourhood for as much of what we consume as we possibly can. The fringe benefits, like getting to know your neighbours and being able to walk to work, are nice too!