Who's Your Green Inspiration?

Happy Earth Day, ghia friends!

On this lovely Earth Day, I'd like to encourage you to think about people who have inspired you to live a greener life and thank them for the difference they are making.

My green inspiration this year is my friend Ariana. A few weeks ago I was visiting Ariana's house with the city delivered an extra recycling bin. I was shocked -- her two-person household needed TWO recycling bins?

Ariana explained that she and her husband found they just didn't have much regular trash anymore. They eliminated a lot of household waste by trading one-time use products for reusable products; for instance, paper towels were ditched for cleaning rags. They also checked the city's curbside recycling guidelines and posted them in the house to be sure they were recycling everything they could. Products that didn't qualify for curbside recycling, such as glass, were collected until Ariana made a trip to a recycling center. They also tried to avoid buying products in non-recyclable containers, switching to brands that offered more environmentally friendly choices.

Wow! After listening to Ariana explain her recycling strategies, I felt like I had been stuck in 1990 recycling mode. Sure, my household recycled aluminum cans, paper, and cardboard, but most everything else got chucked into the trash. After seeing the huge difference Ariana made by putting a little extra thought into her choices, I decided to try it for myself. Now those plastic containers labeled 1 through 7 are rinsed and recycled, and I'm more careful with my shopping choices. I think I may need my own extra recycle bin soon.

Thanks, Ariana, for inspiring me to go greener!

All's Fair in Love? It's Up to You.

How are you celebrating Valentine's Day? Do the traditional flowers and box of chocolates appear somewhere in your idea of a romantic holiday?

This year you can spread the love globally with fair trade flowers and chocolates for your sweetie.

According to TransFair USA, 2008 marks the first Valentine's Day when fair trade flowers have been available to U.S. customers. Flowers that are fair trade certified have been grown according to stringent environmental standards. The growers have received fair wages for their work, and profit from the sales goes back into the community.

Don't forget to select some fairly traded chocolate to complete your recipe for romance. Fair trade chocolate is available in many local grocery stores, including Whole Foods and many independent stores specializing in organic foods.

If you think your love would prefer something a bit more, ahem, shiny for Valentine's Day, then I strongly suggest a gift certificate from ghia. Delivered via e-mail, the gift certificates are great last minute gifts for busy bees who haven't had time to shop, and they allow your true love to find the fair trade jewelry or locally made accessory that is perfect for them!

Magdalene House Featured in Nashville City Paper

Many ghia shoppers are familiar with the amazing products of Thistle Farms. These handmade lip balms, candles, and lotions are created and sold by women from the Magdalene House community, a two-year residential program and safe haven for women battling drug addiction and life on the streets.

The Nashville City Paper recently ran a terrific article about this organization, and I wanted to share it with you.

Magdalene House: 10 Years of Love and Rebirth

What is Unfair Trade?

What exactly constitutes ‘unfair’ trade?

The answer may (or may not) surprise you. One of the most frequent violators of ‘fair trade’ practices are usually governments. But not just developing or ‘3rd world’ countries governments exploiting an underpaid workforce, but frequently it is large developed countries, charitable organizations, and NGO’s who actually mean to be doing good.

The Scenario:US farmers can produce far more food (in some categories like grain) than the US can consume. If there is not enough demand to meet their over-supply, basic economics dictate their crop can’t sell for enough and they can’t make a living. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world there are countries suffering through hunger and famine.

An obvious solution presents itself. Rather than the US government making a simple cash donation to help deal with hunger in a given nation, the US government buys up the surplus supply of food crops from US farmers (propping up US prices and keeping more farmers in business) and gives those crops to charities and NGO’s to sell cheaply to the developing world. The NGO’s get to keep the income and reinvest that money. Sounds like a utopian solution. Everyone gets what they need. World hunger: solved.

The problem: That famine stricken nation operates under the same laws of supply and demand everyone else does. So farmers in those countries now have crops that are worth far less. Income goes down. Prices are depressed. There is food enough to feed the starving masses, but those same starving masses can’t afford to buy the crops because their economy is so depressed.

The Solution: Last week, CARE, the largest participant in this particular program pulled out. They receive approx $45 million a year from the US government, much of it through this program. But they realized they were doing as much harm as good.

If economics are allowed to play out as they should, then economies are allowed to develop. But when there is too much charity handed out in the wrong way, things can go wrong and actually make situations worse.

Fair Trade is far more complicated than simply not using child labor and paying a fair wage.

Fair trade? Huh?

Fair trade. Independent. Socially responsible.

What's the meaning of it all? It's easy to toss around some catchphrases, but do they matter?

At ghia, we think they do. We hope to provide our customers with a shopping experience that supports and sustains our community and our planet. Here's a quick guide to what some of these terms mean to us.

Independent: These products aren't designed by corporations. They are designed and crafted by creative types trying to make a living through art. Examples at shopghia.com include Freckle Dog and StarCat Designs.

Fair trade: Organizations that are "fair trade" pay workers and artisans fair wages for their work and ensure proper working conditions (no sweatshops, no child labor, etc.). These organizations also work with the communities involved to create sustainable economies. For more info, check out fairtradefederation.org. An example from shopghia.com is the World Finds brand.

Socially responsible: These organizations often are committed to fair wages and benefits for workers, environmentally friendly products, and/or making a difference in their communities. Examples from shopghia.com include Thistle Farms and American Apparel.

No, we probably aren't going to change the world, but we can try!.
Happy shopping!