A Question Of Connection

There’s nothing like a strong display of people power to restore your faith in the world. Right here in Australia, dairy farmers have been doing it tough for too long. The public’s response to their recent price struggle and ad campaign reconnected us with the man and woman in the field. Forget global pressure forcing down milk prices, when you see a farming family rising early to work the land, they don’t seem so far away do they? It’s easier to recognize the connection between their work and our choice at the fridge. So what took so long?

At Etiko we think about the world of consumption a lot. Where things get made, the people who make them, what their lives are like, what their family’s lives are like. We also think about the people who purchase our products and every human hand in between. We’re a 100% Fairtrade focussed business, that’s what we do.

Every product available via Etiko is traceable right back to the cotton seed, the transport, the factory worker, right up to the person who brings it to the stores on Brunswick St in Melbourne or in St Kevin’s Arcade in Auckland. We know that the cotton farmers at our supplier’s co-op in India are paid fairly for their produce and that the workers in the factories that produce our gear in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are paid not just a minimum wage but a living wage.

We’ve got that part sorted.

This is where you come in.

Every day purchases that you think are commonplace, ordinary, ineffectual, can potentially change lives. By shopping with our conscience and paying a little extra, we can show support for dairy farmers and tell the market that price wars won’t win.

Those decisions might not change your life a lot but they will change the lives of the people who produce for you. The fact is, every day you and I have an impact, we just don’t know or think about it. Few companies base their marketing campaigns on their ethical supply chain, do you know why? It wouldn’t be a pretty picture.

We want you to know you have the power to change the lives of people not only in your own country but in places where work protection and fair pay aren’t given a fair go. Where employment can be a fair opportunity not something opportunistic.

Advertising culture is telling us to consume more quicker. It doesn’t call us to question. But we are. We’re asking you to consider the change you can bring about through doing just that – asking questions about your connection to the source of your everyday purchases.

Here’s what you can do:

• 1.Open up: Ethical fashion has come a long way. It’s affordable and ahead of the curve on style. Check this out.
• 2.Power in your pocket: Buy locally produced and fairtrade goods wherever possible. At Etiko our hearts are in the right place and our business model is too. Our products are competitively priced so you don’t pay more for giving Fairtrade a fair go.
• 3.Use your voice: Ask businesses if they stock fairtrade or locally produced goods?
• 4.Work your work: Is your workplace fairtrade? It is possible. Universities, businessescan have Fairtrade accreditation – but some do better than others. Ask your employer if your workplace can begin to source and supply fairtrade, ethically made materials, even if you begin with the coffee in the kitchen. Uniforms, equipment and event material can all be ethically sourced. Ask us if you would like to know more about this.

Awareness and action are the beginning of big changes for our global community. Get on board and let’s get going.

For more info read our Impact page.