So I've been super lazy about blog posts and even just keeping up with the day to day with the shop. I apologize. Life got crazy and I think I was just taking on more than I could. But I'm back, I doubt I'll keep the blogs going often, but who reads blogs these days anyway?

I just want to take a moment to share some new items we have in stock and maybe highlight a few old ones while we're at it.

First off, as you already know I'm a sucker for all things sari, but to be fair as a sign language interpreter I wear black a lot, I mean a LOT!! So when I can wear color I might go a bit overboard, lol. But look at all these gorgeous colors and prints! Have you seen anything so beautifully up-cycled? The skirts are reversible and can be worn a multitude of ways, bathing suit cover up, shawl, even as a dress. They're so versatile and every sari piece reduces waste by reusing rather than discarding scraps and old saris.

Now that I've flooded your screen with color lets move on from fabric to paper.

Quilling seems to be a dying art, even spell check doesn't know what it is. These artisans in Vietnam do such a great job at making adorable barrettes, ornaments, and other items all by using the overlooked art of quilling. They even offer kits, Katie Bug and I plan to try one out and upload a video of our attempt, fails and all, to help you all decide if you'd be interested in DIY quilling kits, if you like the idea we'll be happy to offer them.

They also have a plethora of cards, at around $11.00 each. So if you're ever interested in a quilled card from our Vietnam partners please shoot us an email and we'll work with you to find the style you want, I doubt we'll be placing a bulk order of cards soon, partly because there are so many options it's overwhelming, but if you know what you want we can find it for you.

For now, check out a few of the items we do have in the store, as adorable as they are in photos they are a zillion times more adorable in person!

So those are a few of the new items we've got. What might you like to see next?

Your Fair Trade Friend,
Jadalynn Orr

Globe In is under our "More Fair Trade" tab, which is full of, to be frank, affiliate links. After all, we can't provide all the fair trade out there, may as well partner with others who are doing the same thing. Globe In offers fair trade subscription boxes, and June's box is perfect for a picnic! Check it out and use our link at the bottom if you're interested.

1. Small Picnic Basket,  Ghana ($40 value)Measurements: 13" x 7"
Materials: Elephant Grass.
Care Instructions: Water resistant. Wipe Clean.


2. Tall Handblown Glass - Red, White, & Blue (Set of 2),  Mexico ($30 value)
Measurements: Approx. 5" T x 3" D. 17oz.
Materials: Recycled handblown glass.
Care Instructions: Dishwasher safe. Not hot-liquid safe.


3. Enamel Serving Tray - Blue Splatter, India ($18 value)
Measurements: 9" x 6" x 1.25"
Materials:Stainless steel. Handpainted enamel.
Care Instructions: Food safe. Lead-free. Handwash only.

https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1043137&u=2049426&m=48776&urllink=&afftrack=

 ExaAnd we truly are living on a prayer.

This is your half way through the month update. I didn't share this here in the first place though, my bad. Let me backpedal a bit.

We believe in sustainable business, but we also do believe charity has its place and is important. As such 10% of everything you purchase from Fair Earth always goes back to something local. But when we hit a goal in sales something specific will go back to a global cause. Sometimes big, other times small, always world changing.

This month's goal is $500 in sales, and that's still a pretty good ways away, hence why we're living on a prayer. We decided to make our goal ambitious, but not impossible. Once we reach a point where we are regularly making that goal we'll up it from there, for now we'll stick with $500 and see how it goes. Eventually we will reach that $500 regularly and donate something specific more often than not, so even if we don't reach this goal this month we'll have the chance to donate it again at a later date. Every purchase no matter how big or how small still have life changing impacts and helps us reach our monthly goal.

For the month of May, if we hit our sales goal we'll be sponsoring a field trip for a child in the Kibera Slum in Africa. It's one of the largest slums in the world and the field trip we can sponsor does more than just educate and allow the child to have fun, it gets the child out of the slums for a day. Your purchase can help support a child see a new world and learn in a new way even if it's just for a day. We'll never know what kind of lasting impact one day can have.

Your Fair Trade Friend,
Jadalynn Orr

The grown woman in me, who knows it doesn't matter how people look, is kinda embarrassed to admit this, but it's time to come clean. I love fashion. I love trying on fancy dresses I have no intention of buying, I love looking at outfits in magazines and stores, I even enjoy clothing shopping to a degree, as long as I'm not shopping for jeans or swim suites, lol.

My love for fashion and clothing, as well as my love for Jesus kind of people have been in conflict in recent years. I've never been all about fast fashion, I try to put some mileage to every item I buy. but I will buy a $5 shirt and later realize I didn't like it as much as I thought I did, or there aren't many chances for me to wear it. If I'm going to consume fast fashion I could at least wear it until it falls apart out of respect for the abused and misused people who likely made it.

Ok...let me back up. Fast fashion, what is it? It is taking advantage of people around the world, making them work in less than safe conditions, paying them hardly anything and if they speak up or fight for their rights it's abusing them. The fashion industry is notorious for going with the cheapest bidder and driving that cost lower and lower until it's impossible to care for the people who are actually making the garments. You've heard of sweatshops right? They are how fast fashion make their dollar, on the backs of the least of these. You know what....this trailer can show you things I can only talk about, take a few minutes and watch it.

If you're interested in learning more this documentary is called The True Cost, and it's currently on Netflix and Amazon Prime, it's truly worth watching in its entirety, I promise you will learn something and your heart will be broken, but in a good way. ;)

So what do we do to combat fast fashion? We support slow fashion, who's goal is to take care of the makers first, and price fairly for everyone. Will it cost more than a $3 tank top? Yes. Will it be as easy to find bargains? Probably not, but it supports a better world for all of us, a more fair earth (see what I did there?). Aside from buying fair trade clothing, or local handmade clothing, how else can we support slow fashion? I don't know about you, but I'm a thrifting girl. I LOVE my local thrift stores, always have! Were the items there made in sweatshops? Probably, but when you've blown out all your pants (I don't know about you but that's what I tend to do) and you just can't wait for some to come in the mail, or you just can't afford fair trade, your local thrift store is a great option! The more we wear an item, the more use we get out of it, the less disposable our wardrobe becomes and the less support fast fashion gets.

So this is my longest post to date, but this Fair Trade Friday I really wanted to highlight the whole point behind what we do here in honor of fashion revolution week. And sure, we don't have much...er..any fashion stocked right now, but it's coming. As powerful as slow fashion can be to drown out the need for fast fashion it only works if it's provided to the people, so we will provide it! In the heart of slow fashion and being sustainable it'll be a slow progress, but it'll come.  I cannot ask you to join me on a journey and not help equip you to do it.

So what's that journey?

Please think long and hard before your next clothing purchase, especially If you wonder how the store is able to keep the lights on with such rock bottom prices, it's likely that a factory somewhere is having a hard time keeping a roof over their workers heads because of those prices. Think long and hard before you toss your next piece of clothing. You may not have any use for it now, but maybe someone else does, donate it. And next time you absolutely have to purchase something hit up your local thrift shop, seamstress, or check back here, our affiliates have clothing if nothing else. Please don't just let your heart break at the injustices of the world, for heartbreak alone does nothing. Let the brokenness of the world drive you to want to make it a better place.

So who do you want to make your clothing?

Are you willing to join in a fashion revolution?

Your Fair Trade Friend
Jadalynn Orr

With Earth Day right around the corner I thought I'd focus on how fair trade strives to not only be sustainable for current artisans, but also for future generations and the environment as a whole.

By reduce, reusing and recycling materials every chance possible we are creating a better world for our future. I think we can all agree that waste isn't a good thing, and maybe some people take it to extremes, but I honestly admire those people who have reduced their waste to an amount that could fit in a tin can for a whole year, a whole year! Have you seen those clips? I'll have to see if  can find them now so I can share with you, lol. Here I am just working off my memory rather than doing that research, you can tell I've been out of college for a while. ;)

But for realz! I love the idea of reducing waste as much as possible, and often wish I could just rid my life of all plastic and things that don't break down. Eventually wildlife gets this stuff we throw out, cause it doesn't just go away. Recycling is not only a way for scrappy determined people to make something beautiful out of nothing, but it's responsible for future generations.
 
To create a more fair earth we first have to take care of the earth we have.
Your Fair Trade Friend
Jadalynn Orr

So what do ya think? Is it clear as to what it is? I'm tying to use as few words as possible to get the point across on the main pages, this will be the place I get wordy, lol. So if you enjoy words, like I do, stop by the blog often as I will go into more details here.
More Fair Trade is an option for you to support other fair trade businesses while not neglecting us here at Fair Earth for referring you as they're all affiliate links and we get a small commission if you order through our links. ;) I plan to go into more detail about each business and share items I've bought from them as we go.
Someday I may remove an affiliate link or two in favor of actually carrying the items in the store instead. That will all depend on how the store grows and what you really want to see in it. Until then, please use our affiliate links to shop at the stores we partner with as it will help us grow our inventory and expand our reach faster. Our partners have some really beautiful items, so please take some time to check them out.
Your Fair Trade Friend
Jadalynn Orr

Fair trade companies work at high standards, standards we assume all companies abide by, but often don't. One of the most basic standards they follow is that of fair pay. 
Think for a second about some of the purchases you've made and how cheap they might have been. As much as I love to find a good deal I have a pretty strong suspicion that the people who made my $3 tank tops were not paid a fair price.
With fair trade often times the price set by the maker's themselves. Who else knows better what their time is worth or what they need to support their families than themselves? Even if they don't set the price strict guidelines are followed to ensure they're being paid a fair price. Equal pay for equal work is strictly adhered to and workers are paid on time.
Creating sustainable income starts with paying workers, farmers, and artisans enough to sustain themselves. It's a good foundational business practice, not just so the business can keep its workers, but so the workers can stay in the business.
Your Fair Trade Friend
Jadalynn Orr

Here we are!
It's live!
I've been working on this thing every day for the past two or three weeks.
My dog hasn't had enough attention.
My hubs had had very few home cooked meals, maybe none.
The dishes from my birthday (over a week ago) were finally started yesterday. *shame shame shame*
And here we are, finally public!
I know the items in the store are limited but as you place requests, and as we grow I'll be adding more. In fact, I need your help to decide what my next order should be. I have two companies I'm really excited to order from, one has educational children's toys, which look great, but that's all they have. The other has a little bit of everything! I'm hoping to order some green gift wrapping options from them, and then I'll give you the option to order gift wrapping on select items. I also want to get a few more items from them that I don't currently have in my store yet, like hair accessories and some clothing.
So which would you rather see in the store next?
Children's toys
or
A variety, gift wrap, hair accessories, clothing
Your Fair Trade Friend
Jadalynn Orr

No joke, this all started with a bracelet from Haiti with beads made out of cereal boxes, clay, and recycled oil drums. From then on out I've been in love with the idea of fair trade and I've wanted to support the cause with every purchase I make.
Since then I've found that finding fair trade items is not always that simple and I wanted to fix that, hence, Fair Earth Store. Every item is fair trade, so you can feel confident that your purchase is supporting people around the world, not taking advantage of them.
I have taken up an extra challenge in 2019, to ensure that every piece of clothing I buy is fair trade, and ideally to get rid of items that are not fair trade. In this hunt I have found several wonderful fair trade business that I've wanted to support more than just buying an item here and there, and I want to provide resources for others who want to shop fair trade too. So here we are!
I'm going to start small, and expand as sales allow. You can shop here at any time, I will have open houses as scheduling allows, and established customers can set up appointments to stop by and shop at your convenience. I hope if the fair trade bug has yet to bite you that you'll stick around and see why it's so important. If you're already in love with fair trade I hope this shop allows you more opportunities to support the least of these with your purchase. Every dollar you spend is a vote, I pray we all have the opportunity to vote better.
Your fair trade friend
Jadalynn Orr