May 19, 2008 Written by Tracy Hepler
As an athletic child growing up, I never thought it might be other children my own age who stitched my sports equipment. Sports competition is fun at any age; working under horrible conditions at a sweatshop is not. As a consumer of athletic equipment, wouldn’t it be nice to know that your purchases are not only making you feel better, but the people who made them for you as well?
Fair Trade Sports is one of the only companies that can guarantee their sports equipment is made under fair trade practices that include only using adult workers and paying fair wages (50% higher) so that parents can provide for their children and not have to send them to work.
Their athletic gear is made at their certified fair trade facilities in Sailkot, Pakistan, where 75% of the world’s balls come from. Fair Trade Sports also uses rubber that is sustainably harvested in Sri Lanka and India. The forests they source from recently passed FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) audits.
In a recent interview with Eco Times, founder Scott James said: “We are using our company, Fair Trade Sports, to demonstrate to other manufactures like Nike, Adidas, Puma, and Badden, that it is financially feasible to transform your production sources to be certified fair trade and eco-certified.”
You can find this great equipment for sale locally at your Whole Foods Markets or online at:
www.fairtradesports.com
* (Input ydt on the checkout page for free shipping!)
or
www.globalexchange.org
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Thanks for the shout out to eCo Times (www.eConsciousTimes.com)!
We look forward to featuring lots of Fair Trade relates articles in the future.
By the way, you can also find Fair Trade Sports Balls at eConsciousMarket.com where you can donate 50% of the profits to a charity of your choice!
http://www.econsciousmarket.com/site/Vendors/Fair_Trade_Sports/
We went to Bora Bora recently. It was an unbelievable vacation. We stayed at this nice little Inn called the Beach Sands. But, if your looking to save dough, it’s a very expensive plane ticket. Another option is Puerto Vallarta, I have a awesome time whenever I go. As far as saving money, I don;t know for sure, we always go with expeida or travelocity. My uncle tells me that he usually saves a bunch of dough on his vacations. I’ll ask him how he pulls it off.
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