Western Fairtrade, Indian Signature

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healthier for cotton growers when compared to GM or conventional cotton, which uses so many pesticides and herbicides that growers are more likely to develop cancer.”

Similarly Nature Collection in Bath, UK, has been promoting fairtrade and ecofriendly products, including organic cotton and accessories, for more than a decade to enable traditional communities to link with competitive markets and generate more income.

Al Tepper, head of marketing at Nature Collection, says that they research and select each item carefully to promote ecological and sustainable manufacturing practices. He adds that Natural Collection believes that small positive choices by the many can have a tremendous impact on our collective ethical evolution.

For Rajesh and Janet Redij-Gill, it was predominantly a business proposition to set up Middlesex-based Bombay Bedspread Company. When their Indian gifts of bedspreads to family and friends in London met with an enthusiastic response, they sensed a business opportunity and plunged into it.

Says Rajesh Redij-Gill, “We have been always interested in fairtrade and traditional Indian crafts and products. So it was a natural progression for us to start a business based on the principles of fairtrade and ethical business practices.”

Cambridge-based Eka’s Gilly Seagrave had different reasons to reach out to India. Says Seagrave, “My personal ethics do not allow me to trade with China. So I looked for another country for a manufacturing base.” A friend in contact with Auroville in India got her into the loop in 2004. She also tried other Indian manufacturers, but stopped short because she was unsure of their ethical credentials.

The cultural township of Auroville is well organised in that respect since its stated purpose is to live in harmony with nature and the environment. Says Dezul Joseph Benny of Auromode, a fairtrade outfit in Auroville, “We produce goods conforming to European standards of quality.”

Though most of Eka’s customers are Europeans, the webshop supplies people worldwide. Her shop in Malibu, California, also stocking the collection this winter. She says, “There are many professional snowboarders wearing my hats (this is one of my target markets) and I also have a few hats on models around Europe!” Apart from headgears, her collection comprises laptop sleeves, iPod cases, cotton bags, scarves, neck scarves/bandannas and underwear.