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Fair Trade Gifts |
Folk Art Mavens strives, to the best of its ability, to follow fair trade practices.
Fair trade requires that a business:
- strive to create direct relationships with the producers
- pay fair wages and make money available to producers in advance for purchasing materials
- work to improve the producers’ ability to market their products
- make a tangible contribution to the artisan or the artisans’ community by providing a financial premium or offering help in meeting community-specific needs
- engage in environmentally sustainable practices
Folk Art Mavens meets with the actual producers whenever possible, to negotiate pay. Because Folk Art Mavens works with “threatened communities”, it is not always possible to meet with the producers due to military closures, roadblocks, and curfews – particularly in the case of artisans in the Gaza Strip. When direct meetings with the artisans are not possible, Folk Art Mavens buys those artisans’ products through reputable cooperatives or non-profits that work directly with the producers and are known to pay fair wages.
Folk Art Mavens is committed to improving recognition of the value of the artisans’ work and the traditional crafts of the region. With that in mind, Folk Art Mavens spends a great deal of time educating the public about the artisans and their crafts through its web site, through its participation at international cultural festivals and within middle schools, high schools, and colleges. The goal is to increase public appreciation for the traditional crafts, hence raising the value of the products in the eyes of the buyers. Folk Art Mavens wants the artisans to succeed, and wants them to be able to market successfully to the western world. In order to do this, we discuss quality expectations with the artisans and are working with graphic artists to produce labeling that both informs the customer and gives recognition to the producer.
The communities that Folk Art Mavens works with have great needs. Folk Art Mavens finds specific ways to help these communities. As an example, Folk Art Mavens helped purchase costumes for traditional dabke dancers in Ayda refugee camp, Bethlehem. The money contributed by Folk Art Mavens to American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) goes to needs within the broader community.
Folk Art Mavens attempts to run its business in an environmentally sustainable way. When possible, we reuse packing materials to reduce the impact on the environment. We visit the artisans and family-run workshops that we deal with to observe the practices within the business.
Folk Art Mavens believes that the traditional arts should be available to and appreciated by all – from the struggling student or worker to the wealthy. With that belief in mind, Folk Art Mavens strives to provide quality traditional products at a range of prices. We care about the artisan producers and about our buyers, and work hand-in-hand with both to try to make this a fairer and more beautiful world.
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