Fair Trade Cloth Diapers?

This morning I was reminded of this Benjamin Harrison quote, that I first saw on my friend Christy's facebook wall a few years ago. It really struck me as being timeless . . .a bit of wisdom from a 19th century American president still very relevant to our 21st century society.

I don't have a lot of money, so I really have to make the money I do have count. I understand the desire to be frugal, I really, really do.  However, for me, the peace of mind of buying fair trade and knowing where what I buy comes from is well-worth it. As I've said in previous posts, I believe that every dollar I spend casts a vote for the way I want things to be.

Quote: Scott Umstattd     Image Source: Fair Trade Wire

Here's how I want things to be: I want all people to have the opportunity to make a fair living.

Here's what I don't want: I don't want to purchase items that were made by child labor, slave labor, workers working in deplorable conditions and/or making pennies a day.  I don’t want anything that allows the few to get extraordinarily rich on the backs of the very poor.  If I can’t afford something fair trade, I’d prefer to go without than to buy something cheaper that I know was produced by an exploited labor force.

Cheap Knock-off Cloth Diapers from China

The discussion that spurred my memory of Benjamin Harrison’s wise words was about knock-off cloth diapers from China. It seems some cloth-diapering mamas are frustrated that they can no longer get inexpensive, Alva diapers from China, because they violate a Pending U.S. Patent held by Julie Ekstrom of Kanga Care the designer of Rumparooz, Lil Joey, and Eco-Posh cloth diapers. While I applaud them for choosing cloth diapers over disposible, my questions to these moms are these:

• Is the little bit of money you saved by buying knock-offs from China, really worth it  knowing that 
  . . . the design was stolen from a working mother from Colorado? 
  . . . the labor practices and conditions where these knock-off are produced are questionable at best?
  . . . the quality and fit is not as nice as the real thing?  
  . . . they are made in china? 
• Do you really want to trust something made in china to lay against your baby’s skin night and day?
• Why not spend a few more dollars, have a few less diapers in your stash, make your own or buy your diapers second-hand?  

Want to know more? Here's a more detailed explanation from One Lucky Mama about  why not getting knockoff diapers from China is not a bad thing: Why I Won’t Sell Chinese Cheapie Cloth Diapers

EU Bans Animal Testing for Cosmetics

Today, the European Union banned the sale of cosmetics that have been tested on animals. Both animal testing on EU soil and the sale of cosmetic products tested on animals are now illegal in the European Union. 

Since my early teens, I have believed that we, as consumers, have the responsibility to make informed decisions about our purchases and the power to vote with our dollars. I have always purposely avoided make-up and beauty products that were tested on animals, because animal testing is known to be not only ruthless and extremely cruel, but also ineffective, since animals often react completely differently than humans to the chemicals used.

I hope today's ban of animal testing in Europe will lead to further scientific exploration and global acceptance of more accurate, cruelty-free testing methods like testing on donated human tissue and cultures. These alternative methods have the potential to not only spare millions of animals from senseless torture each year, but also to save human cosmetic users from needless irritation and suffering. Compared to cosmetics tested on animals, the probability of cosmetics tested on donated human tissue having an adverse effect on users is greatly diminished. Tests done on human tissue are usually a better indicator of the effects of a chemical than tests performed on animals. Additionally, non-animal testing techniques are frequently less costly and bear results more rapidly than animal tests do, helping to keep prices down for buyers.

These days I actually make the vast majority of my beauty products at home in my own kitchen with products that are healthy, organic and usually safe enough to eat. However, the push for the beauty industry to stop animal testing has been one of my pet causes (no pun intended) for more than twenty years, so I am glad to see Europe take this step in the right direction and hope the rest of the world will soon follow suit.

Making Cookies?

Did you know that you have the power to vote with each and every purchase you make? Even with something as simple as making Christmas cookies, you have the power to choose to support companies who are against the use of Genetically Modified Foods (GMOs) or to give your money to companies who actively seek to keep you in the dark about whether your food is natural or genetically engineered and modified.

Buy Organic and GMO-Free -- Your dollars cast a vote with every choice you make.

If you are against GMO foods and/or believe you have the right to know whether your food has been genetically modified, here's how to use your spending power to cast your vote:

DO NOT BUY: 

• Gold Medal Flour made by General Mills who spent $1,135,300 to stop GMO labeling.
• Nestlé Toll House or Carnation products made by Nestlé who spent $1,315,600 to stop GMO labeling.
• Borden Eagle Sweetened Condensed Milk (not pictured) owned by Smucker's who spent $388,000 to stop GMO labeling.
• Horizon Butter or Dairy products owned by Dean Foods who spent $253,950 to stop GMO labeling. 

These companies will take your money and use it against you to keep you from knowing what's in your food. They are willing to spend so much, because they know genetically modified foods allow them to keep their production costs low while continuing to raise their retail prices.  By not labeling these foods as what they are, these companies are passing off unnatural and inferior products to unsuspecting consumers at a huge profit.  These companies are fighting to avoid required labeling, because they know most Americans would not choose GMOs if they were given the choice.

DO BUY:

• Bob's Red Mill Flour and Grains
• Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Fair-Trade Sugar
• California Farms or Santini Organic Condensed Milk*
• Sunspire Fair-Trade Chocolate
• Organic Valley Butter and Dairy products

These foods may cost slightly more, but it's because they are produced and grown naturally the way food should be by farmers and workers who make a living wage. These companies invest your money spent on their products back into producing more organic, non-gmo foods for you and your family in an environmentally and ethically responsible manner. Eating natural, organic, non-gmo foods nourishes your body and keeps you healthy, saving you money and time spent fighting illness and disease that GMO and non-organic, pesticide and herbicide riddled foods will cause.

*California Farms was pictured in the photo above which was created by GMO Awareness -- I am familiar with and regularly purchase from all of the other companies listed in the DO BUY category, but am unfamiliar with California Farms.  I have emailed the company for more information on their stance on GMOs and GMO labeling.