Ladies Who Launch

Fair Trade: Gifts That Change Lives

From Rebecca Berggren, founder of Karma Market, of San Diego, CA and a member of the San Diego Incubator. [email protected].
 

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Before you've finished your breakfast this morning, you'll have relied on half the world.” An interesting thought. And a depressing one, when we realize that those very people we've relied on to help get us out of the door in the morning - the folks who grew our coffee beans, harvested our tea, made our t-shirt, shoes and jewelry - are most likely not the recipient of a fair wage or decent working conditions.   1.3 billion people in our world live in absolute poverty with many living on less than $1 a day.   

This sad fact weighing heavily on my heart coupled with my own personal need for socially responsible gifts ignited my desire to create Karma Market – a fair trade online boutique.  It was a sunny San Diego during the spring of 2006 when the idea for Karma Market was born. 

I had spent half the morning on the internet looking for just the right meaningful and unique gift for a girlfriend of mine and was dumbfounded by the limited choices we have for handmade and unique gifts with positive social value.  I knew that I couldn’t be the only one looking for fair trade gifts. My friends and people like us with similar values and tastes must also be longing for gifts that have more meaning - right?

And if they aren’t consciously looking for gifts to help other people at that very moment, I bet they would if it was easier and there was more awareness around the benefits of fair trade.  I believe most people really do want to help those in poverty, but just don’t know were to start and how they can incorporate “giving” into their everyday lives affordably. The fair trade model impresses upon people that we are able to help those in need not only through charity, but also by incorporating ethically sourced goods into our daily living. 

This caffeine induced pondering of the state of fair trade turned into the realization that if I wasn’t going to do anything about it, who was? Sure there are wonderful people out there very passionate about providing opportunities for deserving artisans, but just not enough.  I decided that I could start by making a small difference in the world by combining my interest in Fair Trade with my love for shopping, marketing, sales and creating. Voila - the beginnings of Karma Market.

The beauty of fair trade model is that it is a sustainable business model.  It works so well on many levels:

1.       Profitable:  The price points are not too high and yet I still make a decent profit.  Many people have the false assumption that fair trade = expense, but this is just not so.  The prices remain reasonable because a significant number of middlemen who would normally take much of the artisan’s well deserved profits are cut out.  It also helps that I do not find it necessary to use greedy profit margins. 

2.       Marketable:  The desire to help others seems inherent in so many people and to be able to do so via a purchase that you were going to make anyway is ideal.  We are offering the gift that gives twice!  We are also empowering the consumer by letting their purchases reflect their values.

3.       Fullfilling: Running a fair trade business is also emotionally and spiritually sustaining because knowing that I am making a difference brings so much passion and dedication to my work.  When driven by the desire to do good, things just seem to manifest much easier for me than if I were purely profit driven.

Karma Market is making a difference everyday by offering fair trade gifts, ensuring that artisans are paid a living wage and that their products aren't made using forced or exploitative child labor.  Our main focus is to improve the lives of artisans worldwide by generating awareness around fair trade and making the hip and beautiful handcrafted work of the artisans more accessible to the average consumer. 

Our beautifully handcrafted jewelry, bags and home décor are sourced from local cooperatives and companies who support artisans by providing them with a fair wage and helping them to become economically stable. Producers work in healthy and safe working conditions in the local context and there is often an emphasis on reinvesting in their communities and working to preserve the environment.

By choosing fair trade items we not only help provide income, dignity, hope and respect to people in developing regions. We also help to sustain the communities and the environment of future generations.  I am sure that my 8 month old little girl who grins up at me still toothless in her cute little fair trade and organic onesie thanks me.   

Sustainable Practice – Keeping it Green and Keeping it Real

From Portland Incubator Member Kristin Sulis, of Mt Tabor Veterinary Care.

I’ve known since the age of 4 that I wanted to be a veterinarian. I’ve known since my senior year in veterinary college that I wanted to be a practice owner. But it wasn’t until I was steeped in the culture of Portland and had joined Ladies Who Launch that I knew I wanted a Sustainable Practice.

Portland is nothing if not green. The environment is so beautiful and conducive to being outdoors that you can’t help but love nature in Oregon. You get the hiking bug as soon as you move here and before I knew it I was not only a hiker but a kayaker, camper, birder,  snowshoer (can’t give up the outdoors just because it’s winter), and now a rock climber. And as you spend more time outdoors you learn more and more about the importance of stewardship. I’ve joined Sierra Club, Audubon, and Nature Conservancy. And the thought of throwing away an aluminum can or glass bottle actually makes me ill. In a time of media bombardment about global climate change, I was already ahead of the curve but it was Ladies Who Launch that taught me that sustainability was not just green practice and taking care of the environment, it’s about taking care of myself.

I attended my Incubator in September 2007 with the intention of finding the perfect name for my new veterinary practice. Well, I left with the same name I went in with but I really became clear on what I wanted my practice to be for pets, clients, employees and, really, for myself - sustainable. Could I have a sustainable practice with the budget I allowed? I found a lease space 8 blocks from my house which means that I will bike commute or walk (and not drive 30 minutes each way to work). The space is in my neighborhood and my target clients and patients live here in SE Portland, so their travel will also be short. There are beautiful skylights in the building and we took advantage in our design of the natural light and left many of the rooms open without ceilings to create an aesthetic sense and to provide our staff and myself with a picture of what was happening outdoors. Throughout the buildout we’ve looked for sustainable alternatives. We have a tankless waterheater that saves energy as well as space (and comes with a tax break!) We purchased steel cabinets and stainless steel wet tables that will never age and can be transferred to our next practice if we move. We are using nitrogen instead of a compressor to power our dental tools (quieter for the pets and for us and very inexpensive). We finished the concrete floor that was already in the space to be friendly to dogs – a gripable surface and to use what was in the space already. For finish materials we looked for environmentally friendly alternatives. We purchased salvaged redwood railroad ties for shelves and recycled Paperstone for our counters and we found wheat core doors for our rooms – all at a price the same or only slightly higher than a non sustainable option.