The Fair Trade Federation describes Fair Trade as, “an equitable and fair partnership between businesses and organizations in North America and producers in the developing world. Fair trade businesses foster long-term and direct relationships with producers, because they know these connections are a highly effective way to help producers help themselves.”

At the Fair Trade Federation wholesalers, retailers, and producers are fully committed to

• Paying fair wages in local context;
• Supporting participatory workplaces;
• Ensuring environmental sustainability;
• Supplying financial and technical support;
• Respecting cultural identity;
• Offering public accountability; and,
• Educating consumers.

As part of our commitment to our community and partners, The Greener Life works with organizations that practice Fair trade principles at home as well as in their dealings with others worldwide.

For more information in Fair Trade, please go to www.fairtradefederation.org.

The “Green” industry is large and is ever expanding. It is certainly being discussed more in public forums than ever before. All the major news papers of the day carry at least one article a week on the business of Green. All you have to do is pick up a Wall Street Journal, USA Today or the New York Times to read for yourself. Whether you like it or not, this topic and getting hotter, as is our climate, so we all have to pay attention.

Even if you hold no belief in Global Warming and see our climate pattern as natural, the fact is that we will all suffer the ill effects uncharacteristic climate change. With the world’s population on the rise we must growing and countries are developing at a rapid rate our resources will only last so long as we take the time to grow with care.

Growth is a wonderful thing. We should always seek new ways to improve the quality of our lives in the knowledge that we are stewards, lest we destroy all that inspired us to develop in the first place.

Did You Know?

Organic agriculture protects the health of people and the planet by reducing the overall exposure to toxic chemicals from synthetic pesticides that can end up in the ground, air, water and food supply, and that are associated with health consequences, from asthma to cancer. Because organic agriculture doesn’t use toxic and persistent pesticides, choosing organic products is an easy way to help protect yourself.

Acreage estimates for the 2005 U.S. cotton crop show approximately 6,577 acres of certified organic cotton were planted in the United States. Internationally, Turkey and the United States are the largest organic cotton producers.

Demand is being driven by apparel and textile companies that are expanding their 100% organic cotton program and developing programs that blend small percentages of organic cotton with their conventional cotton products.

Here are some reasons why organic cotton production is important to the long-term health of the planet.

• Cotton uses approximately 25% of the world’s insecticides and more than 10% of the pesticides (including herbicides, insecticides, and defoliants.). (Allan Woodburn)
• Approximately 10% of all pesticides sold for use in U. S. agriculture were applied to cotton in 1997, the most recent year for which such data is publicly available. (ACPA)
• Fifty-five million pounds of pesticides were sprayed on the 12.8 million acres of conventional cotton grown in the U.S. in 2003 (4.3 pounds/ acre), ranking cotton third behind corn and soybeans in total amount of pesticides sprayed. (USDA)
• Over 2.03 billion pounds of synthetic fertilizers were applied to conventional cotton in 2000 (142 pounds/acre), making cotton the fourth most heavily fertilized crop behind corn, winter wheat, and soybeans. (USDA)
• The Environmental Protection Agency considers seven of the top 15 pesticides used on cotton in 2000 in the United States as “possible,” “likely,” “probable,” or “known” human carcinogens (acephate, dichloropropene, diuron, fluometuron, pendimethalin, tribufos, and trifluralin). (EPA)
• In 1999, a work crew re-entered a cotton field about five hours after it was treated with tribufos and sodium chlorate (re-entry should have been prohibited for 24 hours). Seven workers subsequently sought medical treatment and five have had ongoing health problems. (California DPR)
• It takes roughly one-third of a pound of chemicals (pesticides and fertilizers) to grow enough cotton for just one T-shirt. (SCP)

Source: The Organic Trade Association

Hemp is the most environmentally positive crop, improving soil quality as it grows. It requires no herbicides and is naturally resistant to insects, fungus, and other pests. Hemp grows rapidly during its vegetative period, becoming tall and thick. It suppresses weeds, and shades and mulches the ground, which its deep taproots break up and aerate. These attributes promote healthy microbial soil life and leave the earth in a condition where it is easily worked and able to retain moisture during the next growing season.

Hemp provides an ecological alternative to environmentally destructive cotton cultivation. Cotton is one of the most environmentally destructive agricultural crops, annually using over 275 million pounds of pesticides in the US alone. This is in addition to massive quantities of fertilizers, defoliants, growth regulators, and general biocides such as methyl bromide. Cotton production requires an immense amount of water, which depletes this resource and can cause salts to build up in the soil, while hemp needs no irrigation at all. Also the wide spacing between cotton plants allows the bare soils to bake and oxidize, releasing carbon to the atmosphere and decreasing soil fertility.

Hemp can reduce our use of synthetic textile fibers. Synthetic textile fibers are not biodegradable, generate pollution in their production, and are made from non-renewable petroleum. Hemp can also help us shift to a carbohydrate-based sustainable economy, because it is the largest biomass producer of any agricultural crop. This has tremendous potential for any biomass energy generation system and as a feedstock for bio-plastics, which are fully biodegradable and do not contaminate the soil after decomposition or emit harmful gasses if incinerated.

Hemp can be processed into construction materials and paper products of excellent strength and quality, easing some of the unsustainable burden placed on our forests. An acre of hemp actually produces more than four times as much pulp for paper making than an acre of trees when figured on an annual basis. Additionally hemp requires no bleach in processing, due to its low lignin content, and there is no dioxin produced from its manufacture.

Welcome to The Greener Life, we hope to be your source for all things Green, including information, news, helpful tips as well as the very best organic or natural, recycled or reclaimed, fair trade, sustainable and locally made products that this world has to offer. Here at The Greener Life, you will find everything you need to get you started on your way to living a healthier, happier, greener life.

Green Living or Organic Living as it is also called does not have to be a daunting thing to do. It does not require you to make major adjustments to your life immediately. In fact one of our mottos is to “make simple changes to your everyday life”. Our hemp and organic products are sustainable and free from the harmful pesticides and pollutants. Whether you buy a hemp shirt, hemp blouse, hemp shoes or sleep on Luxurious100% organic cotton linens that have been specially made for The Greener Life, you can rest assured that your purchases are beautiful, healthy and organic, just the way that Nature intended.