Green Bay business maintains a global goal of free trade

from The Green Bay Press Gazette

Worldgoods store offers customers taste of other cultures

By Sarah Butrymowicz
sbutrymo@greenbaypressgazette.com

Miranda Paul made a promise to the people of Gambia four years ago while there on a volunteer trip.

And she kept her word.

Paul recently returned from another trip to the small African country, where she became the first person to develop fair trade from there to the United States. Paul worked with the Njau Recycling and Income Generating Group. The 69 women in this group make purses out of recycled plastic bags.

These purses can now be purchased, along with other fair trade items, at Paul's store, Worldgoods LLC, which she and her husband, Baptiste, run out of their basement at 602 Zelas Drive, Green Bay.

Although Paul's current personal focus is in Gambia, the store is not limited to this country.

"I try to diversify what I have product wise, but also where the product is coming from and the stories," she said.

Worldgoods carries handcrafted goods from 28 countries, including baskets, jewelry, clothing, eyeglass holders and chessboards. All of the products sold are fair trade items.

According to Paul, fair trade is "an alternative way of trading. (It's) choosing to work with people who are living with some kind of disadvantage." This includes those in Third World countries, with disabilities, or who have been marginalized.

"It's sort of an affirmative action, I guess, in the trade world," Paul said.

Fair trade gives assistance to try and raise the standard of living for impoverished people by teaching them a how to make a product, instead of giving them money. Paul compared the idea to the standard proverb, "You give a man a fish and he eats for a day, you teach man a fish and he eats for the rest of his life."

Paul sees trading with the women in Gambia as an example of this. "I really wanted to help them and not in terms of charity," she said. "The fact that they've learned this skill has changed a lot of their lives."

One mother, Horajo, was able to continue putting her son through school after her husband died. She says the income she earns from the purses reduces her struggle as a single mom. One 13-year-old in Gambia, named Amie, even makes purses to pay for her own schooling.

As the women in Gambia and others in Third World countries learn skills, residents here gain knowledge as well. "A lot of what we do is education," Paul said. "I would say 80 percent of people that I encounter on a daily basis have never heard of fair trade."

Part of this education is being aware the origin of the merchandise. While people may be unaware of the source of products that are made in sweatshops and then cycle through over half a dozen places before reaching the United States, with fair trade "you know where it comes from," Paul said. She works directly with a cooperative or artisan to obtain goods.

To purchase products directly, the store uses the fair wage guide issued by World of Goods. "That's really helped us in terms of making sure we are paying wages that are not only meeting the minimum wage but are above international and national poverty lines," she said.

Many items in the store are environmentally friendly. "Some of the clothing is organic cotton," Paul said. "We have other things that are made out of recycled tin, recycled metal."

Due to these products and business procedures such as using all-recycled shipping materials, Worldgoods has been accepted as a member of Co-op America. They are considered a green business, "approved for people and planet," Paul said.

They are currently working on becoming a Fair Trade Federation member. "That's quite an involved process," Paul said. She is hoping to have that certification by next year.

Other plans for the future include expanding both here in Green Bay to a retail store and overseas to begin projects in other countries.

While Paul has no timeline set for these plans, she shows no signs of stopping working toward them. "Sometimes this is really hard work, but I feel really good about what I do at the end of the day," she said.