Everyone likes a Valentine's Day gift...

...so come to Green Mother Goods and treat someone you love to something nice. We're having store wide sales on many of our product lines -- from Plan Toys, to Maggie's Organics, to Global Girlfriend, to Kleen Kanteen, to ThinkBaby, and more. So, show your love with a little last minute shopping.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Under the Nile

At Green Mother Goods, we carry an array of products from Under the Nile, a fair trade company based out of Egypt. Because of the products' beauty, the company's integrity, and the country's significance to the current global paradigm shift, I will dedicate this entire blog entry to Under the Nile.

THE PLACE



Egypt is one of the most populous countries in its region, with a population of about 80 million. The vast majority of these 80 million people lives in close proximity to the Nile River, where all the fertile land is. Needless to say, this is where most of the economic activity takes place. Although the economy has slowed down since the start of the global economic crisis and especially since the start of the protests, it remains in a relatively healthy state, in neoliberal terms. It has a high GDP and substantial growth rates, but none of this benefits the average Egyptian person. The GDP per capita comes out to be a few thousand (U.S.) dollars, but by no means does this mean that every person earns a few thousand dollars every year. Thanks to neoliberal globalization and its funny ways of making rich people richer and poor people poorer, massive wealth inequalities plague the Egyptian people. Many of them live their lives without health care, education, healthy working conditions, and adequate nutrition, much less the disposable income that allows us to freely consume here in the West. Under the Nile is one of the organizations that exists to help these people, to try to make their lives a little more pleasant in the midst of neoliberal globalization.

THE PEOPLE

There are almost 3,000 people who work for Under the Nile. Each and every one of these workers not only receive a fair price for their products (the cotton growers, the weavers, etc.) and a fair wage for their labor (the factory workers); they also receive a plethora of unique benefits:



Under the Nile gives each farm (which are all organic, by the way) access to a group of biodynamic engineers to help with any problems that may arise.



They provide each worker with two organic meals every day.



They provide not only each worker, but each member of the community, with health care (which includes emergency service, dentistry, surgery, etc.) and schooling (which includes general subjects as well as special subjects, like art and music).

Under the Nile does something that most companies in this day and age rarely do: They care about the people behind the product. And beautiful, healthy people lead to beautiful, healthy products.

THE PRODUCTS

The Under the Nile products that we carry at Green Mother Goods include baby clothes and toys. All products are made from 100% handpicked organic cotton, grown exclusively in Egypt. Egyptian cotton tends to be extremely soft and durable, so all of the products are soft to the touch and built to last. Under the Nile's dyeing process uses only metal-free dyes or vegetable dyes, so absolutely no harm will be done to your baby's body.



Many of the toys that you see out there are stuffed with a mysterious ingredient called "fluff" that causes many health problems for babies and toddlers, such as allergic reactions and respiratory problems. All Under the Nile toys are hand crafted and stuffed with organic cotton, so you're not compromising your child's health for a bit of fun.



All in all, Under the Nile represents the ideal company -- fair to the economy, fair to local cultures, fair to the producers, fair to the consumers, fair to the environment. That's what fair trade is all about. You're welcome to make a pit stop at Green Mother Goods any time and check out our products, Under the Nile and more.

What is Fair Trade?

The forces of neoliberal globalization (the dominant economic model of our time) have put cheaper coffee in your cup, cheaper bananas in your smoothie, cheaper clothes on your back and shoes on your feet, more -- and more diverse -- groceries on the shelves, and in effect more money in your -- the consumer's -- pocket.

But at what cost?

Corporations can only make a profit off of the unbelievably cheap products we've been consuming if they take advantage of the source of the products -- the producer. In essence, they rob the producer of her labor, paying her mere pennies to make our toys and gadgets so that they (the corporations) can make more of a profit... and so that we here on the other side of the world can save money, live better. (But do we really live better?)

This fragmented point of view -- that is, the point of view that tricks us into believing that their bane is our reward -- neglects the fact that the world is a vastly interconnected place. Any suffering is human suffering. And if we contribute to it now by irresponsibly sending our dollars to the wrong places, then who's to say that it won't come back around to us later? (Or right now, for that matter.)

Fair trade is a global movement that has been making an effort to construct something completely different within the paradigm of globalization. Companies who promote fair trade realize that the product is nothing without the producer, that the producer gives the product a life, a story. So, these companies make the point to pay the producer fairly. Sure, they don't receive as much of a profit, and the consumer doesn't "save" as much money. But, in the end, there are some things in life that are far more valuable than an extra buck.

At Green Mother Goods, we carry fair trade products from all over the world, from baby needs and wants, to clothes, to gift items, and so much more. Come look around. We're right on the corner of highways 421 and 321, near Earth Fare and the Daniel Boone Inn. If you end up buying something between now and a week from now, give the code word "globalization" to the cashier and get 10% off of one of the items in your purchase.

Remember: Whenever you buy something, you're voting with your dollars. Make the right choice.