Get Your Cameras Rolling...

Pam got me thinking.. The answer to Pam's question is YES. Let's go to Gainesville over Christmas. Let's intentionally visit.

In my last entry, I wrote about Good Society Jeans.. Has anyone tried them on yet? Pam also listed several other brands that I've heard of and am about to break down for you. But first, this is exactly what I'm going to do over the soon to come gray, gray, dark days, which

will turn into about 6 months of black, icy days...
I'm going to start making road trips to the local shops that carry Fair Trade options. I've already visited a few in Portsmouth, NH, a few in Boston and of course checked out the one, token item in several stores. I always ask the managers a thousand questions and come back to write it out all out. Bump that. Let's get the cameras rolling.

So here's what I'm proposing: YOU TOO. You start doing this. With all of our fancy cell phones or digital something or other, we can take short clips of Fair products we find. Try them on. Smell them. Rate them. Get the cost and the facts. Email me at americanslavemaster@gmail.com and we can start posting our findings up here. This blog is not about Julie and her rants. Its about us, standing for people who can not afford to stand for themselves.

Here's the breakdown on some of the brands Pam mentioned.

Ethletic: Calling all Chuck Taylor fans: These are the fair versio

n. They cost about $62 for the high tops

and $47 for the low rise. Not really too much more than Chuck Taylors. I've only seen them in black, but they are sturdy. You can order them online at www.shoebuy.com and many Fair Trade stores are carrying them now. Be on the look out.

ROSA LOVES;

was started by one of my dearest friends brothers, Mike Fretto, right in my Florida hometown of Saint Augustine. They are freaking awesome.

http://rosaloves.com/. They take local stories of need in local communities, create beautiful graphics and put the stories on t-shirts. The t-shirts are sweatshop free and 60% of the profits go to t

he individual or group in need.

Jedidiah: http://www.jedidiahusa.com/. Similar to Rosa Loves, but they print and make sweatshop free t-shirts based on larger scale charities and their stories in order to bring awareness to social justice issues. Their Hope Collection features tees for Invisible Children, World Vision, Compassion International, Not For Sale and others. They also have sweaters, a few pretty hip shoe options and some skinny pants. Their prices are about the same as Urban Outfitters.

TOMS Shoes: I'm assuming you've heard. Tom has made his mark. Whole Foods carries TOMS now. I was blown away when I saw that. And, they have come a long way. Much sturdier now than in the past. My first pair took me all over Argentina and South America as a matter of fact. (Eric Snow, if you're reading this, you my man, were right.) You buy one. Kids in Argentina

get one. Not the exact shoe you buy, but a nice sturdy one that fits into the culture. www.toms.com

I can't tell if OBEY is Fair or not. Although they seem pretty rad, there's no info I'm finding on where their apparel is made. They don't mention it, so I'm assuming not, until I look further into it.

Listen, next time you see me, there will be some footage. And hopefully I'll be hearing from you soon too.

Also, coming soon is a featured posting of my neighbor/friend Yao. She's got great insight into the way Western capitalism has enslaved China. And the potential negative impact that Fair Trade factories may have in China.

See you soon.