The Fair Trade label is becoming increasingly common in the Western world. But while shoppers seem keen to pay a little over the odds for fair trade products, some observers question how effective it really is in helping developing third world farmers.

In my view, the more the Western market is flooded and the more Fair Trade sold, then over time, the third world will surely reap the benefits in the end?

Surely, the more fair trade clothes and jewellery we buy, the more the third world produce and sell, and then the more we buy, the more the third world earn and so on…..and this can only be a positive cyclic relationship perpetuating greater wealth over time for impoverished societies?

The craftsmanship on fair trade gifts and jewellery is truly outstanding. Quite clearly the skills of the indigenous communities who produce such gems are passed from generation to generation so skills like wood carving, hand painting, hand screen printing and jewellery crafting do not fade. We are lucky to have accessibility to the products of great artisans so we can appreciate their unique beauty in contrast to mass produced generic products that are not, in sharp contrast, skilfully handcrafted and have no soul or originality.

Hand embroidered fair trade bags
There is an organis ation in India called Touch of India who specialise in hand making fair trade bags all of which are hand embroidered. Touch of India carries out most of its work with Muslim minorities and aims to preserve old traditional embroidery techniques such as Kantha embroidery, Zardozi and Aari work. It uses a wide range of beads and fabrics in the most beautiful colours and are true works of art. All their products are exchanged for a fair wage.

Hand made fair trade candles
In Kolkata, India, the conglomerate E.M.A., carry on the tradition of candle making by hand. Paraffin was is melted in an oven and poured into a mould or ‘die’. Each candle is left to cool for six to seven hours before being taken out of the die and polished. It can be then hand painted or hand screen printed. Most of the scents used are from flowers, fruits and spices and come from Bangalore. Each candle is a work of art and has been exchanged using fair trade principles.

Hand screen printed jute shopping bags
Earth Bags in Kolkata, India, produce bags made from jute since it is a fast-growing vegetable fibre in their country. It is also 100% biodegradable and recyclable. Some of the bags are natural jute while others have been hand dyed in sumptuous pinks , greens and purples embellished with coloured sequins and hand printed with metallic gold or pink screen prints. Earth Bags gives employment to women and self-help groups in Kolkata and strives to help the environment by encouraging more people to use eco-friendly bags.

Fair trade jewellery
Produced in Delhi, India, each piece of jewellery is created from Indian solid silver. Each item is crafted and inlaid with semi precious gemstones ranging from the beautifully rich deep blue lapis lazuli, to the milky moonstone and the opulent malachite. The range of jewellery covers intricately crafted pendants inlaid with coral and turquoise to hand crafted earrings some with finely shaped spirals of silver.

All the products Indigo Ocean have to offer have been exchanged for a fair wage to help to improve the communities standard of living and quality of life - not only for them - but for their next generation….