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Success Stories: Technology World of Good: Development Organization Issue(s) you addressed?
Urging US corporations to re-examine their exploitative globalization practices will bear no consequence unless accompanied by clear alternatives. Through an innovative free-ware web technology, World of Good: Development Organization aims to create a new framework for the fair pricing of hand made goods thereby offering an alternative path to globalization. This revolutionary technology will develop a measurable and auditable floor pricing model that can be replicated globally and has the potential to lift thousands of artisans above poverty. At the click of a button, this web tool generates a localized price analysis of wages paid to artisans in comparison to international living wage standards. Designed for the use of both artisan organizations and buyers, this tool brings real bargaining power to artisans while encouraging mainstream retailers to engage in more ethical and fair trade on a global level. Through a series of partnerships and collective action, we plan to shift the trade practices for handmade products. We see our role as a catalyst to start this process, but our ultimate goal is for an existing third party organization such as IFAT or FLO to own this process. What did you do to achieve results?
We are partnering with key players in the fair trade community to shift the current global trade paradigm to a more fair system of trade and globalization. We are harnessing the power of the consumer and building upon the good work of the fair trade movement to put pressure on mainstream retailers to adopt fair trade practices. Our key partners include Global Exchange, SERRV International and Ten Thousand Villages. In our early stages, we have received a positive response and a great deal of consensus that the Fair Trade Calculator is the most viable model for certification and auditing of fair trade handmade goods. We successfully launched the beta version of the Fair Trade Calculator at the Fair Trade Conference 2005 in Chicago. Through our partnerships, we aim to create a tool that will not only strengthen fair trade, but will also improve the trading practices of mainstream retail organizations.
Our main challenge is the broad dissemination of the Fair Trade Calculator technology into all continents. In our early stages, we are securing support to accomplish the following goals:
We aim to shift the methodology for the payment of handmade goods in the global marketplace through technology and information sharing. The Fair Trade Calculator will raise awareness of fair wage standards thereby improving the bargaining power of artisans and giving buyers a clear method for the payment of fair wages. In phase one, we are building consensus among fair trade and ethical trade organizations with the goal of 90% compliance to these standards. In phase two, we will focus on the dissemination of the Fair Trade Calculator to a wider landscape of corporations and mainstream retailers. |