Ethical Trade Co takes gift shopping for the holidays to the Next Level

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Ethical Trade Co. Established in 2015, Ethical Trade Co is a non-profit organization dedicated

to empowering artisans and farmers who are vulnerable to exploitation, guided by the tagline

fair trade goods for a better world, Ethical Trade carries a diverse range of items from over

50 countries in their store on Madison's East Side or online at their Web Store. Here to tell

us about the company, the mission and its products and location is co-founder James Ferret.

James, welcome to MagSync Radio. Thank you for having me back again.

James, tell us about the mission of Ethical Trade Co and how it works.

Yeah, so we are our goal is to raise awareness about labor exploitation, particularly like what

you eat and what you wear because there's a lot of exploitation hidden in the supply chains of

the everyday products we use. So yeah, our goal is to raise awareness about that so you as a

conscious consumer can make a better decision, but also within that we have a fair trade store

where if you would like to buy products that you can't necessarily buy elsewhere because it's

ethically sourced on fair trade, you can. So yeah, I mean, doesn't it seem like ethically sourced

products should be everywhere? Yes, and in some aspects, some of them are, but yes, it should be

the default. That's my view. But sadly, in the aspect of capitalism that we live in now, it's

sometimes hard to find things. Now, kind of tell me how this works. So there's slavery issue,

there's sex trade issues, and you guys are going into these other countries. They teach people the

skills to create crafts, right? And then your role is basically purchasing these crafts from these

artists around the world to give them new sources of revenue to help them get out of these slave

trades. Yeah, so we work with a number of partners, over 50 spread across sort of 50, 60 different

nations in every continent of the world. And so they, our partners are sometimes co-op, so they

might be NGOs or just businesses that are trying to operate more ethically and more fair trade.

So we work with them, they, they do the employment, they teach people whether it be crafts,

or sometimes it's full on just contract manufacturing, but done in a better way.

And the job. Yeah, the way that it should be. Employed.

Yes, employed. And with, you know, with benefits and the way that you think the world should

operate. And yeah, so we then we, we don't deal with that because that's their side. Right.

We deal with marketing and selling those items here in the state because we, we feel like

you guys as customers as consumers should be able to live ethically is more easily.

Right. So yeah, and that's, that's our goal is to help you as a consumer or you as a buyer,

buy, buy chocolate that doesn't have the, the blood of, uh, uh, children on it as my co partner

likes this, say, that sounds like a juggle to me then. Yeah. Uh, you know, while you're

partner, you just mentioned him co-founder, uh, manual, uh, Manuel Ramminger. Yeah. Uh,

tell us about him and, you know, you're work with him and you guys started this back in 2015.

Yeah. So we, uh, it's, it's shocking in some ways to say that we've been around 10 years,

despite our, um, our best efforts sometimes. Um, but yeah, we, um, yeah, him and I started this

about 10 years ago. Uh, we were, uh, located mostly, uh, sort of mobile, doing fairs and festivals,

kind of, you know, like out of fast that we were just talking about, yeah, which used to be fun,

uh, as a, as a seller. And then we got us during COVID, we actually opened up our first

brick and mortar store. And since then festivals become less fun because we have a space. Uh,

yeah. So, uh, yeah. So you're, if you come by us, uh, come to our store between Wednesday and

Saturday, you'll usually see one of us or a whole band of volunteers that, the work with us,

we're all volunteer run, uh, Manuel and I, we fundraise separately for our income.

So that way, all the funds from the business can be rolled back into purchasing more product.

Because we feel it's important to keep the two separate. How did you guys come up with this

idea? Uh, so, uh, Manuel and I, we were working with another nonprofit, uh, we were doing trips

overseas with, uh, we were taking teams doing short term, sort of like, uh,

voloturism and stuff like that. And, uh, we felt like it was, um, as we interacted with people

and groups and NGOs, we wanted to provide something that was a lot more long term than bringing

a team in for a week. So, um, and, and really the only long term option if you want sustainable

income is trade and business. So how can we bring the wealth of the West? I mean, heck, we're already

buying from some of these nations. That's right. So how can we actually just change, make little changes

that can it, instead of exploiting people, we can pay them fairly. What a concept. I know it's,

it's, it's crazy to think about that. Like, but also in, in other cases, so there's, uh,

organization we work with, they, um, they make jewelry. But what's so unique about them is it's made

in the villages in the mountains of Nimple where they don't have running water. They don't have

electricity. Uh, they don't have basically all the, the necessities we were considered important

to run a business. But they have found a way to employ women to make brass jewelry up in these

mountains. So that way the, the women can remain part of their culture, part of their village,

take care of their family without having to travel to a big city to, uh, get a job and potentially

then put themselves at risk of exploitation. That's incredible. Tell us about the products that we

can find and ethical trade call. It's the perfect place for gift shopping. Yes. I know. It's,

it's the perfect time for gift shopping right now. And personally, we think that we have the best

place in Madison, quite gifts, but I might be a bit biased. You might be right. Yeah. I, and

Rocca, you have some of them, some of the items that we have, uh, sitting in front of you right now.

I do. I'm getting hungry looking at them. Uh, the chocolate covered espresso beans. Yes. So

that is a new partner this year. It's a, uh, they're made in Denver, actually, by a group that

work with, uh, women that, that struggle with, uh, um, unemployment. So, um, yeah. So we have soup

by them. We have chocolate covered espresso beans. We have popcorn. We have, uh, gummy candy,

which tastes a lot better than Swedish fish, but they're, you know, they're basically not.

Fish is what it is. Yes. Raspberry gummy fish. It basically knocked off a Swedish fish,

but they're a lot tastier because they don't have all the niciness in it. I'm probably looking

forward to trying the chili pepper chocolate the most. Yeah. The, uh, the curry chocolate is from

Ecuador. It is award-winning, eaten all over the world. It's amazing chocolate. I've, I've had them

the last couple of years. We've had some samples of those. Yeah. The, the chocolate is always amazing

and coffee is a big one. Yes. Yes. So, uh, we partner with true coffee, uh, locally,

and they roast a specific blend for us. It is a medium-like roast. And, um, yeah, we get a lot

of rave reviews about it to the point that we're actually looking at expanding our partnership with

them and putting together some more blends. So with some, with some fun names. Oh, that's

nice. Maybe in the spring. We'll come back in with those. Oh, let's see. Other food and drink

products include oil and vinegar, spices and seasoning, candy, dried fruit. Yep. Um, some of

the stuff I found interesting was socks that protect sloths. I know. Yes. Yes. Uh, conscious,

conscious step socks. They give, for every, every, um, sock, the pair of socks you buy, they give

a buck towards a various organization and some protect LGBT, some collect, protect socks,

some protect rats. Sorry, cats, uh, some protect dogs. Um, yeah, it's, it's all, it's all variable.

I personally, you know, I think we should do away with the ones that protect rats. Oh,

sorry, again, slip of the tongue again, uh, cats. But, um, yes. So, yeah, we have all sorts of accessories.

We have hairbands. We have, uh, bags. We have purses. We have shirts. We have fashion. We actually have

an old section, which is, um, which is, yeah, wearables, but it's, it's a particular section in our store

where all the wearables we have are actually discounted. So we buy them discounted. We buy

effectively by surplus fair trade inventory from other stores. And then we sell them discounted.

So if you buy them 40% off, you can buy them 40% off. Because again, we, we feel like it's important

that you as consumer can live a ethical life as, as cheaply as possible. And we live in a day, an

age where living ethically is really expensive. Yes. So, so we are looking for places where we can buy

discounting inventory this fair trade. So we can sell it to you discounted.

What a country, huh? I know. It's easier to live unethically. Yes, it is. Ethically. Yes.

Flip flops, the flannel shirts, cookware, cups, mugs, dishes. I know. And even bath and body

stuff like bath towels, rugs, robes. Yes. And we have, we have a lot more in store than we do have,

no, we have a lot more online now than we have in store. So we work with a, a number of partners

around the states that drop ship directly for us. So you can buy products from other companies

now on a website that don't necessarily come from us. That way, we can offer more without actually

having to have it in stock. Now, I'm assuming all your products are on the website. But stock at

your location in 1904, when a bigotry is a little smaller, tell us about the store in your location.

Yes. So we are located just off Atwood Avenue, kind of across from the Atwood Music Hall.

That's right. Yeah. So we should actually share the same parking lot behind the Lake Ridge Bank

there. When you walk in, you have to go up to the second floor, but there's an elevator or

there's stairs, depending upon whether you want to get your steps in or not. And then, yeah,

we have a wonderful space. We've been there now about four months. We had to move from

our previous location because the building is not there any longer. And yeah, it's been great

there. So we're right on Winnebago. And if we order from the website, can we get shipping

still to make it by Christmas? Yes, you can. So I think the cutoff is strictly on our website.

We're saying like the 15th, but really it's kind of the 19th. So it's just the in case there's

a little bit of trouble, but also you can order in store and pick up when you can order online

and pick up from our store if it's one of the items that we have. And so we'll hack just come down

and check it out. We have a lot of product in there. What do you think is the one craziest,

unique item that you carry that people should know about at your store? I personally really like

the stoneware that we have from Ukraine. So we have an amazing range of plates, bowls, cups

that are all handmade in Ukraine, in Kiev, where there's a war going on in case you don't

want to wear. Oh, you have to look at this stuff. Look up on my screen. Oh, I can see it.

Yeah. Oh, so I really like this stuff. And it's really top, it's really quality stuff.

And we've kind of like looked to the prices in comparison to like pottery barn and other things.

And it's for handmade and it really is truly handmade products. It's actually sort of fairly price

comparable. This isn't like Walmart price or target price, you know, this is a little bit more

than that, but it's made by hand. Yeah. And each piece is truly unique. So and they're made with

Ukraine traditional Ukrainian techniques. Wow. That's my favorite product or range of product.

Wow. Well, James, thank you so much for coming in to chat with us tonight. We really

appreciate it. Thanks for having me. Go to ethicaltradecode.com for more information,

to shop online for ethically made and sourced products. I think what you do is absolutely

incredible. I applaud. Thank you. What you do. And it's such a great cause. I'm glad you came in.

Thank you so much for having us. I love coming down. All right. Shop local, eat local,

listen local. This is maxing radio. We are local music.