Over the past few years fair trade products have expanded into many new markets. With this trend we inevitably have to reevaluate the micro and macro systems involved in producing and providing fair trade products.

There is a rather large difference between fair trade products and fair trade companies, says Mary Morison, executive director of the Fair Trade Resource Network. Large corporations that sell or promote individual products are likely to have a weaker effect on their overseas labor practice or at least are not dedicated to effecting reform. “Large companies are counting on consumers to make the leap so they look good and can access a particular market segment they’ve been unsuccessful in reaching,” she says. On the positive end, by providing fair trade options in big box stores, more people have access to making responsible decisions and voting with their dollars.

While some debate that big can also be fair, others work hard to keep fair trade small and protect the purity of fair trade programs. Some support the efforts of McDonald’s, for example, which purchase coffee from the fair trade company Green Mountain Roasting Company. This type of opportunity sustains the jobs and wages of those who grow the coffee. On the other hand, some say it dilutes the standards and morals of the movement.

This debate on how far to go with sustainable and healthy products and services is the topic of the decade. Do we go big with organics? Are we willing to sacrifice the intensity of the source to make the product/service accessible to more consumers who could benefit from healthier food?

When I think about fair trade, I think of model companies such as Equal Exchange that goes above and beyond the fair trade model. Since 1986, the company imports organic coffee, tea, sugar, cocoa, and chocolate bars. With all their ingredients grown on democratically run farmer co-ops in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, Equal Exchange is able to play a large role in building democracy in these areas. They are equally passionate about building a fair and responsible work environment as they are supplying great coffee and chocolate to American consumers. “We want more profound transformations than just a kinder, gentler version of the status quo,” says Rodney North, spokesperson for Equal Exchange. “Fair trade’s historic focus has been on bottom-up economic development.”

Rodney North of Equal Exchange also argues that the “entrée of multinational corporations threatens the original goal of the fair trade movement, which was to build an alternative approach to international trade that addresses the endemic poverty, economic vulnerability, and isolation for the millions of small scale farmers who grow most of the world’s tropical agricultural commodities”.

It is hard to say what is good or bad. If we keep in mind that in supporting fair trade practices we are respecting our food and thus respecting all of those involved who bring it to us. This movement is meant to allow consumers to simply and consciously vote with their dollars, and provide fair opportunities worldwide. With this in mind, and we can help to keep the potency of the movement strong.

The majority of these quotes were taken from the Utne Reader’s Fair Trade Tradeoffs

Who ever thought that asking your neighbor for sugar could carry more connotations than that of baking necessities? Well, Sony is working on a product that will make your neighbor think twice about your consumptive demands.

Sony recently announced their current activity in developing a new bio-battery. The battery generates electricity from carbohydrates (currently sugar) and utilizes enzymes as the catalyst. The sample battery has proven to be able to output 50 mW, or enough to power a portable mp3 player. This is the world’s highest yet for a passive-type bio battery.

According to the Sony Press Release:

Sony developed a system of breaking down sugar to generate electricity that involves efficiently immobilizing enzymes and the mediator (electronic conduction materials) while retaining the activity of the enzymes at the anode. Sony also developed a new cathode structure which efficiently supplies oxygen to the electrode while ensuring that the appropriate water content is maintained. Optimizing the electrolyte for these two technologies has enabled these power output levels to be reached.

The newly developed bio battery incorporates an anode consisting of sugar-digesting enzymes and mediator, and a cathode comprising oxygen-reducing enzymes and mediator, either side of a cellophane separator. The anode extracts electrons and hydrogen ions from the sugar (glucose) through enzymatic oxidation as follows:
Glucose -> Gluconolactone + 2 H+ + 2 e-
The hydrogen ion migrates to the cathode through the separator. Once at the cathode, the hydrogen ions and electrons absorb oxygen from the air to produce water:
(1/2) O2 + 2 H+ + 2 e- -> H2O
Through this process of electrochemical reaction, the electrons pass through the outer circuit to generate electricity.

Since the battery does not require the user to do any mixing or formulating, the process is quite simple and it requires very little of the owner. But, each cm2 can only produce 1.5 mW in the first minute, so the battery has to be quite large. The current dimensions are 39×39x39mm- I don’t know how portable and functional it makes this object, but it is a step in an interesting direction.

The most applicable situation I see for this technology is for remote electrical generation necessities (which puts an interesting spin on neighborly sugar supply). For locations or trips that could not benefit from portable solar panels, sugar is a new alternative. As the design progresses and the technology is tuned, I am sure they will be able to come up with something on a more practical and portable scale.

Again, the question arises about genetically modified sugar due to increased demand of the material. Will we begin manufacturing it in the lab and what will this do to the sugar farmers across the world? These questions are always something to consider with the development of any technology using a finite, consumable resource.

It is although fun to imagine one day giving your cell phone a shot of liquid sugar when it starts beeping with low battery indication… Instead of cords, we will have IVs of liquid sugar lying about our apartment floor with a portal into our computer, our radio, our coffee maker…interesting.

Last week I wrote an article about the new private “green” labels that electronics companies are tacking on their more energy-efficient products. Some companies are using their own labeling systems; others are employing third-party certifications. After discussing the effect of said third party vs. internal labeling systems, we can begin to ask how deep the environmental awareness of the businesses goes, and how much information do they want us to know about their practices?

Since the green market has become so competitive, companies are beginning to consider additional steps towards total embodied sustainability in order to differentiate themselves and back up their claims. These services are rooted in the marketing and design of the businesses product or service. As a result, the services they employ (graphic designers and marketing firms) can make their product/service more sustainable. The hierarchy of sustainable practices involved in the process of taking a concept to product/service is important, and every consumer should be aware of this.

When a product is designed with sensitivity to its ecological impact, the way it is a marketed will certainly be affected. Hopefully this translates into the physical marketing propaganda as well. The Royal Mail UK, for example, is a certified carbon neutral direct mailing program helping companies to minimize the impact of door-to-door mailing. First, they evaluate the company’s current mailing practice based on certain material criteria such as recycled paper content, origin, inks, paper treatments, packing material, etc. Once the company has met the material standards, they help it select a target audience to reduce overmailing. The company is awarded a green mailing label, to make the consumer aware of the company’s choices and to help the consumer make their own choices. This service requires us to look at the impact of not only our marketing industry, but the practice of graphic design as well.

As a result, many graphic designers are beginning to market their service as sustainable graphic design to businesses that need to convey their personalized message to the public. This graphic design community generally defines these motivations as design for positive change. Since so much of graphic design is the sociology of an ad, they have the opportunity to instill social responsibility towards sustainability. For these designers, there are a slew of services that educate them on sustainable design in order to add depth and breadth to their service. This also promotes a more common understanding of current activity and responsibility within the design community.

The Canadian graphic design firm smashLab started out by seeking simple ways to make their practice more responsible. They ended up with a designer’s resource site to promote positive change through design. Designcanchange.org hosts a list of designer members, a blog spot, and a growing log of research. Through simplifying information yet constantly receiving more, they hope help designers define and communicate our environmental problems in as simple terms as possible.

The AIGA Center for Sustainable Design is a site loaded with case studies and reports that seek to educate the designer about different sustainable business practices, and to equip them with the information to make responsible design decisions. Another resource forum for graphic designers is Design By Nature- an Australian-based source that seeks to educate designers on how they can create change.

With all of these educational resources for designers, we hope that companies will respond by hiring those designers who are actively encouraged by these resources. The next topic is how to educate companies that these graphic designers are working hard to promote positive change and that they exist in the first place. In order to do this we might anticipate a sustainable graphics license such as that achieved by architects through the USGBC for a LEED practice license. Just something to think about…

For you business owners, here are a few links to sustainable graphic design firms and individuals:

Design Archy
Metropolitan Group
CS Design