Fair trade - why should we care?

26 September 2005

Fair trade - why should we care?

Fair trade. The only trade
The fair trade movement is old news. People have been talking about it for a long time, but have we really been listening?

Surfers lead the way
Surfers are usually out there on the front line when it comes to environmental issues but the same cannot always be said for the big Surfwear brands. Young, environmentally conscious surfwear and snowboarding retailer ZooZoo2 is determined to do more.

We are all used to fair trade products such as coffee, tea, and cocoa used in thousands of good cafe's and restaurants across the developed world. But what about surfwear and surf related products? What are we wearing, how was it made and who actually made it?
Fair trade is a system of economic relations in which: sweatshops are eliminated; workers earn a living wage; the rights of workers, producers and local communities are respected; labor, health and safety, and environmental laws are followed; and trade is conducted on a level playing field, truly free and fair'.[extract from bangornews.com / PICA article]

Fair trade works to ensure producers in the developing world receive a fair price for the goods they make and that these goods are produced by workers in sweatshop-free environments. It is no longer acceptable for global brands including surfwear brands to benefit at the cost of poor producers who have no voice of their own.

Fair trade involves practices that give producers a voice, either by collecting them into cooperatives or by ensuring minimum support prices for them which will allow them enough resources to invest in further producing the raw material that goes into producing consumer goods says Fair Trade: Market-Driven Ethical Consumption.

“In simple terms, Fair Trade represents a new approach to buyer-supplier transaction which aims at equality of exchange within a partnership approach, underpinned by a developmental, rather than confrontational, agenda. Fair trade recognises the power discrepancy between the developing and the developed worlds and aims to forge long-term partnerships. A firm focus on the producer rather than the consumer, has been central to Fair trade.”[extreact from Finacialexpress India]

Child Labour Facts
The ILO estimates that 120 million children aged 5-14 work full-time, and a further 130 million work part-time.

About 61% of working children live in Asia, 32% in Africa and 7% in Latin America. More and more children in Europe are working.

Africa has the highest incidence of working children. Approximately 40% of all its five to 14 year olds work full or part-time. In both Asia and Latin America, about 20% of five to 14 year-olds are engaged in the job market. [source: www.volunteernow.ca]

ZooZoo2 is committed to supporting the principles of third world fair trade.

• Prohibition of child labour (children should be children, to learn and play and have fun)
• Prohibition of forced labour (no sweatshop labour)
• Prohibition of harassment (no sweatshop labour)
• Regulated work hours
• Prohibition of discrimination
• Health and safety (no sweatshop labour)
• Preservation of the environment
  
  Concern for fellow human beings as well as concern for the health of our planet seem to us to be a natural step for all surfersand snowboarders.

ZooZoo2.com

email: surf@zoozoo2.com

A bigger surf - A warmer planet

19 September 2005
A bigger surf – a warmer planet
It sounds perfect; or does it.

Across our planet, scientists, businesses, academics and even some politicians and sport enthusiasts are talking about the negative implications of warming temperatures on outdoor recreation and leisure.

The subject of global warming is a hot topic and is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Young environmentally conscious surfwear and snowboarding retailer ZooZoo2 thinks we should do more to protect the environment.

Climate change
The oil industry lobby try to tell everyone that it is nothing more than either normal environmental change or the ranting of eco warriors bent on destroying their business. The green lobby on the other hand tell us global warming will heat our planet on average by 6°C in the next century. It may not sound a lot but would result in melting roads, drowning pacific islands and destroying the delicate balance of our eco system. Who should we believe?

Higher temperatures threaten dangerous consequences: drought, disease, floods, lost ecosystems. And from sweltering heat to rising seas, global warming's effects have already begun. But solutions are in sight. We know where most heat-trapping gases come from: power plants and vehicles. And we know how to curb their emissions: modern technologies and stronger laws. By shifting the perception of global warming from abstract threat to pressing reality, and promoting online activism. By pressing businesses to use less energy and build more efficient products. And by fighting for laws that will speed these advances.
[extract from National Resources Defense Council USA Annual Report: Air & Energy / Global Warming]

A green wave
Whether it's the creek that meanders through town, the lake where we fish and swim, the majestic ocean beaches and the beautiful surf we ride that inspire our awe of nature, or simply the glass of water we drink, clean water is essential to our well-being. [extract from NRDC Annual Report: Air & Energy / Global Warming]

So what can we do
However small a contribution we can make it only takes one, then another one to follow that one, then before you know you have million or even a billion. If it sounds naive think again.Let us know what small ideas you have and if we think your idea is cool we will send you a ZooZoo2 organic cotton t-shirt. We think it’s worth doing.

ZooZoo2.com
Email: surf@zoozoo2.com

Surfers turn autumn green

15 September 2005
Surfers turn autumn green

New startup surfwear retailer, ZooZoo2, is determined to turn autumn green. ZooZoo2.com founded by 12 year old Molly Luke is on a mission to convince fellow surfers and snowboarders that buying organic cotton clothing is the only way forward.

We are what we wear
In these days of global brand loyalty with surfers the world over covered head to toe in those brand logos we all know and love so much, it seems true that we are what we wear. But do we really know or care what we wear, how it is made, what it is made of and who actually made it?

Unlike many of the big mainstream surfwear retailers Molly and ZooZoo2 have asked those questions and decided to sell only organic cotton T-shirts and clothing. Sure it affects the bottom line, sure it means they cost a little more to produce, but its got to be worth it.

Surfers the world over experience Natures power and beauty every time they go into the water. They appreciate its ever changing and unpredictable behaviour it’s power and well as it’s fragility. Why is it then that they pay lip service to the environment when it comes to the surfing brands they wear?

Conventional Cotton is one of the world’s most intensively sprayed crops.
[According to organisations such as the Sustainable Cotton organisation]

Cotton uses approximately 25 percent of the world’s insecticides and more than 10 percent of the pesticides (including herbicides, insecticides, and defoliants).
The Environmental Protection Agency considers seven of the top 15 pesticides used on cotton in the year 2000 in the United States as “possible,” “likely,” “probable,” or “known” human carcinogens.

Organic Cotton is the only way to go
Each surfing T-shirt made from one hundred percent organic cotton saves one-third of a pound of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Consumers who buy organic cotton clothing help support this fledgling sustainable industry. [extract from newamericandream.org]

Where do we go now
The lifestyle enjoyed by those living in the world's industrialised countries comes at a cost. ‘In the wake of development and prosperity we see acid rain, greenhouse gases, global warming, toxic waste, water and air pollution, and a global dependence on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. As today's patterns of growth and consumption continue to deplete the environment, our future welfare is at risk.’ [extract from eartheasy.com]

Let's make it count
As surfers we play our part in determining what happens to our planet by the consumer choices we make.
We are what we buy. Let’s make it count.

ZooZoo2.com

Email: surf@zoozoo2.com

Surfing for the planet

6 September 2005

Surfing for the planet
100% cotton, no thanks

Fledgling surfwear retailer ZooZoo2.com founded by 12 year old Molly Luke and still only 2 months old, is trying to teach the big boys a bit about environmentally conscious surf retailing. Unlike many of the big mainstream retailers Molly and ZooZoo2 have decided to sell only organic cotton T-shirts and clothing. This does mean they cost a little more to produce but it is worth every cent, plus, organic cotton T-shirts feel great to wear.

Conventional cotton farming has a seriously destructive effect on the environment.
The simple act of growing and harvesting the one pound of cotton fiber needed to make a T-shirt (or any other conventional cotton product), takes an enormous toll on the earth’s air, water, and soil, and significantly affects the health of people living in cotton growing areas. [Extract from Sustainable Cotton Project, Inc 2005]

Conventional Cotton is one of the world’s most intensively sprayed crops.
[According to organisations such as the Sustainable Cotton organisation]

Cotton uses approximately 25 percent of the world’s insecticides and more than 10 percent of the pesticides (including herbicides, insecticides, and defoliants).
The Environmental Protection Agency considers seven of the top 15 pesticides used on cotton in the year 2000 in the United States as “possible,” “likely,” “probable,” or “known” human carcinogens.

Organic Cotton is the only way to go
Each T-shirt made from one hundred percent organic cotton saves one-third of a pound of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Consumers who buy organic cotton help support this fledgling sustainable industry. [extract from newamericandream.org]

100% cotton 73% truth
The average 100% cotton T-shirt contains only 73% cotton. The rest consists of chemicals and resins used to increase production levels. We all think 100% cotton is exactly that, unfortunately the truth seems to be a little different.

In America last year, farmers applied 53 million pounds of toxic pesticides to cotton fields. Out of the world’s total insecticide usage, 25% is used just to farm cotton.

And, if that isn’t enough, once the cotton has been grown it is dyed using toxic dyes. Then, to prevent it from creasing, it is finished with formaldehyde. Common sense says that can’t be right. [extract from Howies.co.uk]

Go organic
ZooZoo2 is committed to reducing environmental damage through the use of organic cotton surf T-shirts and clothing. Let's all do what we can to protect our planet by wearing organic cotton. Let surfers lead the way.


Zoozoo2.com
Email: surf@zoozoo2.com