It’s THE time of the year. Complaints about empty accounts (bound to return come January) have ceased, and instead a wild shopping frenzy has taken root, on the high street as well as the zillions of Christmas fairs and markets around the country. Everyone seems to join in for the treasure hunt of the ‘exceptional something’ with a ‘special someone’ in mind.
With the general public ready to shop, Christmas fairs and markets pop up nearly at every street corner, church and school yard. And increasingly, they adorn themselves with attributes such as ‘ethical’, ‘eco’, ‘green’ or ‘fair trade’. Sometimes with the best of all intentions, at other times merely to cash in on what seems to be a fashion fad. Beyond the rather difficult questions of ‘What is ethical? And how ethical is ethical?‘ – which I’m not going to nor intending to answer in this post – the issue is: Are these fairs really worth going to? Worth the detour from the local craft or Christmas fair which may be geographically more accessible?
In order to gain some insight into precisely this issue, I did some research and attended an arbitrary pick of 3 ‘ethical’ or ‘eco’ fairs this weekend, namely:
– Ethical Just Got Fabulous (EJGF)
– Fair Christmas Fayre (FCF), and
– Eco Design Christmas Fair (EDCF)
Their marketing efforts could not have been any more different from one another, as was the target public they were aiming at:
– EJGF tried to be ‘top of range’ by hiring a professional marketing agency and offering a private viewing; in addition they chose a rather posh sounding event location between Notthing Hill and Ladbroke Grove.
– FCF remained rather grassroots, even handing out leaflets on Oxford Street; the location was the Salvation Army’s hall close to Oxford Circus.
– EDCF chose a prime location in design-wise fashionable Islington and advertised their efforts to an ‘eco’ minded community with support from the Ethical Fashion Forum.
At the bottom line, however, the 3 fairs were in essence very similar to one another. To a larger extent even than I had dared to anticipate when browsing their websites ahead of time. What I had thought to be a premature conclusion about the type and range of products and design I would get to see, turned out to be a quite accurate forecast.
All the 3 of the fairs I visited were rather crafty – not that there is anything wrong with offering quality craft products. Nothing at all. BUT it means walking on thin ice when ‘craft’ in this context comes with the nuance of ‘hand made and looking like it‘, hence failing to perform in the categories design, quality, or possibly in both.
In addition, over and over again, I found myself chatting to the stand owners inquiring about what justified the term ‘ethical’ for their product. The range of answers encompassed attributes such as ‘fair trade’, ‘hand made’, ‘dyed with natural colours’, ‘made from a by-product’ [e.g. of the food industry], ‘vintage’, or simply ‘because we’re using ethical rubber band’ (this one still puzzles me to be honest – I still can’t quite make sense of it).
‘Ethical’, so it seems, has ceased to have any meaning at all. Anything and everything suddenly is ‘ethical’ – I’m waiting for Primark to advertise their sweatshop-made organic cotton T-shirts as ‘ethical’. Agreed, that’s beside the point, and probably cynic, too. But the issue remains: ethical, eco, green, sustainable … the terms have become devoid of meaning. On the up side this, of course, means that as consumers, we cannot rely on any of these labels (probably never could, anyway), and have to bother ourselves with having that short piece of conversation to fathom the depth of a brand/maker’s commitment. Maybe not a that bad thing, after all.
This all said, luckily there were a few positive surprises – call them discoveries – I made among the exhibitors, that were certainly worth going out of my way to see the fairs myself.
So, here they are – briefly portrayed in word and photograph.
- Bottletop is based on a simple recipe. They alleviate poverty through the production of environmentally friendly and ethically sourced products. They have a number of programs with this aim, but there is a star product among what they produce: a collection of bags made in Brazil, out of can ring pulls. They are impressive: neat design, quality finish, plain and in that absolutely stylish, and would fit easily into a Fashion Week line up.
- Noah’s Ark is a fair trade handicraft marketing organization in Moradabad, India. Most of the artisans are women, who benefit from the fact that they can work from home and maintain their responsibilities for children and household. While they produce numerous different products – all of which are rather top-of-league as far as design in concerned – they cutlery they produce is exceptional. Decorative, yet not over the top, stylish, with the special something, perfect for everyday use as well as as a present.
- Velo::re handcrafts belts made from recycled bicycle tyres and inner tubes. The tread bears the scars of every mile traveled, every unauthorised skid. The belts are just simply cool – neat, simple, useful, and yet – thanks to being upcycled products – each with its individual personality and history.
