The other day someone who is a loyal blog reader mentioned to me that I don't write much about Just Goods. I spend every Tuesday and Friday and whenever else they have a need there, so why don't I blog about it? Good point. I've thought about blogging more about my time at Just Goods, but before I can just slip it in more frequently, I first have to tackle what Just Goods is and what it stands for.
Just Goods is a fair trade store here in Rockford. It is a not-for-profit organization that is staffed mostly by volunteers. To appreciate what JG is, we first have to talk about fair trade. To get things rolling, let's start with the principles of fair trade:
- Paying a fair wage in the local context
- Offering employees opportunities for advancement
- Engaging in environmentally sustainable practices
- Being open to public accountability
- Building long-term trade relationships
- Providing healthy and safe working conditions within the local context
- Providing financial and technical assistance to producers whenever possible
- Ensuring that there is no abuse of child labor
In a nutshell, fair trade provides an honest, hard working person in a developing country a chance to provide for his/her family and do so in a healthy and safe way. Although the majority of what our store carries is from developing countries, we also carry domestic goods manufactured by small companies or cooperatives that are in danger of being squeezed out by huge conglomerates. We get soap products from The Enterprising Kitchen in the Chicago area and beans and soup mixes from The Woman's Bean Project in Colorado to name a couple. In each case, both domestic and outside the States, the money provided to them from the sales of their products help to provide a better, safer life for the employees. To learn more about fair trade a simple Google search will keep you busy for a good long time.
Just Goods is located here in Rockford, IL on the corner of 7th st and 1st ave in the Midtown District. Street parking is available, but there is great parking in the back. The building itself is privately owned and features 3 rooms, 2 of which are retail stores and a center room that serves the community by providing a space for groups to hold meetings or for events or concerts. Charlotte's Web holds its concerts there during the winter months. We carry organic chocolate and coffee, pottery, textiles, clothing, jewelry, paper goods, olive oil, cranberries, soaps, the list goes on and on......and at extremely reasonable prices. That is one thing that always surprises people when they first come in the store, the prices are, well, fair and the products are beautiful.
Spending time at JG is a real treat for me. It's the first time I've felt like I was truly with like minded people working toward a common good. I encourage you to check out our website, though it is seriously under construction. Sign up to get our email newsletter (I'll be working on some of those) and look around at the pictures of the shop itself. I'm generally there Tuesday's and Friday's 2-6.
I like to think of fair trade stores as the anti-Walmart. Each and every item that you purchase from a fair trade organization was provided to you by fair and honest means and by making that purchase you have contributed in a positive way to some one's life. You help the people and the planet.
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