GOOD BUSINESS August 2003
TV DATE
for BIG BOWL
A
GIANT singing bowl from WONDERWORLD will star in a top BBC TV drama series
this autumn. The 3.9kg
mantric monster was selected to perform in the Highland based show Monarch
of the Glen.
PRODUCERS
were looking for a singing bowl with visual impact to accompany a story
line involving some Buddhist
or new age ritual practises. They
approached Jan at the Phoenix Community Shop, part of the Findhorn
Foundation and a brilliant outlet for alternatives in northern Scotland.
She arranged for the
XXL Nepali singing bowl to be used. The
episode in question is set for screening around November.
IN
GLORY, our bowl has now returned to base.
Fame has not dulled her deep, endless sound, nor dimmed her
inscrutable patina. 'The
Monarch', as she now expects to be referred, has her very own cardboard
box lined with best quality bubble wrap.
The Monarch is available to preside over knockdowns, garden fetes
& bar mitzvahs, fee negotiable.
UPDATE
16th November: SO - 'The Monarch''s career in TV never got off the
ground. She failed to make it to the broadcast edit of
tonight's episode. Her place in the chronicles of light
entertainment was usurped by a modest pair of
Ritual Cymbals (also supplied by WONDERWORLD I hasten to add). Her
agent has already been on the phone. He is not pleased.
The season in panto and the photo-spread in Hello magazine are both off.
Christopher Lee has texted with a few words of empathy. That's show
business for you.
SUCCESSFUL MONITORING
DUTCH
World Shop Association representatives visited WONDERWORLD's producer
partner for hand block printing in Jaipur, India before Christmas to check
compliance with their fair trading criteria.
We now have their report. It
is very positive.
OUR
producer partner is described as an "exemplary company for small
hand block printing companies in Jaipur".
Wages paid to workers were confirmed as "well above all
determined lower limits" and as “living wages”.
The overall trading arrangements were "a win-win situation
for all concerned". We
are urged to seek new markets for our hand block print in order to
increase the beneficial employment available.
Copies of the full report are available on request in English or
the original Dutch.
THE
DUTCH representatives adopted an interesting method of work.
They were looking at various producers in Delhi, Jaipur and
Pondicherry so they commissioned research from a local social science
research institute to independently determine what a 'living wage' would
be in each area. This figure was used as a benchmark to compare with the
detailed accounts provided by WONDERWORLD and the producer partner, and
check directly with our workers at the block print unit.
THIS
approach seems pragmatic and effective.
Fair trade monitoring systems should be capable of providing
socio-economic context information to compare with small scale producers
and importers performance. It is unrealistic to expect small scale
enterprises to supply detailed and reliable socio-economic background.
Radical transparency is their priority in the partnership.
THE
DUTCH team supplied us with a copy of their living wage calculations for
all the locations they covered in India.
Sharing fair trade information & thereby promoting fair trade
ideals. So we now have a credible piece of research to inform future
discussions with our incense suppliers in Pondicherry.
The
Dutch World Shops published an article about our producer partner and the
monitoring process in their magazine 'De Wereldondernemer'. Click
here to read a translation of their article.
WHY-HI IFAT
THE
INTERNATIONAL Federation for Alternative Trade (IFAT) held it’s
bi-annual conference at Newcastle University in June.
On the opening day many non-IFAT members were invited to
participate. It was a
valuable opportunity to get insights into an important global fair trade
organisation.
THE
morning session was given over to key-note speeches.
My impression was that a broad church approach to fair trade was
being endorsed. We heard
stimulating contributions from Dr Alan Knight of Kingfisher Group whose
work at B&Q is well known. The
Co-Op outlined it’s raw numbers success in promoting fair trade
products, especially chocolate.
RIGHT
at the beginning Francisco VanderHoff-Boersma, a coffee producer from
Mexico made, for me, important remarks.
“Our family is rather big” he said, “all fair trade
initiatives are good, none is the best or the only road for global
changes”.
“PROTEST
and propose” said Francisco. Challenge the unfair and unsustainable
tenets of neo-liberalism with a sustainable alternative that had the
characteristic both of a political movement AND a viable business
enterprise also. “We
all try to make some profit – why not?” he said.
MANY
hard questions about the the character of fair trade were raised later in
the day. For example
the problem of the ‘halo’ effect – a pertinent
phrase new to me. One
IFAT member had taken a fair trade coffee in the Newcastle branch of
Starbucks. 2% of Starbucks
turnover is fair trade coffee.
He asked if that 2% share of Starbucks business is a cheap price
for the PR benefit will they derive?
He asked if the soul
of the fair trade movement had been sold out for this measly 2% and
similar such crumbs from the table of thoroughly corporate, globalised,
profiteering businesses?
I
LISTENED to hear if such questions about fair trade within IFAT are
sufficiently settled for processes around IFAT membership criteria and
monitoring to be accepted as coherent & authoritative.
Should the wider audience of fair trade related businesses and
individuals accept IFAT as a global arbiter of fair trade until a system
and language that truly facilitate the ‘rather big’ family of fair
trade on equal terms takes firm root within IFAT itself?
I
WAS encouraged by IFAT’s approach from the keynote speakers but
more wary when hearing the churning from other delegates later in
the day. I
don’t know what the bottom line is.
Francisco said the arguments were settled – I hope so.
In any case IFAT is a brave effort in pursuit of tough objectives
and always to be honoured for that.
DESIGN IDEAS
PLEASE
CONSIDERATIONS
are underway for new patterns in natural dye hand block prints -
furnishings and/or garments and/or accessories.
If you have any suggestions, or, even better, any
designs ready to show me, then I would be very happy to see them.
If we can use them then we would offer some kind of royalty – ie money.
CORRECT
me if I am wrong but I feel that the market generally is tending toward
lighter prints. We are
thinking about ways to lighten the colour of our background cloth without
using bleach. Our block
printers are really very good at interpreting designs and matching colours.
WANT
to talk about it – give me a ring or e-mail.
As WONDERWORLD is a much smaller team these days we do find it hard
to generate the quantity of new lines and designs that both we and our
retail customers would like. So
any input that anyone out there can make would be appreciated.
BACS REMINDER
SINCE
WONDERWORLD activities resumed under Dayteam Ltd those of you paying by
BACS transfer should have received a message from me giving the new bank
details. The Dayteam
Ltd is at Barclays Bank sort code 205534.
The old NatWest WONDERWORLD account sort code 601434 is now dead,
no more to rise. Please
check you have our full Barclays details for your BACS payments and
contact me if you do not. Thanks.
CARRIAGE
CHARGES UP
FOLLOWING
increases in the rates charged by our courier we must raise our carriage
charge to £ 6.75. The
carriage paid rate remains at £200.00 net.
SUMMER HOLIDAYS
THIS
YEAR I am having a proper holiday hiking in the Julian Alps of northern
Slovenia. Consequently the
main WONDERWORLD office will be closed from August 13th-27th.
Orders can be placed by contacting Martyn at our warehouse on 01362
697715.
I
WILL attempt to monitor my e-mails but as I intend to be lost on the
limestone massifs of Mount Triglav National Park more than once it may be
that internet access proves tricky. My
e-mail in-box will no doubt fill with disgusting spam, prompting my
service provider to temporarily suspend my facility until such a time as I
can clear it.
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