I had the pleasure to have lunch today with Christy Nicholson, owner of ShopGhia.com, an online store based on selling affordable, socially conscious products. While we had lunch, we talked all about Ghia and what in the heck fair trade means.

In the most delicious irony ever, I shared with Christy that the first time I ever heard of "fair trade" was at the great shrine to American consumerism, the Mall of America in Minneapolis. So, what is fair trade anyway?

Christy says fair trade is about making a choice about where your products come from. Much of the stuff we buy today comes from developing countries where laws aren’t as stringent as the laws here in the US. There is no OSHA and in many places, there aren’t even laws about child labor. It’s entirely possible that the shirt you’re wearing may have been sewn together by a child. Think about that. Is that really an industry you want to support?

Fair trade products are:

- Made by people who have been paid a living wage
- Made by people who have safe working conditions
- Not made by slave or child labor
- Made by companies/people who use sustainable environmental practices
- Made by companies who invest in the communities where they set up. They help to build schools, roads, and other things that we Americans take for granted every day.

Sounds expensive, doesn’t it? You’d be surprised, Christy told me. Prices are not actually that much more expensive than you might find at Target; prices are certainly in line with what you find at the mall. I was completely bowled over by this dress that Christy brought to show me. It was beautiful, well made, and the cotton that the dress was made from was sturdy, yet would be cool on a hot summer day. Best of all, it was a mere $32.

While cruising around the Ghia website today, I found that prices were excellent and the selection was right up my hippie-bohemian alley. But even my daugher who is as anti-me as possible was so delighted with one of the bracelets Christy brought to show me, that I had to buy it for her on the spot.

Do yourself and the rest of the planet a favor and check out Ghia, you won’t be disappointed.