Frequently Asked Questions
If you are having problems with the checkout process or our shopping cart, please see our Checkout & Shopping Cart FAQ.
If you have questions about shipping or your privacy, please see our Shipping and Privacy Policy page.
How much of the proceeds of sales go back to the producers?
The question is often asked about what percentage of the sale goes back to the producer. Sometimes, but not always, what is behind this question is the assumption that the retailer should be a non-profit, passing all proceeds above its operating costs back to the producer, because if they don’t then it is just more exploitation. We hope that this response addresses those issues and fears.
Fair prices?
At the root of the question is usually a desire for assurance that we are fair in the margins we make on the products we sell i.e. are the prices we charge to our customers and the prices we pay to our producers ethical and not exploitative? First thing to say is that we are active members of the Fair Trade Federation and abide by its principles. They have a wealth of information at http://www.fairtradefederation.org/mft.html
We have transparency in both our supply chain and our financial dealings. On our website you can see which producers actually made your products and if they have a website, though most do not, you can check them out yourself. We will also publish our key financial data every year because we believe that good business should be transparent.
On the specific issue of margins, we have to make a margin on what we sell in order to be able to build a sustainable business that grows the impact we can have in developing countries. Fair trade needs to be fair all the way along the chain. Fair trade relationships with our producers ensure that they are always paid a fair wage, and the trading relationship is an ongoing committed relationship where the needs of the community are respected and assisted. It is impossible in this limited space to list out how much of the retail price of each individual product goes back to the producer, because each product, region, and producer is different, and have chosen different routes to market. On average, about 50% of the retail price goes back to the people making the product. We are very proud of this fact, especially when considering that, in most industries, a few pennies from every dollar make it back to those whose cretivity, ingenuity, and hard work made the product possible. If you have a question about a specific product, we’d be happy to answer it for you.
You can rest assurred, however, that the producers would not want to be without these kind of trading relationships, and are not being exploited or sold short.
Some producer groups sell to us via distributors, others sell directly to us.
Is Trade as One a for profit or not for profit company?
For Profit or not? This issue has occupied a lot of our brainpower in the last year. There are arguments either way. Here’s where we have ended up.
Trade as One’s objective is to exist as a sustainable route to market for the marginalized poor. We want to create more jobs for them by tapping and stimulating demand in America. We do not believe that sustainability can safely be built by relying on a donor base to subsidize its operations. If we did that, our producers’ route to market would be dependent on donor empathy and that is notoriously fickle. Much better that the trade that the company engages in must be profitable in order to survive and grow. This is true for any successful organization in this space. Whether they operate under a for-profit or non-profit legal status, they have to have profitable business operations to be of any use to their producers.
Where do profits go?
At the moment we are new, starting out, and not yet operating with a profit because we are at the stage of investing heavily in building the business. The founders, Nathan and Catherine George, together with another ‘angel’ investor believe in the Trade as One vision sufficiently to have risked their own money in order to get the business established. In addition, others have risked their time at no cost (equivalent to money). Until profitability is reached, most of the Trade as One team are not taking salaries. Once profits are generated by the business, they will be used to a) pay off loans taken out to start the business, b) re-invested in order to grow the business and c) pay back the original investors. With the plans we have to continue to invest in growth, it is not anticipated that investors will be paid back for 3 years. At that time we would hope to have built a significant, sustainable business that provides a market that has created thousands of jobs in the developing world.
Compassionate capitalism can be a force for tremendous good in the world.
Good business should do good, be transparent and enhance life on this planet. We hope to live up to that notion.