Best Fairtrade Hats and Hair Accessories
Image: SAYA
Fairtrade doesn’t just apply to coffee and chocolate. These are the best hat and hair accessory brands that are adopting Fairtrade practises.
We see it all the time, but what is Fairtrade and what does the certification mean? Why should you choose Fairtrade coffee, chocolate, cotton or gold over cheaper competitors? Simply put, a product with a Fairtrade certification ensures that your purchase was not made to the detriment of those who crafted it, or to their environment. Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers who grow raw materials and artisans.
Competitive Pricing And It’s Negative Impact on People and Planet
In order to increase its competition potential in the global market, conventional trade traditionally discriminates against the most vulnerable. Unfairly low prices are continually paid to people in the most vulnerable situations, typically in the Global South. This traps most farmers in situations where they barely earn enough to save or grow their business. In many cases they loose money. This vicious circle then gets worse year on year. However, revealing the unfairness behind competitively low prices is helping buyers to understand where their products come from. The practise of Fairtrade has been shown to increase standards of living and reduce risk and vulnerability for farmers and workers.
How Does Fairtrade Benefit Farmers?
The Fairtrade Minimum Price provides a safety net for farmers, which can mean they are less vulnerable to price volatility. In turn, this can mean better cash flow, greater access to credit and the ability to save more easily. More cash flow means more money flowing through communities too, benefiting more than just the farmers. However the impact on the environment and its protection is a key element of Fairtrade’s view of sustainability too. Their standards promote training for farmers, which can include advice on switching to environmentally friendly practices, guides to adapting to climate change and mitigating their impact. Opting to buy Fairtrade options whenever possible helps people and the planet.
Fairtrade Fashion
Fairtrade practises aren’t limited to food stuffs. Many fashion and accessories brands are discovering and utlising the power of Fairtrade partnerships. From working with artisans and communities to paying living wages, these brands are making people and planet a priority. Forget fairtrade t-shirts and jewellery, we have found the most exciting options for Fairtrade hats and hair accessories.
Image: SAYA
4 of the Best Fairtrade Hats & Hair Accessories
Mayamiko
We love Mayamiko hair accessories! Mayamiko is a responsible womenswear and lifestyle brand created by the women at the heart of this great social enterprise, with ethics and sustainability at its core. Their collections are inspired by the indigenous artisans located where their items are made. The Mayamiko Trust is a charity set up in 2008, aiming to provide opportunities to the most disadvantaged women in Malawi by nurturing their creative talents, providing transferable skills and a chance to access sustainable trade practices. Their main collections use traditional African techniques and locally sourced fabrics referred to as ‘chitenje’. These stunningly colourful accessories, are actually very easy to add to a simple outfit. The Mayamiko Fashion Lab was designed to provide training, education, nutrition, sanitation and fairer trade practices to all of those involved. This includes tailoring training for disadvantaged local women, many of whom are affected by the HIV pandemic or who are carers of HIV orphans. We are impressed and inspired!
Pachacuti
Have you ever wondered what David Attenborough’s style secret is? He recently wore a beautifully classic bespoke Pachacuti Panama hat in the trailer for his new documentary: A Life on Our Planet. And lets face it, who doesn’t love a good Panama hat? Creating handwoven hats since 1992, Pachacuti’s heart lies in the Andes. Its Founder Carry Somers, after a research trip to Ecuador in 1990 for her MA in Native American studies, was truly shocked at the exploitation of the artisans at the hands of intermediaries in fashion. She returned to work with two co-operatives who had both experienced arson attacks. Within months, the producers’ positive impact was clear, and their children started going to school for the first time. After that, she gave up her planned PhD, and Pachacuti was born. You may already know Carry, who alongside co-founder Orsola de Castro, created Fashion Revolution. The globally famous coalition calls for systemic reform of the fashion supply chain around the world.
G. Vitieri
G.Vitieri creates stunning handwoven luxury hats which are all handmade in Ecuador. The brand is fully committed to working directly with local artisans, paying them appropriate prices for their hard work and ensuring good and healthy working conditions. All their products are handmade by local artisans, helping to empower and anable their ancestral traditions. Their core value? To support local craftspeople to preserve their culture and enhance the self-preservation of their communities. They work with more than 300 artisans, benefiting around 2,000 people in their communities. 90% of their artisans are women and their immediate families, who usually work at home. This support through fair trade initiatives means that they can earn an income without risking losing their job to take care of their families. Fairtrade offers vital financial stability for hardworking artisans.
SAYA
SAYA is the brand that creates gorgeous minimal hair sticks, which have been traditionally used for thousands of years. They source recycled woods from Indonesia’s rainforest, known as one of the most biologically diverse forests in the world. It contains 10% of all known plant species in the world. Yet it also has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world, and just under half of the country’s original forest cover now remains. Since the 1960s, the Indonesian Rainforest has been consistently destroyed to make room for commodities such as pulp, paper, plywood and palm oil. Searching for a way of sourcing wood sustainably, SAYA Designs came across Made & Wayan, sculptors who dig up and recycle root wood from old commercial plantations all across Indonesia. The roots are left behind by loggers harvesting trees on large-scale production sites. They take hundreds of years to decompose and have little value for the soil. By using this waste material to create their sculptural hair pieces, they have as little impact on the environment as possible.
Disclaimer: The people and models in the images featured are not associated with The Vendeur and do not endorse it or the products shown. This post may contain affiliate links. Prices correct at time of publishing.
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