Worldgoods Owner Featured On Cover of City Magazine

What's the Buzz? Miranda Paul's on the cover of the December You! Magazine. Circulated to wide readership in Northeastern Wisconsin, freelance writer Sharon Verbeten's article is putting Fair Trade in the spotlight. Read an excerpt from the article, titled "Global Awakening" below. Or, pick up a copy FREE at any downtown newspaper kiosk!

EXCERPTS FROM THE ARTICLE

Miranda Paul is one young woman who doesn’t just “talk the talk” when it comes to making a difference globally. She definitely “walks the walk;” in fact, she’s walked the roads of West Africa several times, hoping to deliver a bit of a better life to impoverished families.

“When we started this,” Paul says, “We didn’t really know what education was out there on fair trade.” The term refers to a way of doing business with disadvantaged artisans and farmers, providing fair treatment and fair wages for their work. By doing so, Paul says, “At the end of the day, [the workers] are able to put their kids through school…there’s a higher standard of living.”

At the prompting of her college professor, Paul first traveled to Gambia in 2003 to teach English and literature to 10th graders. “I made this promise to the people of Gambia that I was going to share their story,” says Paul, who has visited the poor rural West African nation several times to work with craftsmen. “People think I go over there to shop,” Paul says. “We give [the natives] business assistance.”

Often, Paul says, craftsmen would sell their wares for less than their costs, “perpetuating the cycle of poverty.” Using a fair wage guide, Paul ensures the artisans price their items appropriately, to offer them a decent living wage. For example, Paul brings items directly from Gambia to her store. In fact, Paul says Worldgoods is the first business in the United States to import fair trade from the country.

Not only does a fair trade agreement mean better prices (for both buyer and seller), it also offers accountability. “You can trace an item to its source,” she says. “And there’s a story behind every product.”

Read the entire article here!