Where does this leave fair trade, or trade in general, as a potential development tool?
EH: It’s interesting, and I don’t know the answer for sure. We are of the opinion that if you go outside your market to create a product that could be produced within your market, then it’s not sustainable. We’ll make organic shirts in China when we sell shirts in China. But on the same token, I understand what fair trade can do for Third World countries. I gave a presentation at a big apparel show recently, and many companies were getting into sustainable fibers, but they were getting their products made in India, China, Mexico or wherever, and then shipping them back to the States. Now I can see the benefits of giving people jobs, supporting sustainable farming etc, but you have to weigh that up against the climate change impacts of transporting these products. I had just bought a pair of jeans that are made in Tennessee, from conventional fibers, and I was asking the question at this show: which is more sustainable, these American-made, conventional cotton jeans, or a pair of organi
