SuSu’s Fair Trade Rant!

SuSuMaMa means “mother’s milk” in the language of Indonesia.

SuSuMaMa World Wear is a small enterprise, designing, manufacturing and importing beautiful, unique and fairly traded clothes from around the world. We have been trading for more than 10 years and have touched the lives of many.  Many of our clothes are made from traditionally produced local natural textiles, and we use only small local businesses, which are all personally visited to ensure our fair trade policy is adhered to. Our more modern ranges are made from synthetic fibres, but always, our suppliers’ best interests are at the heart of our business. When we arrive in Bali, Kathmandu, Jaipur, or any of the other places we work from, we are always greeted with joy, and the local people who make our clothes are happy to know that they can feed, clothe and educate their families, and generally improve the quality of their lives, whilst getting a fair price for their efforts.

It is SuSuMaMa’s aim to create an awareness of our diverse cultures. It is our policy to promote the art, culture and lives of the people with whom we all share this cosy little planet. Our connection is the feel of cloth from a land far away against your skin. SuSuMaMa’s clothes tell tales of other lands, of flight and freedom, of nature and spirits, of art, labour, life, light and love. It is thru education, sharing of ideas, and mutual respect, that the riches of our world, and the experiences and lives of others can be appreciated. A respect for other cultures and lifestyles can be borne.

I love shopping, and a while ago I figured out why….The market place is the heart of a culture, It is where people meet, exchange ideas and trade their goods, catch up on the latest news, socialize…This is an ancient tradition, and the axis of society. That’s why I love it! Go into any market any where in the world, and you will find out what is happening, all the local gossip and news…it satisfies my Aquarian soul!

The term “fair trade” is heard a lot these days, often used as a marketing term, by trendy companies trying to jump on the global awareness bandwagon. But what does fair-trade mean to me? In a nutshell, SuSuMaMa aims to ensure that small scale producers in developing countries get a decent price for goods produced under fair, decent and humane conditions. Millions of people world wide are kept in poverty by imperialist nations putting a greater value on profits earned, rather than quality of life. Making the greatest amount of profit, regardless of human suffering, seems to be part of the economics of the world. Everyone aims to get bigger and bigger, and seems to want more and more. It is SuSuMaMa’s policy to only deal with small family run businesses.

Fair trade also applies back home, a loyalty to our customers, reliability, charging a fair price, and giving a personal service.

As a small business, I try to ensure that fair-trade guidelines are followed throughout the entire process of the manufacture and production of my clothing but can not take on all aspects of the textile industry single handedly. The production of clothes is far more complex to track, than, say, a simple commodity likes coffee. Take something like one of our cotton hoodies, for example. The processes begins with the growing of the cotton, involving many people, sowing, weeding, harvesting, etc. Then the raw material gets spun, dyed, woven or knitted, cut, sewn, and finished. There are button manufacturers, label makers, zipper producers, and so on. As you can see, a lot of people and labour is involved. On top of this, there are environmental issues like the disposal of spent dyes, political issues involving human rights infringements, such as the oppression of the Tibetan people by the Chinese government. We try not to buy Chinese made goods, but then individuals in china, who do not support the regime, but have been born into it, may suffer. It’s a complex, moral tangle.

Therefore, I have set myself a basic set of guidelines. These are outlined in my fair trade criteria. The very nature of a small scale business like mine ensures that I deal directly and personally with my producers, and I can monitor the conditions under which my goods are produced. I have a fair trade questionnaire which all new suppliers must fill out, and it is often a catalyst for a lively debate. The awareness about fair trade is not just relevant in western, industrialized countries. I am also educating my suppliers to be more conscientious of how they operate. I place orders personally, and visit each exporting manufacturer. Indeed the buzz and inspiration I get from my business comes from the travelling and sharing of culture and ideas. It is a holistic business, not just an end product; a whole lifestyle and system of beliefs for me and my producers. Many of my producers and their families have become close friends, and we have watched each other’s children grow up. I have several “brothers” and “sisters” in far flung places. The more I travel and learn on this journey, the more I get the increasing vision that we are all brothers and sisters of many colours, all raised on mothers’ milk…Om Mani Padme Hum…Blessed is the Jewel in the Lotus.