Artigianati.com

by Mary Catherine O'Connor

De Colores - Guatemala

The term “fair trade handicrafts” summons images of wicker baskets and hand-dyed sarongs. But the business side of the fair trade marketplace is getting a little less old-world, thanks to World of Good, an organization that connects artisans in developing countries with mainstream retailers (including eBay and Whole Foods).

The organization—comprised of a wholesale business, an online marketplace, and a nonprofit arm—was honored last night with the Katherine M. Swanson Equality Award at the Tech Awards. The Tech Awards are produced by The Tech Museum in San Jose, CA, and recognizes 15 laureates in the categories of education, equality, environment, biosciences, economic development, and health.

World of Good won the award, which comes with a $50,000 cash prize, based on its Fair Wage Guide, an online tool that it created in 2005 and that more than 600 artisans and NGOs—as well as some major buyers, including Hallmark—are using now. The organization is now developing an SMS version of the Fair Wage Guide.....

Read more at -  http://www.triplepundit.com/2009/11/doing-a-world-of-good-for-fair-trade-artisans/