FAIR TRADE PRINCIPLES Principles of Operation Skeleton
Leaf operates as a Fair Trade business. We provide honest information
about our organization, our products and the conditions in which the
products are made. We only use honest advertising and marketing techniques
and always strive for the highest standards in all aspects of the organization
including product quality and packing and so on.
We promote and market products from Thailand made by people who offer their culture and skills and more often than not receive very little recognition or financial benefit. We honour the craftsmen’s skills, which come from their own hearts and minds; their art reflects their feelings and impressions of their homeland. We trade with the craftsmen directly thereby eliminating third parties and ensuring fair payment for their products. •
Skeleton Leaf operates a gender equity policy, ensuring that women’s
work is valued and rewarded. We only deal with suppliers that pay ALL
staff regardless of gender and that ALL staff are empowered within their
organization.
• We provide assistance for cash advances and consistent purchases to enable the craftsmen to grow and sustain production. • We assist them in quality control of their products so that they can ensure sustainable pricing and earn consistent incomes. • We promote fair-trading that empowers local communities for a better living environment. • We actively promote and encourage better environmental practices. • All products reflect the sensations of the rich cultural tradition and heritage of Thailand. • Many of our craftsmen have had no or little education, but their crafts depict the skills they have been blessed with. Skeleton Leaf
operates as a business with a compassionate mission by maintaining
integrity in our actions and relationships. We market quality made
by people that we know and care enough about to do business with in
a manner that together we consider fair. We are committed to focusing
our work on activities that support the reduction of poverty through
income generation, building better business relationships and ongoing
trade relations. Fair
Prices, Prompt Payment
Artisans and buyers from Skeleton Leaf work together to set a fair price for their products. In order to protect the artisans from incurring burdensome production costs, Skeleton Leaf pays an advance of 50 percent at the time of order, and artisans receive prompt final payment when the order is shipped. Ultimately, this method of compensation enables artisans to avoid high borrowing costs and to cover labour and material costs while providing for their families. Long-term
Relationships
Through our regular purchases and long-term relationships we try to grow together with artisan groups. Along the way, we believe that it is important to introduce artisans to other buyers as well so that they can establish a broad and stable customer base. Because of
our commitment to long-term relationships, artisans can plan for
the future, confident of consistent orders, year after year. Ongoing
interactivity and collaboration between our designers, buyers and
artisans helps in the refinement of product offerings so that the
needs and wants of the marketplace and our mission continue to be
met. |