At Tribe Vibe, we deeply value the artisans and producers we collaborate with. Our commitment to fair trade practices and transparency ensures that skilled craftspeople receive the recognition and compensation they deserve. Our approach goes beyond fair trade, ensuring fair wages, transparency, and a supportive work environment. This blog post highlights the benefits we provide to artisans and producers from Sri Lanka and Nepal, reflecting our dedication to new age business practices.
Fair Trade Practices
Our fair trade standards go beyond traditional certifications, offering artisans fair wages calculated per product. Although we do not employ them directly, we make the effort to estimate our own actual fair wages for a certain region or country, surpassing existing fair trade standards and significantly exceeding the rates asked by the artisans.
Beyond Fair Trade
After extensive research, we discovered that many fair trade certifications lack transparency or do not sufficiently raise the income of workers to a fair level. Organizations like Fair Wear and WFTO provide some standards but often fall short of ensuring truly fair wages. Fair Trade International and the Global Living Wage Organization come closest to our ideals, with detailed estimates of living wages that account for all necessary expenses.
We exceed even these high standards, paying our artisans in Sri Lanka 51% more per product than the highest fair trade standards. This approach ensures that artisans are compensated fairly for their invaluable skills, supporting them and their families significantly better than the average wage. You can read in greater detail all about our fair trade practices including our related pdf documentations in our blog article „Beyond Fair Trade“.
Transparency
We believe in complete transparency regarding our fair trade practices. To this end, we provide publicly viewable PDF documents on our website, detailing the fair trade surcharge we pay for each product. This transparency allows customers to verify the fair compensation of artisans and appreciate the craftsmanship behind their purchases.
Additionally, we make the entire making process of each product visible through photo and video content. We capture and share these insights mainly through our social media pages and distribute them across our website, including in our blog articles. These efforts ensure that the process is transparent and that the artisans work is seen and valued.
Supporting Small Businesses and Artisans
Our project aims to give small businesses and individual artisans a platform to share their unique, handcrafted products with the world. We adhere to international fair trade standards and beyond, without requiring expensive certifications and bureaucracy that many small artisans cannot afford. This support includes:
• Ensuring fair wages that surpass local standards
• Providing a transparent view of the making process
• Documenting the creation and sourcing of each product
Daily Life and Additional Support
In addition to fair compensation, we foster a supportive work environment. For instance, in Sri Lanka, we always bring daily treats like fruits, snacks, and tea, and spend quality time together besides working together. We also help upgrade the workspace by making it cozy with plants, wall paintings, photos, and other decorations. Additionally, we check that all safety and working essentials are in place, such as buying a fire extinguisher, repairing broken fans, and providing essential furniture. This is an ongoing process that develops over time as we build deeper relationships. The examples mentioned above are from Sri Lanka, where we already have a very close connection.
I hope this article sheds light on the benefits we provide to the artisans and producers we work with. For a deeper understanding of our relationship with artisans, check out our other blog posts and social media profiles.