for the good...

I was recently walking through downtown NY with a dear friend who was visiting from San Francisco.  We indulged our inner spendthrifts and window shopped around Soho;  Prada, APC, the more commercial but user-friendly Uniqlo.  We drifted in and out of these shops and I couldn't help but wonder: "If I had a gajillion-billion-hundred dollars to spend on these black, fringed, elbow length, leather kid gloves -- where would the money go?"  I couldn't answer that question.

More and more I find myself gravitating toward a kind of transparency.  I want to know where my food is coming from. I want to know where and who is manufacturing my clothing.  I'd also like my money to be reinvested either in my community, or one that is in need of help.  Sadly, I'm finding that it takes having money to make choices about where it should go.  However, even with my meager means, I'm trying to be conscious of and have a conscience about, my responsibility as a consumer.

So, back to "if I had a gajillion-billion-hundred dollars".  I would probably invest my money in places like these, purchasing products that are not only full of craftsmanship and beauty but whose proceeds trickle right back down to the artisans who created them.  The idea being that we spend our hard earned ducats on quality items that not only feel good to own, but feel good to think too.

The textiles above are from Sari Bari, a  business whose mission is to "offer freedom to women who are trapped in the sex trade and vulnerable to trafficking by providing employment in a safe, loving enviroment where they are trained as artisans."  These items are sustainable, handcrafted and GORGEOUS.


Specialising in textiles, furniture, and home decor Niki Jones' company focuses on products that are built to last with sustainable material, and an eye toward keeping traditional craft skills alive, while supporting the developing countries from which they come.  I wouldn't mind settling into that chair for a good read...or nap.