Fair Trade: The Balance Between Pity Products and Pretty Products

Sustainable NYC promotes foreign Fair Trade goods, while simultaneously catering to a customer base with a Westernized taste. 

Since opening 5 years ago in the East Village, Sustainable NYC has realized its goal in becoming a one-stop-shop and cafe for an eclectic assortment of fair trade, eco-friendly, and locally sourced goods. The store's marketing and events coordinator, Julia Falkenstein, has been working with the company since its inception, and attributes its success not only to its commitment of economic and social responsibility, but also to the quality, desirability, and stylishness of its products.

Sustainable NYC

From old bike chain-lined mirrors and chemical-free nail polish to 100% recycled aluminum foil and playfully-patterned tech cases made by the Ineza sewing co-op in Rwanda, Sustainable NYC has a bit of everything. However, Falkenstein says the shop's “biggest draw” is its impressive selection of accessories and jewelry. Boasting Fair Trade recycled wood stud earrings, recycled aluminum gold leaf earrings, and a slew of other necklaces, bracelets and rings from various countries across the globe, the shop's accessories are not only superior in number, but in fashionability as well.

The store's owner and founder, Dominique Camacho, came from a clothing-based background, and Falkenstein believes that it is her aesthetic that is partially to thank for the shop's success. While the store does want to support and promote foreign cultures through selling their products, it does not want to become a space that is defined solely by foreign goods that are bartered as an act of charity. “When you walk by there’s no blatancy of whats going on in here. You're not going to immediately go, 'Oh, that's another tree-hugger granola shop,'” says Falkenstein. Sustainable NYC seeks to sell goods that equalize the tastes and cultures of both parties involved in their production and consumption, not to sell pity products. “That's just not our platform.”

An oversized tote bag with pom poms reminiscent of Altuzarra's F/W 2012 collection, and a color and design scheme similar to that of a popular Matthew Williamson clutch. 

In recent years, Falkenstein has seen a notable up-flux of Fair Trade goods that have been produced with more of a Westernized style. She says that many products they sell have begun to cater towards the American aesthetic, but that they still “retain their identity of what they were and where they're from; they have just been stylized with a buyer in mind." Comparable in price to similar products that are not eco or socially friendly, conscious products are becoming increasingly demanded, and therefore increasingly produced.

Although the store is often contacted by various companies and organizations with product pitch letters, the majority of their Faire Trade Goods are found and curated by various organizations such as One World Projects and the NYC Fair Trade Coalition, which hosts its monthly meetings at Sustainable NYC. These organizations ensure that the products they sell are legitimately Fair Trade certified, and also serve as platforms that make finding such products a more feasible feat. Fashion moguls such as DANNIJO, Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney and J. Crew have aligned themselves with similar companies that foster a partnership between the brand and various garment-making co-ops around the globe, proving that sartorial economic and social responsibility is a movement occurring in both small local boutiques, and major global fashion houses.