If you’ve ever meandered through the local farmer’s market or attended a cultural fair, you’ve seen myriad handiwork ranging from metalwork to wood sculptures to glass figurines. Other common items include jewelry, soap, baskets, animal houses, and sewn materials. In fact, handmade goods are common in nearly every corner of the planet, if you know where to look. But why does it matter if you buy handmade and how do those decisions help the environment? Let me count the ways. Here are five reasons buying handmade goods matters.
Handmade Goods Eliminate Factories
Vendors peddling wares they’ve made themselves don street corners from L.A. to Honduras. Scarves, carvings, pottery, and art are just a few examples. Items made by hand rely on using traditional tools and, frequently, natural materials. In contrast, items mass produced are manufactured in plants. These facilities consume copious energy and water, both to run the facility and to make the product. Plus, most production lines aren’t putting a lot of emphasis on sustainable practices. The joy of buying from an artisan who hand crafts an item is partially in the knowledge you’re saving the planet from another consumptive and polluting factory.
Handmade Means Fair Trade
Workers in factories are often part of marginalized communities. Working conditions can be dirty, unsafe, and low paying. There are companies who are transparent in their employee practices by participating in Fair Trade Certification programs. It’s important to seek them out when buying gifts or household goods.
However, buying from an artisan directly or through a marketplace like Novica essentially guarantees fair trade conditions. It puts the power directly in the hands of the worker. Through your purchase, a sole proprietor can ensure safe working conditions for themselves and control the price received for their work. Over time they can upgrade tools as needed, and even become a job creator by hiring others as they grow. Those are all reasons to rally for their success.
Handmade Goods Typically Source Natural Materials
Scouring the vendor booths across the world you will find nearly all products are made from natural ingredients. Banana leaves, reeds, locally-harvested wood, husks, algae, sand, rocks, wood, and metal are just a few examples. Most artisans continue the crafts handed down through the generations. That means the craft was there before the reliance on factories and synthetic materials. Buy directly from the source to verify products are sustainably made using natural materials . Not only are natural materials low impact to source but they are also recyclable or biodegradable at the end of life. This creates a sustainable full-cycle that supports the resources of the planet while rewarding the work of skilled craftsmen.
Buying Artisan Goods Supports Capitalism
Buy shifting your purchasing dollars towards handmade items, you also shift your support away from big business. Buying handmade items funds the households of the artisans themselves. That is the very idea of capitalism–to give everyone an opportunity to own their own business and support their families in the best way they know–typically saving lost traditions along the way.
Buying from Craftsman Supports Communities
Buy a purse from Walmart and there’s no way to track where the money goes. But buy a handmade purse and look into the eyes of the person who sewed it. Talk to the jewelry or soap maker who used their own hands to make your goods. Learn about the basket weaver or tinsmith or blacksmith or wood carver, and know your purchase directly puts food on their tables and helps to educate their children.
Each family you support then spends money in their community, buying goods and services they need. In short, this means your purchase supports local communities rather than adding to destructive corporate practices.
Buying handmade goods matters because it is a win for everyone involved. The process encourages small business and builds up communities, eliminates the need for plastic and packaging waste, and provides unique one-of-a-kind items for you to enjoy and share.
If you’re looking for a particular type of item but don’t know where to locate a craftsman who makes it, drop us a message at TopEcoDeals@gmail.com and we’ll see how we can help.
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