JULY 1 2007
AMERICANWAY 37
in2005, with an emphasis onhigh-fashion
fair-trade clothing made primarily in Af-
rica. Edun hawks more fashion-forward
(and expensive) togs thanFair Indigo, with
$200 jeans sold at the likes of Fred Segal
and Nordstrom. And Los Angeles–based
American Apparel, while not technically
considered a fair-trade purveyor because
its T-shirts are made in the United States,
has a no-sweatshop stance that helped it
reach revenues of $250 million in 2005,
just two years after opening its first store.
Publicly tradedGaiamsells fair-tradecloth-
ingaspartof itsoverall eco-lifestylecatalog.
(Gaiam’s2006 revenueswere$219million,
but clothing sales were not broken down
separately.)
David Jacoby, a partnerwith SchiffHar-
din LLP, a law firm inNewYork, says that
because there are no uniform standards of
what fair trade is and isn’t, andbecause the
United States lacks a certifying body when
it comes to apparel, there are likely to be
some issues relating to independent moni-
toring of category conditions. (Certifying
institutions for commodities in the United
States and abroad look at conditions coun-
try by country. A livingwage inGuatemala
isdifferent froma livingwage inChina.Fair
Indigo has been working with the Univer-
sity of Wisconsin to develop a living-wage
calculator thatwouldhelpbusinessesdeter-
minewhatworkers abroad shouldbepaid.)
Jacoby believes that eventually the apparel
categorywill be “significant.”
Significant appeal ispossible, because in-
terest in fair trade is widespread. Bass says
that in Fair Indigo’s first 30 days of busi-
ness, it had sales to all 50 states, and not
just to the urban areas. In Alaska, orders
came from 20 different cities. InAlabama,
they came from30different cities.
“This is not just a passing phase. When
you look at the food industry and you see
how far they’ve come, you can see it will
happenwith textile and apparel, just slow-
ly,” saysConnieUlasewicz, coauthor of
Sus-
tainable Fashion:WhyNow
, whichwill be
publishednext year.
AddsBass: “Ifpeoplecangetclotheswith
a comparable style, quality, andprice,made
by people who are treated fairly, that is a
concept that resonatesbroadly.”
MARgAREtLIttMAN
is theauthor of
TheDogLover’sCompanion
toChicago
and
VegOut VegetarianGuide toChicago
.
Visit:
The last of the
great independents.
The owner/operators
who give not only fine
beef but their hearts
aswell.
FORA FREE BROCHURE:
The Independent Retail
Cattleman’s Association
557Mt. Pleasant Road
Kingston Springs, TN 37082
Manny’s
MINNEAPOLIS,MN.........612.339.0201
Proprietors:
Phil Roberts, PeterMihajlov
&KevinKuester
Grill 225
CHARLESTON, SC.........843.266.4222
Proprietor:
NickPalassis
ExecutiveChef:
DemetreCastanas
McKendrick’s
SteakHouse
ATLANTA, GA.................770.512.8888
Proprietors:
Claudia&DougMcKendrick,
RickCrowe
MetropolitanGrill
SEATTLE, WA.................206.624.3287
Proprietor:
JoeMenzyk
Gene&Georgetti
CHICAGO, IL.................312.527.3718
Proprietors:
Tony &MarionDurpetti
Rainwater’s onKettner
SANDIEGO, CA...............619.233.5757
Proprietors:
Laurel &PaddyRainwater
St. ElmoSteakHouse
INDIANAPOLIS, IN...........317.635.0636
Proprietors:
Steve&CraigHuse
III Forks
DALLAS, TX...................972.267.1776
Proprietors:
GeneStreet &Chris Vogeli
Austin, TX .................512.474.1776
Proprietors:
CurtisOsmond&JaimeGutierrez
Pierpont’s at UnionStation
KANSASCITY, MO...........816.221.5111
Proprietor:
RodAnderson
Brook’s SteakHouse
DENVER, CO....................303.770.1177
Proprietors:
BobMelton& JoeKatin
