Vendors

(From Ganesh Himal) I know I am not a retailer but….Kevin! My question to you is “as someone who works in Nepal, how can I convey to our customers the amazing difficulty that the producers are going through without it sounding like we are making excuses, over and over again! I want them to know how hard everyone is working to get their orders done but that the situation is extremely difficult…. Hope that makes sense!
One final one that diverges from our inventory control theme but just as important: For those who aren’t strictly certified fair trade resellers but also include ethical products: Is compliance with the Fair Labor Association Code of Conduct (http://www.fairlabor.org/our-work/code-of-conduct) a legitimate yardstick to judge ethicality?
What is the best way to handle things when a company you have been buying from for twenty some years decides not to be a member of the Fair Trade Federation any longer?
What are the tradeoffs between importing directly and buying from domestic wholesalers?
Recommendations and suggestions from other Fair Trade stores. They will also have experience and knowledge of how that supplier is doing (problems/quality etc) as well as their practices.
How do you find fair trade suppliers who are not members of the FTF I understand there are groups who don’t like the politics of the federation who still may be doing good work. Then how do you know if they are really fair?