Fair Trade Background of Windrose Trading Company
At Windrose we provide the highest quality Triloka aromatherapy incense and handcrafted gifts to our customers by supporting our Fair Trade cottage industry partners. Our founders were among the first pioneers of Fair Trade cottage industry in India and Nepal. It has always been at the core of our values to partner with suppliers who are supporting worthy projects or foundations.
Net profits from a long-time Triloka incense producer have been supporting an Ayurvedic free clinic in India for over 20 years. Our sage is sustainably harvested by a Native American reservation cooperative which is preserving a sacred native tradition while providing income for an impoverished community. For over a decade our main partner providing Nepali handcrafts has supported a monastery housing over 200 monks.
One of our long-time Indian partners is a member of IFAT, the International Fair Trade Organization.
This group has been actively promoting Fair Trade since the 1970’s, and has made tremendous impact on the community through their efforts. They focus on ensuring that all artisans have the training and support needed. They educate and campaign against child labor and illiteracy, while promoting environmental awareness and human rights. Their efforts continue to expand and they grow, and more artisans are benefiting from being part of this collaboration all the time.
Developing and maintaining long-term, sustainable relationships with our Fair Trade partners is an integral part of our culture. Many of our partners have been providing our products since the brand was founded in 1977. Our Fair Trade partnerships are based on the Gandhian concept of cottage industry, in which production happens in small workshops or in the home. Producers determine the price for the finished product. We have visited many of the workplaces and they have been safe and pleasant environments. Some photos from these visits are attached. We support our Fair Trade partners in many ways. Depending on the need, we sometimes advance suppliers payment in order for them to more easily produce our items. We also adapt some of the artisans’ designs to appeal to the western market and accommodate current trends, ensuring greater sales of the items they create. We will continue to nurture and support these partnerships for many years to come.