How to shop for handcrafted goods
Guatemalan women skilled in traditional Mayan beadwork technique have made chic pillows and pouches for West Elm. Hand-dyers in India, using petals collected from discarded Hindu temple floral offerings, help craft scarves for Eileen Fisher and Anthropologie. Baskets hand-woven in Rwanda are part of the home decor collection at Macy’s.
Craftspeople in some of the poorest places on Earth are making unexpected inroads into the U.S. retail market, expanding their clientele beyond museum shops and craft markets. A trend that started decades ago with the rise of fair trade-minded entrepreneurs has accelerated as growing international tourism creates demand for cultural products.
The digital age has given rise to a growing number of ventures designed to create online markets for global crafts. More recently, exotic craftwork has piqued the interest of major fashion and home decor retailers striving to compete in the age of Amazon. Many are betting craftsmanship rooted in ancient traditions, combined with stories of social impact on artisan communities, will lure shoppers increasingly concerned about where and how products are made.
“We believe it is one of the elements that sets us apart and does well, and there is a demand for it,” said Doug Guiley, West Elm’s senior vice-president of global sourcing at West Elm, where 20 per cent of products are handmade.
For shoppers, it is not always easy to know if something is truly handcrafted, or how much of their money is getting back to artisans across the globe. In an era of mass production and online shopping, here is some guidance for buying handmade.
KNOW HOW ‘FAIR TRADE’ RELATES TO HANDICRAFTS
There is no “fair trade” certification process for handicrafts as a category because the production processes vary widely. Organizations like Fair Trade U.S.A. certify some products that may be handcrafted, such as clothing and rugs. But safety and labour standards used for those items might be irrelevant for an individual basket weaver in a rural village.
More commonly, some retailers will label a handcrafted product as fair trade because it is sourced from a member of an organization such as the Fair Trade Federation.
A growing number of trade organizations are dedicated to maximizing profits for artisans, though tactics vary. Seek details on how artisans are compensated and how an organization monitors the labour and safety practices of their artisan partners.
Ten Thousand Villages, a nonprofit retailer and wholesaler founded in 1946, pays 50 per cent to artisans upfront and the rest upon shipment, taking much of the risk away from the maker. Many newer online ventures have replicated that model.
LOOK FOR THE STORY BEHIND THE BEAUTY
How to you know if something is truly handmade?
Some retailers label products handcrafted based on UNESCO’s definition, which states that the “manual contribution of the artisan” must be “the most substantial component of the finished product.” If there is no label, look for the story of the artisan who made the product.
At boutiques, ask what is known about the maker of a product sold as handcrafted.
BE PREPARED FOR A COMPLICATED TALE
Stories behind handmade crafts don’t always involve just one maker, or even just one country, in an age when artisans are striving to adapt to contemporary tastes and expectations for production and delivery.
Among West Elm’s core products are silk hand-loomed pillows from India. The process begins with rural women in the region of Bihar spinning silk cocoons into yarn and ends with the cutting and sewing at a production facility in New Delhi.
Spreading out the production chain allows for faster work that helped turn the pillows into one of West Elm’s core products, Guiley said.
MODERN DEAL-SEEKING FOR HANDMADE
Handicrafts might come at a premium in North America because of shipping costs but with more retailers getting in the game it is possible to shop around, compare prices and look for deals.
Exploring online selections is a good way to get an idea of the value of traditional crafts.
Find a list of reputable vendors at Accompany’s website or among the members of the Artisan Alliance, an initiative of the Aspen Institute to support artisan enterprise. The Associated Press