December 20, 2017

Thoughts on International Human Solidarity Day

The United Nations (UN) has declared, December 20, International Human Solidarity Day, and at no point in my lifetime has this meant more, than now. With The Maker World, we've embarked on a journey that fits directly into the solidarity movement.

Our intent is strongly aligned with the UN's 8th Sustainable Development Goal of promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth (i.e. employment and decent work for all). By using the internet's global reach, we are bringing, to new markets and conscious buyers, the hidden talents and treasures of micro and small business makers from around the world.

These are master makers who are managing to stay afloat despite the flood of mass produced, cheaper product alternatives in their markets. We know, with your support and purchases and our commitment to paying fair market value, that these businesses can keep more than just afloat, actually thriving. These types of conscious practices are a key to generating employment, developing skills, and diminishing income inequality. Solidarity, therefore, to us, is about building a more equitable global community of conscious and passionate makers, marketers, and buyers. 

The reason why The Maker World came into being is to help curb the effects of a large number of underemployed and underpaid peoples and the world's "relentless pace toward automation." We were compelled to find ways to expand the way micro and small business makers sell their quality goods, paying them fair market value for their work, and thereby generate a real hope for the trades to be passed on to future generations, as a viable means of earning a decent living.

In our travels, we come across people who perceive the problem of taking their industry forward to the next generation. It is a struggle for the children to believe in these crafts and trades as viable to making a good living. They see their parents struggling. They see the diminishing profits, the competition, the struggle to make sales. And they see the other side, the few that go to school and may be get a decent job; a consistent, income. But the negative impact of trades being lost and diminishing or underpaying jobs are a reality new generations are facing. 

When we think about the numbers they are astounding. The UN reports that "470 million jobs are needed globally for new entrants to the labour market between 2016 and 2030."

It really takes a village to meet these global needs for our future generations; a real challenge that needs to be faced through Human Solidarity and awareness from retailers, customers, and makers. The Maker World, has chosen to step up to the plate as a conscious business that pays fair market value, contributes back to makers and their communities, and gives customers excellent quality goods and an opportunity to contribute through their purchase for this effort.

Together we can be a part of changing the following daunting realities, one purchase or share at a time:

• Global unemployment increased from 170 million in 2007 to nearly 202 million in 2012, of which about 75 million are young women and men.

• Nearly 2.2 billion people live below the US$2 poverty line and that poverty eradication is only possible through stable and well-paid jobs.

Let's create a world where people trade fairly, where we are not always looking for the bargain, at the expense and hardship to the makers. Let's counter the relentless pace toward automation by keeping people working for decent earnings, autonomous living, and respectful livelihoods.

In the image below you can observe the numerous business impacts and people that work to make a single industry possible. Each branch below represents a different contributor to creating leather handbags. A buyer who purchases from a small handbag-maker business in a small community, activates this intricate thread of small business impact and maker impact alive. Larger mass-producers are able to automate several of these processes, reducing the impact. For example, they use machines to cut leather, rather than using specialized hand cutters. A skill that provides a decent living from the a leather goods business. 

 

Now that's solidarity, with a great potential to attain a more equitable and shared prosperity.

Thanks for joining us in supporting job maintenance and job creation, by investing and sharing from fair trade businesses and makers.  

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