“The Fair Wage Guide is exactly what the handmade fair trade movement needs to bring it to the next level of maturation. It represents the most innovative thinking around fair wages for handicrafts.”

Charlotte Opal, Co-author – Fair Trade: Market Driven Ethical Consumption

“Paying people fairly for their labor, when they are producing a multiprocess handcrafted product is complex and difficult.  The Fair Wage Guide gives producers, buyers and consumers for the first time a reasonable tool with which to calculate wages, price and fairness in different environments, as products are developed, designed and sold in a competitive global marketplace.”

Paul Myers, Former CEO, Ten Thousand Villages

“The Fair Wage Guide is currently one of the most important initiatives in the fair trade craft movement.  The Guide provides a framework for ensuring the successful growth of the movement, both in terms of increased market penetration and increased social impact per fair trade purchase.

Ruth DeGolia, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Mercado Global

“The Fair Wage Guide is a very useful tool for our producers to be able to get an overview of and understand the actual components that go into the cost of a product. This has helped them begin to properly price their products. Because they now begin to understand at what price they need to sell their product to be able to get economic benefit, I believe our producers are more empowered and have a greater advantage when dealing with their buyers.”

Joan Karanja, Program Officer, Cooperation for Fair Trade in Africa

“The Fair Wage Guide is a great step forward in helping Fair Trade producer organizations and buyers establish a bench mark for what is ‘Fair’. Because it calculates fair by considering both material costs and the time taken to make an item, it values everyone’s time equally. Too often women’s time and work is considered less valuable because they fit tasks around other activities but this tool puts that right. Another thing I love about it is that with a small amount of training, and internet access, any producer can use this.  It’s not just for producer organizations who make decisions about pricing, but for everyone, which increases Fair Trade accountability and credibility.”

Hannah McDowell, University of Leeds – School of Politics and International Studies