P'lovers strives to find natural, organic, recycled, reused, & non-toxic alternative products.
Our selection process includes determining not only whether the products are useful and what they are made from, but also how and where they are made.
We are pleased to find items made in our own backyard but we also search the four corners of the globe. and we are proud to represent products made in a wide variety of countries in the developing world.
Many of the very small companies and communities we work with are creating livelihoods based, as one company says, on "dignity not charity".
In every case, we do our best to determine that the working conditions are safe and that wages are fair.
Some companies have been certified as Fair Trade... with others, we try to assess whether the working conditions comply with Fair Trade principles.
And this brings us to China. When we consider importing products made in China, just as we do with products from every other country, we ask our usual questions to develop a level of confidence that the working conditions and wages are fair and reasonable.
We believe that supporting companies in all countries which produce environmentally appropriate products and provide fair working conditions is one of the ways we can make important changes in the world.
It could be argued that companies in China (and elsewhere) which are trying to do the right thing are 'environmental pioneers' and need support rather than abandonment.
At P'lovers, "due diligence" is always part of our business.
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