Darzah and Fair Trade
Fair trade and Darzah
The Fair-Trade movement began in the 1940s when various European traveling merchants noticed that many local artisans and farmers had trouble maintaining their businesses. As the local middlemen sold goods for profit, those who made the products received very little income from it. Thus, started the Fair-Trade movement with traveling merchants coming together to create a more just and equitable supply chain.
Darzah is certified by the Fair-Trade Federation. When we started in 2016, our primary goal was, and continues to be, economically empower Palestinian women and refugee artisans. In order to economically empower our artisans, we must pay fair wages, provide workers with fair, safe working conditions and maintain transparency. At Darzah, we provide our artisans with living wages and optimal working conditions and ensure that every woman feels confident to contribute and express her opinions. Additionally, we ensure a transparent, ethical and fair supply chain. All the raw materials for Darzah products are sourced locally from family run businesses. This helps us in contributing to the local economy.
Why Fair trade?
Not only is fair-trade good for the people but for the planet as well. The industrial Revolution and the free trade movement encouraged businesses to be more profit oriented. More production= More sales= More profit.
At Darzah, we use natural vegetable dyes for 80% of our shoes and bags. We purchase our leather from family-owned companies in Khalil, which is on the West Bank. These families purchase the remains of the animals after the local butchers are finished. This helps decrease the amount of waste produced by the meat industry.
How to make a difference?
About our brand Darzah:
Darzah is a non-profit ethical fashion brand creating authentic, handmade products. We use the tatreez embroidery style in our products, which is a traditional art form passed on through women from one generation to the other. Our artisans are women from the West Bank who have historically suffered from marginalization. Our goal is to economically empower them by providing job training, employment opportunities, and a fair income.