Soul Economy

Soul Economy had the pleasure in speaking to Lisa about her business Global Conduct recently. This “little shop of fair trade for the conscious shopper” offers a range of gorgeous handcrafted products that are sourced from fair trade producer co-operatives and artisan groups from around the world including beautiful bags, silk & woollen scarves, silk stoles, cushion covers, carpets and rugs, bedcovers, slippers, hats, jewellery, felt yoga mats, toys, hand made stationery and some homewares.

1. How long ago did you start Global Conduct? What were you doing before you started the company?
I started Global Conduct in November 2006 after a frantic 6 month start up period. My background is environmental science. I remained working for a local consultancy on a part time basis up to December 2007. That was a killer and really draining, trying to juggle way too many hats. It’s a great relief now to concentrate fully on Global Conduct.

2. What inspired you to start the Global Conduct? What is your vision for the company?
We love travelling and have taken our children to Vietnam, India and Nepal, where we fell in love with their beautiful textiles and handicrafts. I was also a frustrated development worker having been on the United Nations Volunteer Program Roster for a few years. Unfortunately I kept getting calls to go to war torn African states to which I couldn’t take my family. I started to look at importing textiles from womens co-operatives in India. That led me to really learn about Fair Trade as a concept for the first time – If I only ever have one light bulb moment in my life that was it. I was hooked. My vision for Global Conduct is for it to become a recognised Fair Trade brand in Australia to the mainstream consumer. If we can do that it means we have done our part in advocating trade justice to the masses.

3. Tell us about the Global Conduct product range. What are the most popular products?
We have a wide range (sometimes I think too wide!!). There are leather, cloth & felt bags, silk & woollen scarves, silk stoles, cushion covers in silks, hemp and chainstitch embroidery, knotted carpets and embroidered woollen rugs, bedcovers, allo slippers, felt and allo hats, silver & glass jewellery, felt yoga mats, toys, hand made stationery and some homewares. The most popular products are the bags, scarves, jewellery, chainstitched cushion covers and the stationery.

4. How do people find out about your products?
People find out about us in many ways. We have a presence on many internet directories, we are always out at markets and events spreading the word. I do workshops and presentations to interested womens and church groups who want to learn more about what we do. Radio interviews and press coverage are also great whenever I can get it.

5. What have been your greatest challenges in setting up Global Conduct?
Phew…challenges, there’s been heaps of those. I don’t have a retail or design background so a lot of what I have had to do is so new to me. Product selection, finances, marketing, website design all of this was unknown territory. The greatest challenges however were not these. Right from the start when I told people what I was going to do I could see their looks of incomprehension when I used the term “Fair Trade”. It took me a while to realise that what made perfect sense in every way to me was just like a foreign language to many others. My biggest single personal challenge was my first 24 hours in Kolkata when I went there to start my initial buying trip. I was totally exhausted from preparation (14 hour days for a few weeks) and whilst driving from the airport at midnight I just remember looking about thinking what the @#@%@$ do I think I am doing. I am going to fail, what on earth made me think I could make this work!!! I just felt absolutely desolate. I spent the next 24 hours spontaneously bursting into tears believing the worst was going to befall everyone & everything and having sympathetic cups of chai put in front of me by my hosts. My 10 year old daughter fixed me up by getting on the phone and saying; “Mum get with it, just do what you went over there to do. You have been on shopping trips that have taken longer than you’re already been away”. That was a reality check and I got it back together. Bomb blasts in Mumbai and flying through monsoonal storms were a piece of cake after that. Juggling a business and a family with two teenage girls whilst living on a rural property also has some challenges. Not the least the clashes between their weekend sport and my market events…Fair Trade fortnight can get just a little stressful in our household.

6. What have been your greatest successes?
My greatest success is I think still being here now and having regular customers who are committed to the values that we have. Now I only rarely have those moments of wondering if it will all work out in the end. I love the relationships we have built with our producers. Just the other day I got an email to say that one of the groups had held a health clinic for their several hundred producers and over 200 local people. It is amazing to know that we have helped contribute to that. My customers are also very important to me, I get a kick out of the lovely thank you emails & cards that are sent. That someone has understood and appreciated the effort we have taken to make sure that they are 100% happy with their purchase makes it all worthwhile.

7. It is wonderful that Global Conduct products are fair trade certified, can you tell us about some of the communities that are being supported by your work?
The majority of our suppliers are IFAT members and as such they are often supporting the most disadvantaged sectors of their communities and craftspeople who previously may have been at risk of losing their livelihoods. There are so many great stories out there but just briefly some of my favourites are; the many hundreds of Nepalese lower caste women in the Kumbeshwar area who can now knit in their own home and support their families; Silence in Kolkata which has provided hundreds of deaf mute workers with training, work, health insurance and other benefits; craftspeoples children in Nepal who can now attend school because their parents are trained, have employment and are paid an education allowance for this and the women of the Kutch desert area who bravely rebuilt their lives stitch by stitch after the devastating earthquake in 2001.

8. What would be the consequences for these communities if the products were not ethically traded?
Many of the organizations I source from act as umbrella groups for the co-ordination of many smaller producers units. Sometimes these units can be 100 people or they could just be a small family group of a few. The co-operative nature of being supported by the larger organization means that the producers can do what they do best and be well paid for it. They don’t need to worry as much about sourcing raw materials, security of payment or not being able to reach suitable markets. The larger organizations offer training, product design and research, export capabilities, health insurance, education support for children, festival allowances, micro finance, social & community health education, canteens for hot meals when on site just to list some of the benefits. Private industry in these developing countries would not offer even a fraction of these benefits to the disadvantaged people that these fair trade organizations support.

9. What advice would you give to others keen on starting their own responsible businesses?
I don’t really feel qualified to give business advice. The one thing I would say is be prepared and do your research as you would any new business start up. Having a socially responsible business is not a guarantee that you will succeed. Huge percentages of new business start ups fail in the first 12 months. There are many training courses (minimal cost) available if you seek out your state & federally funded business centres. You need to know and understand what makes any good business tick – you can then put your own ethical slant on it to make it work for you. Lastly you must be absolutely passionate about what you are doing – you will not be paid well, you will work long hours, you will make mistakes, other people will make mistakes, there will be good days and bad days. If you are passionate you will come through it all wiser and happy, if you’re not in it 110% (and your family also) you may suffer and come out of the experience the worse for wear.

Now we here at Soul Economy like to get to know our soulful entrepreneurs a little better, so on a more personal note we have 5 quick questions:

1. What are your 3 favourite movies of all time and why?
That’s hard…I love nearly all types of movies (except horror…..yuk) these are all pure escapism!
Lord of the Rings (the whole trilogy) – The sheer excitement of taking our kids each Boxing day to make sure we saw it on the opening day and the absolute near perfection of the whole adaptation.
Love Actually – Perfectly crafted, always enjoyable. Does exactly what it sets out to do without pretence. Any Jane Austen movie or mini series – Chick flick addict at heart and my two teenage daughters love them too.

2. How long have you been based in the gorgeous Hunter Valley?
We’ve lived in the Hunter Valley all our lives and here at Broke for nearly 20 years.

3. What is your favourite spot in the Hunter Valley?
Besides where we now live, I love Newcastle. Fantastic beautiful city and wonderful people. Beaches, cafes, restaurants & brilliant Farmers Market Newcastle is the NSW coasts best kept secret.

4. What do you do to relax?
Relax – what is that again…. I love to cook, eat & drink nice wine, but the best absolute down time for me is to veg out in front of a DVD with said wine (local preferably) in hand.

5. Do you have someone you look up to or admire?
Aung San Suu Kyi – I am just reading Letters from Burma and I am struck by how different a country Burma would be if she had been allowed her rightful victory in 1990.

Global Conduct
383 Wollombi Road
Broke NSW 2330 Australia
P: +61 (0)2 6579 1498
E: info@globalconduct.com.au
W: www.globalconduct.com.au

Tags: ethically produced scarves, fairtrade bags, fairtrade jewellery, Global Conduct, handstitched cushion covers, online store for the conscious shopper