"Free" Trade

Free trade zones have always been scary to me. Sure, they sound good. People think that they encourage global trade and grease the wheels of commerce. Perhaps, but there are too many negative consequences that people either overlook or are woefully unaware of. "Free" in free trade means unregulated, which means you don't know what the hell you're getting when it comes from or through a free trade zone. These zones are the antithesis to FAIR trade, which is something that I personally spend time championing and educating people about (it helps that my mom has a store stocked with lots of fair trade goodies, and that she is VERY opposed to "made in China"). Fair trade, for those of you who are unaware, means that the person/people making the goods are paid a living wage in their country of residence, and that they are treated fairly and ethically. Slave labor and child labor are huge problems in the world (this country is not excepted, by the way), and people need to be made aware (though I'm not sure I can do anything about the rampant apathy that people feel toward the children who weave their rugs - small fingers!).

Anyway, here is a New York Times article about free trade zones that raises yet another concern, related to counterfeit drugs. I know a number of people who order their drugs from Canadian pharmacies, and it's scary that the drugs they need to survive could be counterfeit, thanks to the black hole of free trade zones. It's such a shame that our country has not figured out how to serve its citizens so that we don't have to take such risks, but I know that the reason my friends use Canadian pharmacies is that they might otherwise have to choose whether or not to take their drugs at all, because they are so expensive here. I'm a relatively healthy 25-year old, I exercise, I eat well, I sleep enough, but still the drugs I take my mom pays for, because otherwise I would be making the choice- drugs or food? And she knows that, and sucks it up for me. What a country!

My Creepy New Obsession (Diamonds, part 1)

Well, it's not that creepy. The NY Times was running a pretty blue ad (you know the blue) for the new Tiffany's website. So I had to click. But then all I wanted to look at were engagement rings (check out the Nova, but with a much smaller diamond...). Then, of course, I started thinking about fair trade diamonds. NOWHERE on the Tiffany's site could I find information about the origin of the diamonds. Lots and lots of info about how they are the best diamonds ever, but can they be if children died for them? Maybe that makes them better for some people. But not me. So today, I googled "Free trade diamond engagement ring." Zero results. Then, "Free trade diamond" "engagement ring." Five results. This is very disappointing. Anyhow, since I foresee this as being an ongoing obsession, here is a link to one useful article. If nothing else, I suppose it's good to have it archived. After all, if this is all I can find in the wake of the movie Blood Diamond, once that fades from the public view, I won't be able to find anything at all. And I must have a fair trade diamond engagement ring. I wonder if Tiffany's would set my own diamond?