The Dancing Monkey Institute is a private, non-profit alternative trade organization. We see the potential for continued growth of the Fair Trade movement as it reaches beyond its strong base of agricultural commodities and decorative crafts into more ubiquitous manufactured goods.
Our focus is on products that belong to the traditional "hard goods" category of retail. We market products with a high value added labor component. We specialize in fairly traded, high quality, useful products that every family needs and that add lasting value to our homes. We sell kitchenware, dinnerware, apparel, cosmetics, bedding, blankets, furniture, carpets, and home restoration and remodeling materials. The products are exclusively sourced from producers who meet rigorous standards for social and environmental responsibility as established by Fairtrade Labeling Organization International (FLO) and the Fair Trade Federation (FTF).
We will stimulate the local economy by encouraging innovation and investment in thriving, alternative business models. We will create good-paying jobs in a creative and truly democratic work environment. We will provide a space for open discourse about fair trade, globalization, organized labor and foreign policy. We will engage and educate consumers as activists in a global social justice movement. We will represent a stable local alternative to transnational corporations that value their profits more than their commitment to the Minnesota economy. We will provide an opportunity for Minnesotans who want to consciously choose to consume fair trade goods. We will help to promote Minnesota as a thriving hub for fair trade and sustainable commerce in the United States. We will work cooperatively with other businesses and non-profits to promote Fair Trade in Minnesota. We will always honor the tradition of the Grange, the Wobblies, the Socialists, the DFL, and Paul Wellstone.
We are committed to going beyond total transparency. By employing the latest in tracking and networking technologies we will provide the most accurate breakdown of per item retail costs on every price tag. We believe that what consumers need is information — honest and accessible — and by combining the success of independent media and information sharing technologies we will be able to provide just that. We will provide an assessment, not only of the financial costs but also the environmental and social costs of every product and a clear picture of what our producers are earning and how, exactly, they benefit from your purchase.
It is also impossible to overemphasize the importance of constant vigilance with regards to the manufacture of our products. Close working relationships, monitoring of payroll records, regular and surprise investigations, and most importantly, the ongoing interviewing of employees by ourselves and by independent third parties are essential for ensuring that our standards are consistently met and that our customer’s trust is never compromised.
The Dancing Monkey Institute is launching an advocacy program consisting of the dissemination of educational and promotional materials in the Twin Cities and via the Internet regarding Fair Trade. We intend to provide a dynamic and interactive environment where people can learn about and have access to the best fair trade alternatives. In order to successfully introduce the best available fair trade practices and products to Minnesotans and the North American public, it is important that we find ways to apply and compare common and attainable standards for Fair Trade. We will do this by employing a wiki-based system to compile, update and verify information about fair trade practices. The system is based on the fair trade standards which have been internationally agreed upon by Fairtrade Labelling Organization International (FLO), International Fair Trade Association (IFAT), and the Fair Trade Federation (FTF). Of these common criteria for fair trade we will focus on four essential standards that are shared by all of the organizations. These four criteria lend themselves to cross industry and cross-national comparison and can be used as the basis for more accessible consumer education systems. Other standards common to these organizations will be considered prerequisites and not used for comparison purposes.
Common criteria for fair trade that address issues of basic human rights will be considered prerequisite standards and will not be used for comparison. Any existing violation of these principals will constitute disqualification of any further fair trade assessment:
A fair trade relationship with any producer must ensure that the voices of the producers are being recognized and that workers are guaranteed an active role in the trade relationship. This is most commonly achieved by workers being organized into effective unions that ensure the worker's collective bargaining power or by organizing as cooperatives that have shared decision-making structures.
The most directly quantitative measure of fair trade and the one that addresses the immediate benefit and empowerment of workers is the actual financial compensation that workers receive. This criterion ensures that workers are paid a living wage, which enables them to cover basic needs, including food, shelter, education and health care for their families.
Because Fair Trade is, at it’s core, concerned with the long term improvement of the global human condition which is inexorably tied to the health and productivity of our natural environment, it is essential that all producers strive to implement the best available “green” practices in their operations.
Central to the mission of fair trade is the commitment to empower communities with the ability to direct their own destinies and not be at the mercy of trans-national corporate interests. This is done in part by; providing financial and technical support to producers, establishing direct long-term trade relationships with producers and educating consumers.
By pursing these goals, Dancing Monkey guarantees consumers that producers will always be paid more than they can realize in their own domestic markets. We commit to purchase goods directly from their makers or from verifiable fair trade wholesalers. Our financial goal is to make all of our retail, wholesale catalog and e-commerce operations self sustaining within five years. Our fundraising efforts can then be scaled down and directed at providing infrastructure and assistance to producer groups who create products we feel are saleable in the industrialized world, on a specific, project by project basis.
Certificate of Incorporation
IRS Recognition as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
The Dancing Monkey Institute, Inc., 253 E. 4th Street, Suite 76, St. Paul, Minnesota 55101