Introducing FIND FAIR, our new online tool
written by co-founder, Dr Susan Maiava
At the end of 2022 fair&good launched a new online tool, to make it even easier for New Zealanders to find and buy brands and products that are ethically sourced.
We call it FIND FAIR.
It’s easy to download and use, and it expands your ethical shopping choices to a much wider range of ethical brands or products made with ethical ingredients.
Using new breakthrough technology, FIND FAIR puts power in the hands of New Zealand consumers to demand change, giving them real power to be a force for good.
So what exactly is FIND FAIR?
FIND FAIR is a free web browser extension you can download from the Chrome Web Store. It is simple to set up, works automatically and can be used on desktop, tablet and Android mobile.
When you search the web or shop online, it highlights ethically sourced products as ‘FAIR’ in orange capitals in any search you make, so you can instantly spot and shop. You can see what that looks like on our webpage.
Find Fair works on many of the search engines shoppers already use including Google, Bing, Yahoo, Duckduckgo and major online supermarkets like Countdown, New World, Supie, Farro, Paknsave and The Warehouse.
Why did we create this tool?
To make ethical shopping even easier! Research commissioned by fair&good showed 67% of Kiwis who want to shop ethically say it's hard for them to know which products are free from exploitation. And worker exploitation is increasing.
The 2021 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery Report shows the number of people living in modern slavery has jumped by 10 million over the past five years, putting the total figure close to 50 million or one in every 150 people in the world. The term modern slavery covers forced labour, child labour, debt bondage and human trafficking.
The problem is that Kiwis are very fair-minded and don’t want to be complicit in exploitation, but it’s not easy for them to shop their values. We're solving this problem with new breakthrough technology. This is something people will not have seen before and it's a real game changer.
I believe that by downloading FIND FAIR, consumers can shop with confidence and a clear conscience, knowing they are doing no harm and that the people who make the things they buy are paid fairly and work in safe conditions.
This is an important issue for many consumers. The Colmar Brunton 2020 Better Futures Report found that 76% of Kiwis would stop buying a company's product or service if they heard the company was irresponsible or unethical, while 50% would consider how a business treats its workers when buying.
We’re calling on Kiwis to use their purchasing power to demand change.
It is shocking to realise how many products on Kiwi shop shelves are made with labour abuses present in their supply chain - including child labour, modern slavery, low pay and unsafe working conditions.
A World Vision New Zealand report in 2020 revealed that up to $3 billion worth of "risky" products were imported into the country in 2019 and that each week Kiwis spend around $34 on such products.
I was shocked to learn that the average New Zealander consumes three cups of coffee per week which probably involves forced or child labour. About $34 of the average Kiwi weekly shopping bill is the same; worker exploitation is in the staple grocery items we buy and the clothes we wear, the sorts of things we buy every week.
New Zealand is one of the few countries that does not yet have an anti-modern slavery act and yet World Vision reports that 59 per cent of the 50 million people caught up in modern slavery are based in the Asia-Pacific region.
The problem is so close to home. But as shocking as it is, I am convinced that through our everyday shopping we can change this. This is our problem to solve and now every person with a computer or Android mobile can help solve it.
Can you trust FIND FAIR?
fair&good is a completely impartial not-for-profit. Brands cannot pay to be included in any of our platforms. Every highlighted product is independently assessed by fair&good or one of the like-minded organisations we work with : Fairtrade ANZ, Trade Aid, Just Kai, Tearfund, B Corp and the SPCA.
FIND FAIR endorses brands that have been certified by at least one Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), BCI (Better Cotton Initiative), B Corp or SPCA certification, received an A+ or A rating from Tear Fund's Ethical Fashion Guide, or are a WFTO (World Fair Trade Organisation) member.
They are also evaluated according to fair&good's own nine values: fair labour (mandatory), supply chain transparency (mandatory), community focus, gender equality, inclusiveness, the environment, consistency, animal welfare and giving back.
With larger companies, fair&good looks for best practice code of conduct agreements with suppliers, robust supply chain auditing processes and easily accessible corporate social responsibility and sustainability reports, while smaller community-based brands have close direct trading relationships.
So download FIND FAIR now and start your ethical consumption journey today!
