The hand-knit sweaters and scarves and hand-woven bags with an ethnic look are nothing like the products sold to the masses of consumers in most big shopping malls.
They are part of the lineup of fair-trade products under the People Tree brand of Fair Trade Co., the pioneer in fair trade in Japan.
Fair trade, which as an organized movement is more established in Europe, advocates paying a fair price on goods made by developing countries by limiting excessive intermediary margins, supporting good working conditions for workers in emerging economies by direct audits and preventing the destruction of the environment.