I have had a couple of people ask me recently why we don’t make products that are African looking.  One person was disappointed that we were making something as basic as a t-shirt. 

My response was this: people will buy one or two ‘African’ products to put on their shelves.  But over the course of a lifetime, people will buy dozens of t-shirts.  Perhaps a t-shirt isn’t that glamorous, but its ability to impact lives and create opportunities is huge.

i’ve been thinking a bit this week about healing and wondering if my thinking around this subject needs to be stretched. i’ve always thought that healing came as the result of prayer or faith. and yet i’ve known people who have spent hours on their knees praying for healing with no visible results. these are people of great faith, but again, no visible results.

i still think that healing can come as a result of prayer or faith, but am starting to wonder if there are other means to that same end. for example, if i were to purchase fair trade products that ultimately support the livlihood of others, could that result in healing?

Honestly, I never thought much about cotton.  But since we started Forgotten Shirts last year, I have had an opportunity to learn a lot about those puffy white balls.  I know how much a pound of cotton costs on the open market (as well as on the Fair Trade market).  I know how much cotton an acre of land can produce – both in the United States as well as in Uganda.  And I have learned a lot about cotton subsidies.