Week 3 EOC: Making Money for Good

"I was inspired to start Tompkins Point Apparel after working for a year as the CFO of a farmer-owned Fair Trade and Organic cotton trading company based in Hyderabad, India. My experience working for these farmers taught me an incredible amount about farming, life in rural India, and about Fair Trade."
http://www.fairtradeusa.org/get-involved/blog/featured-partner-tompkins-point-apparel

After learning the life and story of a framer Scott Leeder had met when he was working with the Fair Trade Group. He had discovered that this person name Komram Badu framer from a small village that local traders had bet him out of his hard work. They sold Mr. Badu cotton seeds and fertilizer at market rate and financed these purchases with a 60-percent loan. At the end of the season when the local traders return to purchase Mr Badu cotton they would by it back at below-market price. With this story in mind of Scott. He decided to create a Fair Trade and Organic clothing line to support farmers like Mr. Badu.


"As a 1980s child, last I checked, the polo shirt really has not changed that much. But the business model shifts from the methods by which apparel manufacturers traditionally source materials, make their clothes, and treats their workers."
http://www.triplepundit.com/2010/07/tompkins-poin-is-first-fair-trade-certified-clothing-designer-in-usa/

Scott Leeder the founder of Tompkins Point Clothing did not live a life as a farm but raised in New Jersey. He work on Wall Street for several years. On a visit to Hyderabad, India he took up a offer to work as a chief financial officer of a organic cotton trading company their. Knowing the conditions in which the cotton farmers work and most of the of the India's population still resides in the rural areas and lives off that land. Scott Leeder wanted to create a company that would make a difference. Knowing that most farmers till about 4 acres of land and gets about one US dollar a day Leeder decided that Tompkins Point Clothing would in return help the labor issues.           

"Tompkins Point was created to help those that produce our clothing.We were excited to be recognized as the first brand in America to receive fair trade certification for apparel, and now we're thrilled to go a step further and help make sure that the children of the factory workers that make our clothing go where all kids should - to school."
http://www.tompkinspoint.com

Becoming the pioneer in developing of Fair Trade Certified apparel in the United States Tompkins Point supports the farmers and factory workers that produce there garments and in return also makes sure there kids get an education. a 25% of the profit that is made goes in to the education of the kid their in Hyderabad, India. Tompkins Point also pay a 5% premium directly to factory workers and a 5%-10% premium directly to cotton farmers. The premiums a set up a a framing ans factory worker committees, for social or business development purposes.  


"We founded our company because of our desire to help poor, small-scale farmers. As a result, we work hard to ensure that farmers are treated with dignity and that they receive a variety of economic benefits for doing business with us."