In addition to myself, Faerie’s Dance gets assistance from several friends who work part-time and seasonally to help process your orders quickly and efficiently. While there’s always lots to do (like more blog posts!… next up All About Dyes…), the whole gang has decided to take a quick break. We’re all heading off together for a weekend in the California Sierra Nevada mountain range to summit Mt. Whitney. At 14,494 feet (4418 meters), Whitney is the highest peak in the lower 48 states. Though, that’s only half as high as Everest’s 29,035 feet.

Here are some quick peak facts:

Highest Mountain in the World (and Asia)
Everest, Nepal-China: 29,035 feet / 8850 meters

Highest Mountain in Africa
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania: 19,340 feet / 5895 meters

Highest Mountain in AntarcticaVinson Massif: 16,066 feet / 4897 meters

Highest Mountain in AustraliaKosciusko: 7310 feet / 2228 meters

Highest Mountain in Europe
Elbrus, Russia (Caucasus): 18,510 feet / 5642 meters

Highest Mountain in Western Europe
Mont Blanc, France-Italy: 15,771 feet / 4807 meters

Highest Mountain in OceaniaPuncak Jaya, New Guinea: 16,535 feet / 5040 meters

Highest Mountain in North AmericaMcKinley (Denali), Alaska: 20,320 feet / 6194 meters

Highest Mountain in the 48 Contiguous United States
Whitney, California: 14,494 feet / 4418 meters

Highest Mountain in South America
Aconcagua, Argentina: 22,834 feet / 6960 meters
Since everyone associated with Faerie’s Dance will be off hiking, massaging our sore feet and enjoying sweeping views of central California, we won’t be able to ship Friday or Saturday. All orders placed after 2:30pm on Thursday will ship first thing Monday morning. We apologize if this causes any inconvenience to anyone. Hopefully clearing our minds and stretching our bodies will bring us back fit, excited and more efficient than ever. 🙂
Have a wonderful weekend – and don’t forget to take a quick peek outside tonight to experience the Perseid meteor shower.

One of the questions we get a lot is where our products come from. Many people are adverse to purchasing items made from third world countries because they are concerned about working conditions, sweatshops, child labor and basic human rights.

Despite public outrage over the last few years, that concern may indeed still be valid at some big-box retailers. However, at FaeriesDance.com, I personally check on the credentials, certifications, auditing and labor standards of every new manufacturer we add to our line up. Not only do the farmers and factory workers who create the products we carry earn living wages in decent working conditions, but in many cases our manufacturers are directly responsible for improving the lives and conditions of the people.

Probably the very best example of this is the manufacturer Pants to Poverty. Their specific goal as a company is to employ the poorest people of the world in a completely sustainable business model in order to stamp out poverty and hunger. They currently employee over 6700 tribal farmers in India with long-term contracts, enabling those farmers to feed and care for families and raise their overall standard of living.

All of our manufacturers have an honest commitment to being socially conscious as well as eco-friendly. Environmental sustainability is only viable if the efforts are also socially sustainable.

Of course, deciding whether to buy something that is made in an emerging nation versus in the USA is a more complex issue than just Human Rights. There are economic, political and even environmental issues (such as the environmental cost of transportation) that must also be considered. I plan to address some of these in future posts, though they are not always very straight-forward. But in this one area of Human Rights, I’m proud to say that our products are actually helping people world wide.