Toque de Pasion's Major Designers Diana Abugattas (Peru) Creates colorful and unique Alpaca wool scarves by hand. Bakana (Brazil) Handmade, exquisite, crocheted 18 carat gold and sterling silver wire interlaced with semi-precious stones, beads and fresh-water pearls. Made popular in the U.S. by celebrity admirers. Matching purses and belts. Claudio Bravo (Argentina) Original, handmade jewelry made of buriti, an Amazon palm tree, and made popular by a famous Brazilian musical group. Carvalho (Brazil) Handmade, exotic jewelry made of organic materials found in the Amazon. Espiritual (Brazil) Handcrafted 100 percent cotton, linen and silk garments that combine Cariri native art with modern fashion trends. Provides full-time jobs to poor women in Brazil’s northeastern hinterland. Natu and Caru (Argentina and Brazil) Artistic, unique handmade art glass jewelry. Cindy Cook-Keller (Tucson) Cindy collects indigenous textiles from around the world to produce unique and exciting apparel. Paninaro (Brazil) Colorful garments made of a crepe-like cotton, an exclusive fabric made in Rio de Janeiro. Plus hand-sewn embroidered embellishments. Pombero (Paraguay) Hand-embroidered, 100 percent organic cotton garments made in the traditional Ao Po’i style. Juliana Queiroga (Brazil) Handmade, exclusive wallets, T-shirts and scarves with South American flair. Evani Ribeiro (Peru) Handmade, designer canvas and patchwork bags. toquedepasion.net (Peru) Toque de Pasion Boutique carries its own line of distinct Peruvian organic cotton tops, skirts and dresses with traditional embossments. Info from Toque de Pasion's Web site.

TUCSON, Ariz. — Toque de Pasion is a diamond in the rough of Tucson retail. The unassuming shop, open since late 2006, displays a sign reading "South American Boutique." It specializes in fair trade goods and clothing lines made out of organic materials.

Walking into Toque de Pasion is a little different than a traditional boutique experience. Yes, it has its merchandise lined up ready to sell, but somehow the vibe is just different.

There is a toy box in the back, co-owner Melissa McCormick explains because of all the children running around the boutique constantly. The place isn’t stuffy or uptight in any way.

Destiny’s Child is playing on McCormick’s computer which sits in the front window of the store.

“I don’t think a lot of people understand what South American fashion means,” McCormick said as she leaned over her desk looking out the window. "When we get the money I want to change the sign to say 'Fair Trade Boutique.' "

The boutique started with owner Cesar Zegarra’s vision. A native Peruvian, his family back home creates an exclusive line of organic cotton garments for the store. Zegarra said fair trade has always been an important issue for him because it hits so close to home.

“Cesar knew he wanted to be fair trade," McCormick said. "It’s very personal to him."

Fair trade is an ideal that directly aligns with green living. Get McCormick talking about fair trade and prepare to be impressed.

She sits in her chair spitting out facts like a slot machine that just hit a jackpot. The undeniable passion she exudes for the topic could turn any skeptic on to the cause — or at the very least get them thinking.

In 2006 there was $2.6 billion dollars of total fair trade sales, according to an International Fair Trade statistic from the Fair Trade Federation.

Toque de Pasion took in a piece of that pie. It is a small pie as a result of the opening of the Chinese textile industry. McCormick said it has become increasingly more difficult to see profits.

Still she said fair trade is not the most profitable of business endeavors and that she does have trouble roping in younger customers.

"If the business makes me aware of fair trade products I will be more likely to buy them," said University of Arizona English senior Kelly McClintock.

Kelly said, however, she does not actively seek out fair trade products.

Fair trade is an expensive undertaking. Fair trade involves “paying the producer a living wage.”

Paying a fair wage is something a lot of clothing manufacturers simply do not do. McCormick said without the kindness of people in the industry, Toque de Pasion would not be able to keep its prices low and its head above water.

“We just come across these amazing people that facilitate us,” she said.

Both Zegarra and McCormick work other jobs.

One thing the boutique strives for is not pushing its fair trade mantra into the faces of its customers. McCormick keeps what she calls the “hallmark of any fair trade store” near the back of the store: a fair trade book. The book describes in detail the mission of the store and goes in depth into every designer featured in the boutique.

The growing green trend in America has seen its share of profits for businesses like Toque de Pasion. One-third of the boutique’s items are organic. Going green has become trendy, but fair trade has not enjoyed the same amount of exposure.

“It’s hard to be green and ignore fair trade,” McCormick said.

For Zegarra and McCormick fair trade and the environment go hand-in-hand.

“It’s hard to conceive one without the other,” McCormick said.

McCormick thinks the attention to the environment is positive but that a lot of people are not taking the message for its actual merit, especially those buying green items only to follow the trend to a T.

“If Madison Avenue pours glitter in the eyes of young people to get them to buy it, then so be it,” she said.

For now, Toque de Pasion's sign reads: "A South American Boutique." McCormick can’t wait to get the sign changed to read "Fair Trade boutique" so passers-by will understand their mission better.

“We need to get that damn sign changed,” McCormick said again.

Click here for fair trades facts and figures.


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