Maya Wrap Baby Carrier, Soft Baby Wrap, Baby Wrap Carrier
Examining Maya Wrap Baby Carrier's "Fair Trade" Claims
The convenience, versatility, and comfort of the Maya Wrap Baby Carrier have made it a favorite of thousands of parents. With its many desirable features there is no question this is a product that has made life easier for countless moms, dads, and children.
Just as the company claims, the Maya Wrap is indeed a well-designed, simple-to-use baby carrier. It goes on easily and can be quickly adjusted over 5 pre-settings. It is sufficiently small so it can be folded away in a purse or diaper bag when not in use. The zipper is safety tested to 150 pounds and a baby up to 35 pounds can be carried in any of a variety of positions.
Clearly there are numerous benefits that the Maya Wrap Baby Carrier bestows on the purchaser. But, can the same be said of the Latin American men, women, and teenagers who manufacture the product? A recent reading of the company website's Frequently Asked Questions, which speaks about its fair trade policies, raised more questions than it answered.
Everything's Relative
According to the Maya Wrap Baby Carrier company owners, all employees who work to produce their products are over the age of 16, work in safe and healthy conditions (to me that means health insurance, but theres no mention of that), and are paid "a fair wage."
To verify that all working conditions south of the border are Kosher, the website says, "the president of Maya Wrap, Susan, visits Guatemala every year." (Think they know when she's coming?)
So far, so good. But what follows may cause some concern. The fair wage claim comes with an important qualification: "fair wage in the local context," the site says. Hmm Local context? Remember, we're talking about the average wages in Guatemala here. This is a country whose residents attempt to sneak into Mexico seeking better pay! I dont think you have to be an economist to question the companys definition of "fair when used in that context.
We are told that the people who prepare and set up the looms for the Maya Wrap Baby Carrier (theyre called "artisans") are able to "support their families well by local standards." There's that phrase again. But even this rather suspect claim is followed by the dire sounding admission that "the weavers (for some reason weavers are not called artisans) "make less but are still fairly compensated." Ouch!
There's no doubt the company literature wants us to believe all its workers receive a "fair wage." The only question is: Fair to whom?
[You can contact the Maya Wrap Baby Carrier company at the following email address: mayawrap@mayawrap.com .]