Marketplace, one of my favorite Public Radio shows, is broadcasting from Dubai all this week. With the myriad of other fresh perspectives on the subject of the economy that this week has brought came this one:

Margaret and I are avid consumers of Doctor Bronner’s cleaning products, and not just because the labels are fun to read (the information on your average Dr. B’s container reads like someone loaded a shotgun with double-ought scrivenings of a rapid-cycle schizophrenic and unloaded both barrels into the label). They make high-quality products from largely organic ingredients (we buy their Liquid Peppermint Soap by the gallon), they buy fair trade materials whenever possible, and they treat their employees like human beings. In short, they are an excellent corporate citizen and a model for the rest of the business world to follow….not that they will. 😡

But on top of all that, Doctor Bronner’s olive-oil-based soaps are made from two types of Fair Trade organic olive oil. From the Web site of Doctor Bronner’s Magic Soaps:

For the approximately 80 metric tons of olive oil we use annually, we are sourcing 90% from Palestinian Fair Trade producers near Jenin in the West Bank, where the Canaan Fair Trade organization is run by Palestinians who support peaceful coexistence with Israel. Up to 5% of the Fair Trade organic olive oil will come from Sindyanna, a Jewish and Arab women-run Fair Trade Israeli source supporting Arab-Israeli producers. The purchase of oil and contribution of a Fair Trade premium will help improve economic conditions and provide additional funds for public services such as healthcare and education in the olive producing region. And in light of the vision of peace that the olive branch symbolizes, for the maximum 5% non-Fair Trade organic olive oil we are allowed to use under Fair Trade rules, we are sourcing that from the Jewish Israeli Strauss family farm in Israel.

Upon such small stepping stones the path to peace may be laid.