How do I know Etiko will not sell my personal information?
ESP Pty Ltd, owners and operators of this website, will NOT trade, sell, or give away your personal information under any circumstances without your express e-mailed permission. Period. We sell Fairtrade certified sporting gear …not names.
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What can i do if i don't have a credit card, or don't want to put my details on the net?
You have the choice of making purchases over the internet, or by printing out our orderform and posting it to us. We use Ezimerchant for our shopping cart system, and trust in their secure shopping cart processing. We do however, understand that online shopping isn't for everyone, so we have given you the option of a printable orderform that can be faxed, or posted to us.
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How long will it take for my order to arrive?
If your Etiko order is in stock, we ship within 5 business days. You should expect your in-stock order to arrive within 1-2 weeks. It will be shipped from our warehouse in Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Australia. We normally ship via Fastway. Once your arrival has left our warehouse, it should arrive within 2-3 days at an Australian address, 4-5 days if you’re in New Zealand and within 7–10 days everywhere else. If the item you desire is not in stock, a message will appear at the top of the screen upon attempting to place the item in your shopping cart regarding the item's unavailability. You will not be able to purchase the item at that time and your shopping cart will remain empty. Most of our out-of-stock items are restocked again within 2-6 weeks. If you'd like to know when the item you desire will be in stock again, email info@espoz.com.au.
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What is your Return/Exchange Policy?
All of our products may be returned in their original condition for a full refund, for any reason whatsoever, within 30 days of the date you receive your purchase. Items that have been laundered, dirtied, damaged or altered in any way cannot be accepted for return. Items purchased online cannot be returned to retail store locations that carry the Etiko brand. If you would like to return merchandise purchased from our online store please follow these instructions.
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HOW TO RETURN ETIKO PRODUCTS:
Package the items you wish to return in a mailing envelope or box. You must include a copy of the invoice with the package. Please indicate if you desire a full refund or an exchange. If returning for exchange, please indicate clearly what you would like in exchange. Please provide a brief reason for your dissatisfaction. Send to the following address:
Etiko
Unit 33/756 Burwood Hwy
Ferntree Gully VIC 3156
AUSTRALIA
* Exchanges can only be performed for a different size and/or colour of the same item. If you wish to receive a different item in exchange for the returned product, you must accept a refund for the return and place a new order online. The sender is responsible for return postage. We urge you to use a mail carrier that generates tracking numbers, as we will not be responsible for lost packages. Please allow 1-2 weeks for receipt and processing of your return. You will receive an email notification when your return has been received and the refund transaction has occurred.
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How is the Fairtrade premium spent?
How can we know the money is being used properly?
Fair Trade is not simply concerned about the payment of a Fair Trade premium, of equal importance is that those who have created a product with their labour are involved in the decision making process, how the Fair Trade premium is being spent. For this purpose so called joint bodies have been established: These are committees in which representatives from the work force and from the management jointly decide, how best to spend the premium in order to maximise the benefit for the workers.
The rubber for the balls is mainly sourced from South India. The plantation there has only recently become part of Fair Trade thanks to Fair Deal Trading (our sister company in the UK). The joint body has met a number of times and has decided to save all Fair Trade premium payments: They have an ambitious plan to build up a fund from which higher education for children of the plantation workers will be paid. With your help we hope to meet their target.
Our processor in Pakistan, on the other hand has been participating in Fair Trade since 1998, i.e. a far larger amount of Fair Trade premiums has been paid. The most important measure financed is the health care scheme for all those involved in ball manufacturing (AND their families) - an absolute first for this type of production process. Furthermore there is a fund for micro credits, which opens up the opportunity for workers and their families to reduce their dependency on (seasonal) orders for footballs, and at the same time add to the growth of the village economy. Examples are small shops, a welding workshop, irrigation pumps for the fields, ...
Another share of the premium is used to improve working conditions (lighting, ventilation, drinking water) in the stitching centres in the villages: It is a specific achievement of Fair Trade to retain stitching in the villages, in the reach of women, rather than concentrate the work in huge stitching halls near the city.
Lastly, since Etiko voluntarily pays a higher Fair Trade premium than required by FLO, our supplier is the only Fair Trade approved company where workers receive 50% higher wages for the stitching of balls with the Fair Trade label: If all paid this rate, families would not have to send their children to work.
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Why are some footballs so much more expensive than others?
The main reason for the price differentials are the costs of the raw materials used, in particular the type of PU used for the outer coat. In addition it has to be kept in mind that smaller production runs (as for high end balls) in general are more expensive. Lastly, products which do not sell as quickly as others, incur higher storage costs.
We would like to point out however that we never compromise on Fair Trade, even in our least expensive ball: There is no difference in Fair Trade compliance anywhere in our range.
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Are the sports balls delivered flat or inflated?
Depends on where you live and what quantity you buy. If you live in area where we can get a courier to deliver then we will inflate orders for one ball. If you live in area where we have to use the postal service then you will get them flat. This keeps the freight cost to a minimum. When pumping up the ball for the first time remember 3 things. First, use a lubricant (Vaseline is fine). Secondly, an creases in the balls will disappear will smooth out after a day or two. Thirdly, the ball will deflate, slightly, after the first inflation. If you pump it again it should stay inflated for a lot longer the second time.
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What is the difference between our footballs and the major brands?
Even in specialist sports shops there are low and high quality (branded) products on offer. The problem is that the brands tend to spend more money on promoting and protecting their image, rather then investing in a quality product. Which is why Etiko balls may actually be cheaper than similar quality branded balls, even though we voluntarily pay a 20% Fair Trade premium. On the other hand we hardly spend money on advertising and sponsoring. We think that paying Fair Trade wages is more important than spending millions on self promotion.
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What is the difference between footballs offered by Etiko and cheap discounted footballs?
Most cheap footballs will have an outer skin made of PVC (or a blend of PVC and PU). In other words: These balls are a burden on the environment - and they wont last long, particularly if the outer is thin (0.6 mm are not rare). Further quality cuts are made in the number of plys: There are balls with only one thin fabric lining. While Etiko balls are always made with PU and most with four layers, there are even major branded promotional balls which do not meet the same quality standards.
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What are the quality criteria for Footballs?
Even though most ball types are round - more or less - there are significant differences in quality. The problem, however, is that with balls it is quite difficult to tell the difference from the outside appearance. Still, knowing the major parameters might help to appreciate the quality of Etiko supplied balls:
Material and thickness of the outer skin: From a quality as well as an environmental point of view, PU (polyurethane) outers are the first choice for most footballs - unless one opts for a rubber coat as in the Etiko GreenStar (rugby and most basketballs also have rubber outers). Etiko in principle does not use PVC and our PU outers in standard footballs are never less than 1.5 mm to ensure durability.
Inner construction: To provide strength, textile backing is laminated against the outer skin. More layers increase the durability. Most Etiko balls use four layers of tightly woven polyester fabric. Lamination, incidentally, on Etiko branded balls is done with Fairly Traded, FSC certified latex.
Bladder: There are two types of bladders: Pure natural latex, or butyl (artificial rubber made from petroleum). For environmental reasons we opt for latex bladders wherever possible, Fairly Traded and FSC certified - even though natural latex bladders do need to be re-pumped once in a while since they lose some air naturally.
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My Sports ball is losing air - is this normal?
Balls supplied by Etiko have (with a few exceptions for technical reasons) natural latex bladders - for environmental as well as quality reasons, all top quality footballs use latex bladders. These bladders are made of Fairly Traded rubber with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification.
Latex is a natural raw material, and bladders made from latex will lose air "naturally" over time (unlike bladders made with artificial latex, which essentially is made from petroleum). Should this happen, it suffices to re-pump the ball a little. However, should the ball supplied by Etiko lose air in a noticeable manner in the cause of days or even hours, then something is wrong and you should get in touch with us to arrange for a replacement. Since our balls are stitched by hand, it can happen in rare instances that the bladder is punctured during the final stitches (done blindly), and the final quality control can not always find such small leaks.
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What are balls made of?
Balls made with genuine leather became history around 1980 (although a tiny niche remains for ´retro balls´). Today’s balls have an outer made with PVC (low quality), or (as is the case with Etiko’s balls) with PU (Polyurethane). The inside construction consists of textile backing (usually cotton or polyester for higher strength). The bladder is made from Butyl (artificial rubber) or natural latex. With the exception of our full size rugby, basket, netballs as well as the GreenStar football, which have rubber outers, all our balls are made with high quality strong PU, to which up to four textile backings have been laminated. For environmental as well as quality reasons, most of our balls have bladders made from natural latex and we never use PVC in any of our products.
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Who monitors that the criteria are complied with?
As far as sports balls are concerned, it is the task of the Fairtrade Foundation and its international umbrella association The Fair Trade Labelling Organization (FLO) to ensure compliance, incidentally, the first executive secretary of TransFair/FLO was our sister company’s FairDeal Trading partner’s Martin Kunz, who during that period also established the criteria for labelled Fair Trade tea (as well as the monitoring system), and later developed a similar criteria same for sports balls.
However, at the end of the day the best monitors are the producers of the Fair Trade products themselves: They know that Fair Trade is in their interest and that corruption could endanger everyone involved. Our supplier in Pakistan has established a system of complaints which helps weed out attempts at non-compliance.
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Note: This FAQ page has been produced with permission from Fair Deal Trading