GUILT-FREE PLEASURES:
New Takoma Park businesses combine fun with earth friendliness
[August 2006]
By Esther Nguonly
A Fair Day's Play
Whether or not they know exactly what they’re looking
for, customers that walk into the store know at least that
they’ll be getting what the sign in front reads: A
Fair Day’s Play.
 With a commitment to cater to needs of local residents, this
unique one-month-old sporting equipment and games store has
attracted visitors of all ages on a philosophy of fair play,
offering only products that have been produced in workplaces
where workers have fundamental rights.
Many people look for products at the lowest price, not realizing
that those products may be cheaper because they are produced
by child labor or in sweatshop conditions, explained owner
Robert Pleasure.
Pleasure was formerly involved in the labor movement, worked
for the AFL-CIO and was the Executive Director of National
Labor College in Silver Spring. He owns and operates the
store with his wife, Patricia Greenfield, a labor educator,
and their son.
“One of the things that activates and motivates us is to get fair trade
sporting equipment for children. A big part of good sportsmanship is having some
kind of common sense and sense of fairness about the equipment,” Pleasure
said.
A Fair Day’s Play, located on Carroll Avenue in “Old Town” Takoma
Park, carries a variety of sports equipment and apparel from distributors such
as Penn, whose tennis balls are union-made in America; No Sweat, a company dedicated
to making only non-sweatshop, union-made apparel; and Ultimate Player’s
Association (UPA) ultimate discs.
“People who have looked at it like the lesson and consistency of the message,” Pleasure
said.
The company’s philosophy reads, “Help make the world a better place… and
have fun doing it.”
Contrary to his initial plan of specializing in sporting
goods and apparel, Pleasure has surprisingly found that
games, rather than sporting equipment, became the most
sought-after products. He has actively sought games for
families, based on experiences from his own childhood,
requests and recommendations from residents, and research
in local facilities such as the senior citizen tower game
night.
The best way to market their goods, Pleasure has found, is
to ask people when they come in, “What would you look for in a store like this?”
Slamwich for children, Dungeons and Dragons dice for “gamers,” and
Carcassonne for groups and families are some of the products that responders
have suggested, in addition to the “bread and butter” games like
Monopoly, Scrabble and Yahtzee.
“I think we’ve tapped into something,” Pleasure said. “There’s
an enthusiasm for it in this community.”
A Fair Day’s Play also offers art supplies and instructional games for
children, sporting equipment such as helmets and floatation devices, puzzles,
jump ropes, and environmentally-friendly products, all collected under the goal
of providing products that have been made in conditions that do not exploit workers’ rights.
“People have this myth in their minds that they have to find the best value,” said
Greenfield. “But there is satisfaction in getting products of higher quality
that reflects values and choices you make as a consumer.”
Takoma Park Bikes
When he was six years old, Darryl Martin began fixing his
bicycle in his garage, doing everything from making his own handlebars
to changing parts.
 Now, he’s a manager of the new bike shop in “Old Town” Takoma
Park, where he continues his childhood passion of working with bicycles,
in addition to fixing, selling, renting and finding parts for them.
“It’s a great place to get all your bicycle needs,” said
the 27-year-old of Takoma Park Bikes.
Bicycles of all sizes and types hang from the entrance
ceiling and stand in neat, long rows along the store’s walls and floors.
At the entrance is a repair bench, and nearby, a service desk.
Takoma Park Bikes not only sells a variety of bicycles
(in a wide price range: anywhere from $250 to $1000 for
new bikes), but also offers parts, repair services and
rentals.
Visitors or locals who want to take a short trip downtown
for sightseeing may rent a bicycle for a day at a flat
rate, Martin said. Additionally, many parents buy cycles
for infants who are starting to learn to ride.
“Sometimes we get a few sales,” said Martin. “But mostly
we do a lot of repairs.”
They’ve been open for three months, and sales traffic was high
in spring and eased down in summer, Martin said. But the shop has consistently
been very busy with repairs, mainly for flat tires and brake problems.
“Sometimes a bike might be really old or rusty, so we’d lube
it up and put everything in order just like new,” Martin described.
The store, located on Carroll Avenue, also sells cycling
equipment such as hats, socks, pumps and locks. They
also carry bicycle computers, which can monitor heart rate,
mileage and speed for the cyclist.
“Takoma Park is a nice, quiet town and a nice bike shop would be
a good idea, because there wasn’t one here before,” said
Martin. “Plus, a lot of people ride in this city.”
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