We can’t always help ourselves. When confronted with beautiful things, we want them, and the urge to gather them up and take them home with us sometimes just takes over. As much as we humans are producers – of ideas, innovation and of things – we are also consumers.
So, after you’ve covered off the the 3 R’s (reduce, re-use and recycle) why not consume responsibly? Now, more than ever, it is getting easier to do so, with the marketplace fast becoming the place where making a choice can make a difference. There are all kinds of ways to make better choices - from being conscious of packaging or supporting local growers, to buying fair trade goods. When producers in far away places get paid fairly, and when business practices are sustainable, transparent and accountable, everyone benefits.
It so happens that tomorrow, Saturday May 9, Ten Thousand Villages Ottawa will be celebrating World Fair Trade Day at their 1174 Bank Street & 371 Richmond Road locations. If you don’t already know, Ten Thousand Villages is a non-profit organization that sells fairly traded hand made items from around the world. They are committed to providing artisans with the opportunity to earn a fair wage with dignity and respect, and their array of merchandise is as beautiful as it is useful.
This girlaboutOtown has done a little shopping already. Here is a selection of some of the lovely items you might find, either in store or online. Being design and decorating obsessed, I’ve focused on goods for the home and garden, but you can also find stationary, jewellery and even toys & games…
Tomorrow’s celebrations will feature the Baobab Youth Performers of the Baobab Tree Drum · Dance · Society, a local group that connects with the community through through West African singing, drumming and dance. In addition to the onsite entertainment at both locations, there will be free giveaways with every purchase (while supplies last), sample fair trade coffee & chocolate, prize draws and more!
So, if you are out and about…or in the market for some fabulous hand made goods, stop in to celebrate World Fair Trade Day tomorrow at Ten Thousand Villages Ottawa.
To learn more about fair trade, shopping or volunteering at Ten Thousand Villages, check out their Ottawa site here, or follow their blog.
Images via Montreal Gazette & Ten Thousand Villages online store.
As a volunteer at Ten Thousand Villages I have gotten up close to most of the products in the store. Its the stories about the artisans and their communities of NGOs, cooperatives, etc. that have moved me the most. Hand made, particularly by women, using indigenous designs and materials, our purchases are helping to make a sustainable future for so many.
Thanks for the great comments. I think R – responsible is a great R to add to the list!