Summer Love – Fair Trade Fashion

Is it just me, or does Memorial Day feel like the kick off to summer?

The pool at the Durham YMCA opened, and temperatures are finally hitting the 80s. Duke students have graduated, and other schools will be letting out soon. And one thing is for sure, it is OFFICIALLY sandal weather!

In honor of summer, we thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite summer Fair Trade accessories. And since we just mentioned sandals, let’s start with:

Our beloved Sseko Sandals! If you’ve been in One World Market lately, then you have seen OWM staffers April, Katie, and Brandy rockin’ their Ssekos.

Handmade in Uganda, each sandal and strap provide an income for a young Ugandan woman on her way to college! We love that you can change the strap and design of your sandal easily, but even more, we LOVE that they support higher education for women in Uganda!

They were even featured in this month’s issue of Vogue:

Fair Trade High Fashion!

In fact, our Executive Director April was wearing her Sseko sandals with the blue and white strap today. To finish off her outfit:

One of our new GORGEOUS handmade bags from Brazil! Handwoven from grass, we love the pop of yellow. (Pairs perfectly with the Ssekos!)

Another combo we’re loving is brass and white:

These roll-on bracelets were made in Nepal, and the earrings were made in Northern India, but they were really made for each other! Perfect for a summer outfit, on your way to a show at DPAC and dinner outside at Geer Street. Nothing says SUMMER more than crisp white accessories.

But even darker color combinations can be adapted for summer. Like our new earrings and necklaces from Guatemala:

Even though it’s navy with brown, we feel more like it’s ocean with sand! Paired with a white tee shirt and jeans, it’s a great summer look!

However, the necklace comes in a variety of bright, summery colors…

Good luck choosing a favorite – we can’t!

What about you?

Do you have a new Fair Trade Accessory that is brightening up your summer wardrobe? Share it with us!

Meet Mac McCoy in the Store!

dZi is a company that has been working with Tibetan and Nepalese artisans for almost twenty years, and it’s one of One World Market’s favorite vendors!

From gorgeous jewelry

 

to meditation items for your home,

 

and fun felted items, like these birdhouses

            

 

their product line has a great variety with new items being added seasonally.

But aside from the items, we’re so excited about the opportunity this week to meet one of the founders of this great organization! And guess what, you can to!

 

You are invited to meet Mac McCoy, the founder of DZI: The Tibet Collection at One World Market from 2:00 - 3:45 on Thursday, March 22nd! 

Mac may be joined by Durham's own Heidrun Erwin who helped to start The Tibet Collection in the late 1980s.  Mac has an incredible story of helping Tibetan refugees, working with the Dalai Lama and creating a successful fair trade company.  Mac may even share some stories and pictures of artisans making his fabulous felt birdhouses - an item we will feature on Saturday, Mach 24th as part of our Sheep Day celebration. 

Hope to see you there!

Help not only the Artisan, but the Community!

We’ve had SO much fun in the store today!

One of our favorite people, Stacey Ferguson of Jinja Fair Trade, stopped in and refilled the store with her beautiful products!

Stacey works with artisans in Uganda, India, and Kenya. One of staff person April’s personal favorites can be seen above and below:

Necklaces made from recycled paper! We LOVE all the juicy colors in the paper beads, and they really make an outfit pop! Plus, they not only support the women, but truly the entire community.

Stacey tells us more:

Working out of their homes in Jinja and Kampala, the Ugandan artisans are able to take care of their children and home while they roll colorful paper strips, cut from magazines and poster paper, into beads. Eventually the beads are creatively strung into necklaces, bracelets, earrings, ornaments, and more.  Many of the women lovingly care for AIDS orphans along with their own children. Some of the women are sick with the HIV virus. All are striving to better their lives. By working their craft, they are able to make a living wage, which helps pay for medicine, food, transportation and school fees.

Truly a great product to support!

Stacey also restocked our dwindling headband supply, and brought more recycled cards from Kenya.

We also got in our shipment from Nepal today and we are FINALLY restocked on Felted Potholders!

These make a great gift, and we sold out in early December. We are so excited to have these in again. Just like the paper bead necklaces, these potholders come in so many fun colors! AND yes, they really do work!

Not only do these potholders support the women artisans in Nepal who make them, but they also help send young girls in Nepal to school.

Our vendor for this product, Ganesh Himal, tells us more about their school program:

Even public schools cost money in Nepal and producers often have to pull their children out of school because they can’t afford the fees. Usually it is the girl children who are pulled out first because families will look to their long term care by their boy children. In an effort to encourage producers to keep their girls in school Ganesh Himal has given an annual contribution since 1990 to the Association for Craft Producers “Girl Child Education Fund”.  This producer benefit program was set up by ACP to provide a monthly scholarship allowance to producers who keep their daughters in school for at least four consecutive years. As the program has grown ACP has been able to give the same allowance to some of the producers boys as well.

This year ACP was able give scholarships to 85 children from ages 6-17 years old.  In April they invited the students to come and see the workshop at ACP and participate in some of the craft activities that their mother’s do such as blockprinting.  The purpose of the program was to familiarize the children with ACP, its work and help them learn about Fair Trade.  The children were given a tour of ACP and an explanation of the work they do.  The three outstanding scholarship students also received a prize and special recognition from Meera Bhattarai, the Executive Director of ACP.

Ganesh Himal Trading has been proud to help this girl child education fund prosper and be successful.

Imagine that! You’re not only supporting the craftswoman, but you’re giving the opportunity of an education to a young girl who may not have that otherwise.

Yes! We love FAIR TRADE!!

This Valentine’s Day–Give the Gift of LOVE

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and we’re prepared here at One World Market with plenty of gifts that share the LOVE!

The gorgeous silk scarf pictured above, comes in it’s own handmade silk paper heart box; ten times better than a heart box of chocolate!

                                   source

Made in Nepal, this silk scarf supports silk weavers living in rural areas of India, who have been struggling with the decline in the market for silk. The silk that is spun and woven by the weavers is sent to master screen printers, many of whom learned the trade from their parents or grandparents.

Another great gift to share the love is a combo gift: pretty AND tasty!

An adorable handmade glass keepsake HEART glass filled with mini dark chocolates, supporting Fair Trade in India and Ghana.

And remember, that when you give a gift that’s FAIR TRADE, you’re not only expressing love to the recipient, but also to the artisan who made the item. Through Fair Trade, you are truly SHARING THE LOVE!