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How We Practice Fair Trade
Our Connection to Artisans and their Communities
To practice fair trade in accord with the
In addition, we have always sought out artisans who are particularly disadvantaged and without ready access to resources or assistance.
Working Together to Overcome Problems
In the end though, the real definition of our fair trading, and the proof of its effectiveness, is demonstrated in the stories of the artisans we get to know.
Maya Halder, a woman who lives in Agailjhara, Bangladesh and makes palm leaf star garlands for Ten Thousand Villages, is a good example of what we strive to accomplish through alternative fair trade. She said this to Anita Fieguth, an MCC volunteer living and working in Bangladesh at the time:
“We are poor distressed women working at Keya Palm to build our lives. By working together we are able to overcome our problems. We become united in one mind. We will send our children to school with our earnings. Also, we are able to purchase our food and clothing. From our profits, we plow our gardens and cultivate crops, we repair our houses and plant trees.”
At Ten Thousand Villages we want our fair trade to enable artisans like Maya Halder to overcome their problems, to send their children to school, to afford adequate food and clothing and to improve the quality of their lives and their communities. Fair trade gives Maya hope for the future.
Our Principles of Operation
At Ten Thousand Villages we add our own principles of operation to the IFAT key principles of fair trade:
- We honor the value of seeking to bring justice and hope to the poor.
- We trade with artisan groups who pay fair wages and demonstrate concern for their members’ welfare.
- We provide consistent purchases, advances and prompt final payments to artisans.
- We increase market share in North America for fairly traded handicrafts.
- We market quality products that are crafted by underemployed artisans.
- We build sustainable operations using a variety of sales channels, including a network of stores with a common identity.
- We choose handicrafts that reflect and reinforce rich cultural traditions, that are environmentally sensitive and which appeal to North American consumers.
- We encourage North American customers to learn about fair trade and to appreciate artisans’ cultural heritage and life circumstances with joy and respect.
- We use resources carefully and value volunteers who work in our North American operations.
Fair Trade
IFAT
Ten Thousand Villages is a founding member of theInternational Fair Trade Association (IFAT) and a member of the Fair Trade Federation (FTF), both of which aim to improve the livelihood of disadvantaged people in developing countries and to change unfair structures of international trade.
Read more about the IFAT key principles of fair trade and code of practice
Ten Thousand Villages. A Fair Trade Retailer.
Your fair trade purchase of handmade jewelry, home decor and gifts helps improve
the lives of thousands of artisans in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
