by Andrew Williams |
November 24, 2013
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In our last blog we explained why we think buying fair trade gifts is so important, especially at Christmas. But if you're stuck for inspiration, perhaps we can help! Here are some of our fairly traded favourites...
Our Knot Headbands are a new design this year, following best selling Christmas designs last year. Available in navy and burgundy.
These new "Honeycomb" chopping boards are a great addition to any kitchen, and also complement our "Bee" coasters.
Our "Hope and Peace" jewellery is made in Cambodia from recycled bullets and shell casings. Currently only available through Eighteen Rabbit, these make an unusual and thought provoking gift.
Finally there's our delicious range of Zotter chocolates - great stocking fillers, fair trade and absolutely delicious!
If you're still spoilt for choice you can browse our online store to find the perfect fair trade gift for you this Christmas.
Tagged:
Christmas,
fair trade,
fairtrade,
gifts
by Louise Davies |
November 21, 2013
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We're swamped with adverts and promotions at this time of year, all trying to grab a chunk of our Christmas spending. Glossy TV ads backed by emotive music make us think of the perfect Christmas Day - surrounded by friends and family, opening beautifully wrapped shiny gifts. It's easy to get swept away with the excesses and we know that can be part of the fun.
We've tried for many years to give charity gifts which are a wonderful way of doing something worthwhile with your money, as well as sending a fun message to your loved ones. But sometimes you really do want to give an actual gift, something you have hand-picked and selected because you know the recipient will love it. If that's the case, please do consider buying a fair trade gift this year. Fair trade means that the producers that have made your item will have received a fair wage, will be working in safe conditions, and will be supported to grow their business and provide a sustainable life for their families. If you're buying products made in the Far East or Africa which are not fair trade, you can be pretty sure that someone has been exploited along the way.
Giving a fair trade gift will give you (and the lucky gift recipient) a genuine Christmassy feelgood factor. Your purchase will improve the lives of those in need - what better gift to give at Christmas time?
Tagged:
Christmas,
gifts
by Andrew Williams |
October 05, 2013
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One of the down sides to running a shop selling cool fair trade items is that inevitably we meet a few customers who would prefer to buy something made in our local area. We are lucky in Hay on Wye to have a thriving artistic and craft community who produce some stunning pieces - and we have great shops in Hay selling them, such as Brook Street Pottery, the Haymakers, and our neighbour at Hay Castle, The Thoughtful Gardener. Explaining why we don't stock any local items ourselves is always a good opportunity to reinforce some of the benefits of making trade fair.
That's not to say that we don't care about local businesses, or local shops! We love the retail community in Hay and we try to be a part of supporting our thriving High Street through the Chamber of Commerce. Now we're involved in a new scheme called Totally Locally, which we're hoping to launch in Hay in the next couple of months.
Totally Locally is a clever marketing campaign to get people to think about where they are spending their hard earned cash. It's not anti-supermarket or anti-internet - there's a place for those guys too. But by showing the benefits of diverting just a small amount of money being spent into local shops, we can see a real difference in the economic health of the town.
We're hoping to launch Totally Locally Hay around the Winter Weekend festival. We believe that fair trade and local shopping make great companions on the road to a more prosperous High Street.
Tagged:
Christmas,
eighteen rabbit,
fair trade,
fairtrade,
hay castle,
hay festival,
hay on wye,
local,
totally locally
by Andrew Williams |
September 21, 2013
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It is with a heavy heart that I have to break the bad news to you - we've just had our first delivery of winter woollens. Yes, it is that time of year again. We're really pleased to be stocking the new season's designs from Here Today Here Tomorrow, who proved so popular with the residents of Hay (and online) last year. We love the new slouchy hats, mini mittens and of course their amazing woolly headbands. Look out for them online in the next few days - they're available in store now.
But before we get on to winter, and the dreaded "C" word, let's try to bask in the last few rays of our fair trade summer. We still have the great new range from Rapanui to drool over (and everyone always needs tee shirts, right?) as well as ongoing reductions on some of our most popular ceramic lines - our eye catching Line Vases are now just £22 online.
Other new arrivals include our amazing, colourful bamboo chopping boards, designed by Bambu Home in Portland Oregon and made under fair trade conditions in China. A versatile, sustainable addition to any kitchen. We'll have more of the range coming soon.
Let's not get too down-hearted at the darker nights drawing in, we still have lots of fun to look forward to - Halloween and some cool new lines to tie in with the Mexican "Day of the Dead" celebrations to name just one. Stay warm out there!
Tagged:
2013,
apparel,
Christmas,
eighteen rabbit,
fair trade,
fairtrade,
headband,
knitwear
by Andrew Williams |
December 24, 2012
|
Well, here we are at Christmas Eve. We have had a fantastic few weeks getting the shop up and running in Hay on Wye and of course on our website. We want to thank everyone who has taken the time to pop in and say hello, look us up online, follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook. The support we've had has been truly encouraging and even though it is still very early days we are looking forward to 2013 with excitement. We have now confirmed with the great people at Hay Castle that we'll be here for the next few months. We hope to have lots more stock, different ranges and suppliers, and more stories to tell you about the people behind our products.
In the meantime we wish you all a peaceful Christmas and a relaxing New Year. Our shop is closed from the 25th - 28th December and during January and February we'll only be open Wednesday - Sunday. However we are here every day online!
Thank you all. xx
Tagged:
2013,
Christmas,
hay castle,
hay on wye,
pop up shop,
website
