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Papel Picado - an unusual fair trade gift from Mexico

by Andrew Williams | November 19, 2013 | 0 Comments

One item which we get a lot of comments on in the shop is our range of "Papel Picado" banners. These paper decorations from Mexico look like traditional banners or streamers until you look a little closer and notice that they feature depictions of skulls, skeletons and other spooky stuff! They are a hugely popular decoration around the Mexican Day of the Dead festival or Dia de los Muertos which takes place at the start of November. However they make an interesting and unusual decoration at any time of the year. The 5m long string features 16 multicoloured panes in each pack.  

 

Tagged: day of the dead, dia de los muertos, fair trade, fairtrade, mexico, papel picado

Fair trade mango wood from Thailand - ethical and beautiful!

by Andrew Williams | November 01, 2013 | 0 Comments

We've just had another delivery of amazing mango wood products from Thailand. These look incredible, are light to handle and complement modern or traditional homes. Mango trees are planted as fire-breaks in hardwood plantations in Thailand, allowing the harvest of their delicious fruit and eventually the creation of some beautiful wooden products. We have candle holders, bowls and vases all available now, with more designs to be added to the website soon.

Tagged: fair trade, fairtrade, mango wood, Thailand

Cool fair trade headbands to keep you warm

by Andrew Williams | October 30, 2013 | 0 Comments

We're really pleased to have another great range of winter woollens from Here Today Here Tomorrow. Last year our bestsellers were their knitted headbands with velvet lining and they are back for 2013/14! We have three new styles - a charcoal block print design in a traditional style, and a new knot design available in burgundy or navy. We only have limited stock of each design and once they're gone we're unlikely to get more stock. Don't miss out on these cosy, fair trade favourites. 

 

Knot Headband

Tagged: fair trade, fairtrade, headband, knitwear, nepal

Keeping fair trade local

by Andrew Williams | October 05, 2013 | 0 Comments

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