Trade As One

They call themselves a “regular” church community group, but we aren’t totally buying it. It isn’t everyday that the phone rings at the warehouse and the woman on the other end of the phone explains that her community group wants to spread the word about Fair Trade to 60 of their neighbors. We were thrilled to brainstorm ways they could do this creatively and on a budget. They ended up with a Fair Trade goodie bag filled with tea, chocolate, and a coupon code for tradeasone.com.

Sharing Fair Trade with their neighbors is just one example of the way this community group is extending themselves outside of their group.  Each month, the group takes a new challenge ranging from developing relationships with those who are homeless in San Jose or San Francisco to a plan they have next month to do household chores for neighbors.

We love seeing how faith communities are articulating the connection between how they use their spending and justice issues around the globe. Seeing them take that a step further to educate their friends and neighbors is even more exciting.

It didn’t surprise us to learn that this group is part of GrX Fremont, as this community has already partnered with Trade as One in many ways. We’re proud to have partners like these. If you’d like to do something similar,email us at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or leave your info in the comments.

Our first warehouse sale was so much fun, we decided to do it again. On Tuesday February 9th, we’ll be opening our doors to anyone who wants to make it a Fair Trade Valentine’s Day. In addition to our new Valentine’s Day products (which will also be up on the site soon), we’ll also have a closeout section full of great products at great prices. These events are a great chance to come in with friends and see our HQ, get some great deals, see products that aren’t available on the website, and hang out with the team.

In addition, this could be a great opportunity for some of you to gently (or not so gently) nudge your significant other to schedule some Valentine’s shopping time. It would be easy enough to forward along this post as a not-so-subtle hint.

So here are the specifics:

Date: Tuesday, February 9th
Times: 10am-2pm and 6pm-9pm
Address: 41829 Albrae St. Suite 102, Fremont, CA (Map here)

Hope to see you there!

Now that the warehouse is dry, we’ve actually been getting some work done here at Trade as One. Last week Nathan was interviewed on “Our Global Hope,” an internet talk radio program from TalkZone. It was a long and insightful interview, and they covered a whole range of topics. For anyone interested, it’s a good way to hear a bit of the story of how Trade as One got started, Nathan’s thoughts on the challenges we’ve faced, and the future of Fair Trade. You can listen to the program by clicking here.

Some days you get to work, and you can’t believe how effective you are, and it seems like you get a whole day’s work done before noon. Yesterday was not one of those days. We arrived at the warehouse at 7am to find a thin layer of water gracing the floor of parts of of our warehouse. Amazingly (and thanks to some foresight from Mike, who runs our warehouse), none of the products were damaged in any way. The only casualties were a few cardboard boxes.

So it quickly became a game of “who’s got the best idea for removing 70 gallons of water from our warehouse.” Everybody was involved, from Nathan, Stu, Mike, Leo, Kevin, our landlord, our neighbors..it was a family affair. We were bailing, sweeping, jury-rigging a shopvac to empty into a garbage can (didn’t work), and sump pumping it out. The best part was that the founders of Handmade Expressions, dear friends of ours, decided they would surprise us and stop by to see the warehouse for the first time.

All in all I’d say it made for a good Wednesday, and that it was fun to see everybody jump in with a smile to fix a problem.

Once a year, we cut some prices so that we can turn around and place large orders to our producers. Our goal is to provide consistent, year-round employment for our partners in the developing world, and the Winter Sale helps us to do just that. As always, our producers were paid in full for their work, we’ve just cut prices for you!

Our Winter Sale section has four main categories: Seasonal, Bags, Jewelry, and Houseware. I’m including an excerpt from the newsletter we just sent out below, so that you can get a peek at some of the items in our Winter Sale Section. If you’d like to sign up for the newsletter, you can do that by entering your email address in the box to the upper right.

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Seasonal

Get ahead of the game with Holiday decorations at low prices! We have Christmas items at prices as low as $1.50. The cards, ornaments, and decorations you’ll find are all made by those wrestling with extreme poverty and its effects, and the income they earn gives them a chance to lift themselves out of poverty. Click here to see all Seasonal items on sale.

Bags

Bags from Guatemala, Cambodia, and India are made by women seeking a chance to support themselves with dignity despite the overwhelming odds they face. There’s something special about keeping your belongings safe in a bag that helps bring safety to those in desperately need. We’ve got slings, totes, pouches, clutches, purses, and more. Beautiful, trendy, fair, and affordable! Click here to see all of the Bags on sale.

Jewelry

Our Guatemalan jewelry is chock-full of color, personality, and the unique handmade touch. The women making these pieces now have the chance to use their many talents to support their families, and earn a voice in their communities. Check out our necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, so you can ring in the new year with fair and fashionable accessories. Click here to see all of the Fair Trade jewelry on sale.

Houseware

Useful and beautiful houseware products allow you to decorate your home with Fair Trade! Hand woven telephone wire bowls from South Africa are 33% off, candle holders from Morocco are 40+% off, and much more.  Click here to see all of the houseware items on sale.