After 23-years in business on College Ave. in Berkeley, California, the Global Exchange Fair Trade Store will be closing its doors. Strategic decision making by our board of directors has prompted this change and in the New Year, we’ll be focusing in on our hard hitting campaign work. Our closure is in no way a reflection of the thriving Fair Trade economy!
Come visit us before the closure to get great deals on your favorite Fair Trade items. Storewide discounts will include our prized selection of table linens hand printed with traditional wood blocks in India; Indigenous Designs clothing made from organic cotton and alpaca in Peru; one-of-a-kind soft cotton sari blankets hand stitched in Bangladesh; and much more!
Please join us in giving immense thanks to our artisan partners, who have poured their passion and livelihood into the products made available to you. The link between you and them lies in your ongoing appreciation of the hand perfected details of the products you have purchased in support of the artisans, their families and greater community. As the buyer and director of the Fair Trade Program for the past 10-years, I have fallen in love with the artisans, the product and the story each unique piece carries. I have spent the last few days moving around the shop, picking up, holding and, in some cases, purchasing for myself the Fair Trade product that the artisans have worked so hard making.
Our deepest thanks to all our vendors with whom we have formed deep friendships and sustainable business relationships. We have worked with many of our vendors for close to 20 years, and believe that the Fair Trade wholesale vendors are at the heart of the Fair Trade movement.
And most importantly, thank you to our customers, who have warmed our store with their conversation and commitment to conscious consumption. Your support has empowered artisans around the world!
We encourage you to sustain this commitment!
- Become a member of Global Exchange – our Fair Trade campaigns have won real victories for producers and farmers around the globe. We’ve built the Fair Trade movement and continue to support growth!
- Travel with Reality Tours and visit Fair Trade artisans in Guatemala, Ecuador, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Peru, Mexico and beyond. Our Reality Tours prove that meaningful, socially responsible travel, can and does, change the world.
- Check for a Fair Trade label on food items at your local grocery store.
- Visit the Fair Trade Federation website for the most up to date listing of Fair Trade retailers and cafes in your area.
Fair Trade is vibrant and the movement is growing. Global Exchange is proud to have been an instrumental part of this growth. We celebrate the increase in demand for Fair Trade in the market place; the success of Fair Trade wholesale businesses; and the new Fair Trade Stores opening every day. Most of all we celebrate the artisans. Please join us in this celebration!
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