Fair Trade Product Real Growth: Global Retail Sales Increase 15%

Here is an inspiring and satisfying fact for all fair trade consumers: retail sales globally of fair trade products—from jewelry to clothes to purses/accessories and more—grew over the past year by 15%. And this is no small number. Sales of fair trade crops and goods reached $7.3 billion in 2013, so this increase is very significant. It means that working men and women in developing economy countries are earning more for themselves and their communities, and more people are being hired. We at SFAC are proud to be a part of this growth. We deeply appreciate our customers who make all of this possible with their purchases and socially conscious commitment. Our sales are in the USA and Canada and it is the US which has led the world in increased fair trade purchasing. There are many more growth initiatives in place to boost fair trade awareness and purchasing for 2014.

One of the hottest items in the fair trade products world are purses and handbags. Fair trade eco friendly purses handbags (including tote bags) is surpassing jewelry in terms of online searches and purchases. The selection of purse items has grown enormously for fair trade and friendly to the environment. If you’re thinking you need a new purse or handbag for yourself or as a gift for someone, please visit our excellent, fashion-savvy collection. We believe we’ve found the best of the best. We feature many styles and sizes, crafted from a range of natural materials. Please visit our purse collection here. 

How long are your arms?

Long enough to feed a child, pet a dog, hug a loved one, and plant a tree. What if I told you your arms were long enough to also make a difference halfway around the world?

As you may know, we have just embarked on a 45-day Indiegogo campaign to raise funds to expand our operation. We are excited to announce that in just over a week we have raised just over $10,000 of our $50,000 goal!

As a non-profit with no paid employees, this money will enable us to pay for new inventory, update our marketing materials, hire a professional photographer and graphic artists, expand our reach through public relations, and finance our first paid employee to assist me. All of these expenditures are vital to the growth of our business, so we can continue to help communities both abroad and at home. 

Please help us expand our outreach by sharing our campaign link - http://igg.me/at/shoppingforachange - with your network. We could not have gotten this far without your support, and we hope you will consider a donation of any amount to enable us to continue empowering others and transforming lives. 

When you go Shopping for a Change®, you help improve the lives of disadvantaged artisans around the world, mostly woman, by creating steady employment for them. In turn, you enable them to put food on their tables, a roof over their family’s heads, and afford them the ability to educate their children, including the girls.

Thank you for your support!
Stacey

Where Has the Time "Gone, Gone" & How Do We "Go, Go" Forward?

It seems like just yesterday that I was attending my son’s high school graduation, then immediately sending him off to Camp Newman to be a counselor and song leader for 8 weeks. It was now his turn to help create a fantastically memorable summer for children, as so many counselors had done for him over the years, and at a place that had become his second home.

During his absence this summer I was hard at work with the support of our Shopping for a Change® interns: six incredible high school juniors and seniors who volunteered their time learning about what we do, and how to help make a difference in the world 

Our first two weeks were spent behind the scenes in photo shoots and editing images for the newest version of our website (if you haven’t checked it out yet, click here to do so).

The next six weeks were spent developing our first crowdfunding campaign. In case you’re not familiar with this newer term, crowd·fund·ing (ˈkroudˌfəndiNG/) is by definition, the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet. We created ours on a website called Indiegogo.com.

Beginning Friday September 5th, we will launch our 45-day Indiegogo campaign to raise funds to expand our operation. As you may know, we currently operate as an all-volunteer organization, with no paid employees. I handle all of the roles and tasks associated with running a small business and generally have very little outside help. 

It thrills us to say that in the four years since our launch, we have grown from partnering with 11 artisan groups in Africa and South America to over 40 artisan groups spanning 4 continents and 28 countries. That’s over 25,000 lives that we have touched! Our business has tripled, indicating that people are excited by the way our organization enables them to help both at home and abroad.

Our goal is to raise $50,000 through this Indiegogo campaign. With this money, we will be able to update our marketing materials, pay for new inventory, hire a professional photographer and graphic artists, expand our reach through public relations, and finance our first paid employee to assist me. All of these expenditures are vital to the growth of our business, so we can continue our important work. 

We invite you to watch our video on our campaign page, learn more about our Indiegogo campaign by going to http://igg.me/at/shoppingforachange, and explore the wonderful perks we have put together (thank you gifts in exchange for your tax deductible donations). We could not have gotten this far without your support and we hope you will consider a donation of any amount to enable us to continue empowering others and transforming lives. 

We appreciate your support and encourage you to share this blog post with your friends and family!

Warm wishes,

Stacey

Shopping for a Change^® is a registered 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization.