Millennials Shopping Fair Trade Products With Individualistic Mindset

The big box or upscale brick and mortar retail stores are feeling the impact of millennial generation shoppers looking for more targeted, niche, extraordinary shopping of clothing, accessories, jewelry, home décor, and more at very specialized online stores. Millennials (and other shopping demographics) are looking for higher quality brands and more interesting, engaging products. That’s part of the reason why Shopping for a Change exists: to provide shoppers with superb quality, originally designed, fair trade products that are individualistic and socially conscious.

A story in the San Francisco Chronicle titled “Millennial Shoppers Embrace Rebranded Basics” talked about the new individualization and branding trend: “A new generation of consumers is rethinking the way that they buy stuff,” says Jess Lee, who co-founded women’s lifestyle brand Modern Citizen online in 2014 after three years at Gap’s strategy and business development division. “It’s a very different story now. It’s very individual and very me-centric. ‘This is who I am. This is what I look like. And these are the brands that cater to me.’”

We feel that Millennials and other generational shoppers who are looking for a brand or individual look will find our items very appealing. Each item is handmade, and originally designed, plus being eco friendly.

We always have great prices for handmade fair trade products at our Clearance sale page, and throughout our site If you’re looking for baby or toddler products, please click here. And our Jewelry collection, like everything else, is curated, extensive, and unique.

Please visit us frequently during 2016 as new selections will arrive throughout the year. Like us on Facebook and recommend us to your friends. Shopping for a Change is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization.

The New Shopping Paradigm: Fair Trade and Crafted by Hand

Handmade as a defining shopping paradigm is in, and fair trade cottage industry manufacturing is driving it. Even the US State Department is recognizing this, as a NPR story last month talked about Secretary of State John Kerry promoting small cottage industries that make well-crafted products by hand. And now with the fair trade momentum making handmade goods (that are paid fairly) available everywhere (including online, such as our Shopping for a Change store), the shift to Western affluent nations buying hand crafted goods is becoming a very large metric.

In Kerry’s talks, he emphasizes that the hand crafted industries found in 3 continents (and now involves hundreds of companies and organizations) has the potential to improve the lives of the individuals who make them. And that is the purpose of fair trade—to provide a global market for the goods, and a living wage for the artisans crafting the goods.

Kerry said in the story, "Consumers today care more and more about where something comes from, who produced it, under what conditions did they produce it."

A growing number of Americans, says Tori Mellott, senior editor at Traditional Home, are looking for something that's got a human touch behind it: "We live in a world of plastic and screens. We want something personal." And products that can both support craftspeople and be practical for the customer pack the ultimate "double punch."

We’re proud to be a part of this growing trend and movement, and we’re proud to be nonprofit, which means more of the dollars coming in for purchasing our goods goes back to the artisans and their communities.

We always have great prices for handmade fair trade products at our Clearance sale page (link). Among the most popular items consumers purchase as hand crafted are jewelry and accessories, and we encourage you to browse our collections.

Please visit us frequently during 2016 as new selections will arrive throughout the year. Like us on Facebook and recommend us to your friends. Shopping for a Change is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization.