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.

Our Fair Trade Store Helps With Nutrition in the Amazon

One of the ethical advantages of shopping at the Shopping for a Change online fair trade store is that we are nonprofit. In terms of amounts of monies available to actually assist artisans in the fair trade cottage industry manufacturing world (jewelry, accessories, clothing, home décor, baby items, etc.) there is a big difference between for profit and nonprofit. Obviously for profit online stores are looking at a profit picture in their business model. In our business model, there is no profit, only operating expenses kept to a minimum. Largely, what we do is service in creating a marketplace to sell high quality fair trade goods at very good prices. We then pass along the profit to the artisans and the real needs of their communities.

For example, one of the pragmatic projects we were instrumental in was the Nutritional Empowerment Project set up to help Kichwa Artisans in the Ecuadorian Amazon region. SFAC joined with the Faire Collection in funding the project which established sustainable farming in the area. We were determined to help the Kichwa’s issues with malnutrition and consistent access to food. 

Remember, next time you’re shopping for fair trade, shop at a nonprofit store like ours. Your purchase goes much further than providing a living wage to the artisans.

As we enter into 2016, you’ll find a wide range of established and new items in our Jewelry and Accessories. Each piece is handmade and eco friendly, and always selected for quality and longevity.

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

Fair Trade Clothing, Accessories Are Surprisingly Affordable

The assumption is, with most people we talk to, that fair trade handmade products or gifts (non food items) are more expensive than mainstream products. In some cases, they may be. But in many cases you can purchase fair trade clothing, accessories, jewelry or home décor, baby items, in the same price range as conventional store or online prices.

One man who held the fair-trade-is-more-expensive assumption found out with one day’s shopping that he could buy an entire casual ensemble at fair trade online stores for $8 under the price of conventional stores. Writer and blogger Kelsey Timmerman wrote in The Huffington Post about his experience.

Most folks think shopping for clothing with your ethics is a privilege that few can afford. I've been writing about being an ethical and engaged consumer since I traveled around the world to meet the people who made my clothes.

Since writing Where Am I Wearing? I encouraged folks to wear one thing a day they knew was produced in a way that treated people and planet fairly. I reach a lot of college students and thought that a whole outfit in such clothes would be unaffordable.

Today, I decided to do a little online shopping experiment: I put together a whole outfit consisting of underwear, shirt, shoes, pants, socks and a beanie by visiting the online stores of companies that I know are making responsible decisions about people and planet. And then I compared them to products you would normally find at the mall.

It turns out the ethical outfit I put together only cost $153, which was actually $8 cheaper than the normal outfit.

If you really want great prices for great fair trade products, please go to our Year End Clearance sale page (link). And our Jewelry and Accessories collections continue to be expanded with beautiful, handmade pieces as we search for items in the new year. We’re always eco friendly and always take the best care of our artisans.

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.

SFAC Fair Trade Online Site In Jacki Zehner’s Advice Column

Happy New Year everyone! Thank you so much for your donations and support through shopping with us year-round.  We are truly grateful.

Jacki Zehner is a well-known and highly regarded writer and activist for women’s and girls’ rights, working towards a more gender-egalitarian world. She was  formerly a market strategist on Wall Street.

In a recent December 2015 column she wrote a column on Shop Your Values 2015 that discussed the power of women shoppers.

She wrote: In the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it can be easy to forget that every time you spend a dollar, that exchange is an exchange of power. Companies understand this well, and they spend billions of dollars every year trying to convince you to give them your purchasing power. Who are the main shoppers? Women. We make 75-85% of all purchasing decisions, which adds up to trillions of dollars that we could be using to support our values. Your dollars can make or break a company, brand, or consumer item, so what if we all started using this power as a way of supporting our values in life? What if we used our spending dollars to hold companies accountable, and as a means of enacting social change? That’s what shopping your values means, and the possibilities are endless.

For me personally, shopping my values means supporting gender equality and lifting up women and girls around the world. …This may seem like a daunting challenge to throw into the mix, but in reality, it’s actually very easy to purchase great gifts, while at the same time knowing you are directly supporting families in places that lack robust economic opportunities. When looking for gifts, look no further than Rising International, Plum Alley, Indigo Africa, the Akola Project, Made by Survivors, Prosperity Candle, the Nomi Network, Soko, Same Sky, or Shopping for a Change. Each one of these organizations sells incredible handcrafted gifts such as jewelry, clothing, baskets, crafts, tote bags, and silks, all of which have been made by women in impoverished areas all around the world.

We now have tremendous New Year’s Sale going on at our site, so please visit for a great choice of remarkable deals and bargains. Prices on all Tagua and Horn Jewelry are so low you will think we’re nuts. Also, please be sure to take a look at our Baby Collection and our Purses, Handbags and Totes section.

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.

SFAC Sells Fair Trade Christmas Gifts at Facebook Farmer’s Market

The past few days have been wonderfully busy for us as we’re fulfilling all the Christmas and holiday gifts shoppers are buying on our nonprofit fair trade goods site. We’ve had shoppers from South Carolina up to Maine over to Colorado down to Texas over to Arizona and California and nearly all states in between.

On Sunday, December 13^th, one of the delights of this season was the invitation we received to participate in the Facebook Holiday Boutique at the Facebook Farmer’s Market (takes place in the Facebook parking lot in Menlo Park of the SF Bay Area). Thousands of people poured in under huge enclosed tents for the shopping among 30 vendors. We brought our home goods and baby/kids products and had a rich opportunity to talk about fair trade eco friendly products and our nonprofit mission with many passersby, along with selling many items.

There’s still time to buy from our Holiday Christmas Hanukkah fair trade gift choices and stocking stuffers. A great selection including accessories, purses and bags to jewelry to home décor and kitchenware. Many great items are on sale at our Holiday Bargain Sale Collection.

Enjoy your holiday shopping with us, and be sure to like us on Facebook and recommend us to your friends. Shopping for a Change is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Best Fair Trade Christmas Gifts—SFAC Makes the News

During this busy 2015 Holiday giving season that seems to be going too fast, here at Shopping for a Change we’ve been featured in two more publications (see our last 12/4/15 post)—mentions we wanted to share with our shoppers and supporters. Since we are nonprofit (which gives us the rare ability to provide more earnings to our worldwide artisans and to substantially support their community projects) these media mentions are very valuable with their mass exposure.  

  

Entrepreneur.com Magazine featured SFAC founder/president Stacey Horowitz in a November 30^th article (by Rebekah Iliff) discussion of “conscious consumption.” She writes: People are seeking out ways to make better decisions about what to buy, and do-good brands are becoming household names. From donating product or a portion of sales to establishing fair wages for factory workers, more and more businesses are assigning value to ethical business practices -- and consumers are seeing the value in it too.

Stacey Horowitz was interviewed for the article and she offered: Shoppers are becoming enlightened. There is a strong movement amongst consumers to know that their purchases are giving back to those who produce them and to connect with them on an emotional level. Our customers love the fact that when they shop with us, their purchases are helping to shape and improve the lives of those they touch both domestically and abroad.

Kiwi Magazine (a print magazine with a sub name of Growing families the natural and organic way) includes the SFAC product Reclaimed Teak Cheese Board with Handle in its best gifts for the Holidays section. A picture is below.

Now’s the time to take full advantage of all our HolidayChristmas Hanukkah fair trade gift choices and stocking stuffers. Everything from purses and bags to jewelry to home décor and kitchenware. Many great items are on sale at our Holiday Bargain Sale Selections.

Enjoy your shopping with us, and be sure to like us on Facebook and recommend us to your friends. Shopping for a Change is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization.