Playing Fair :-)

On Friday night I had some friends over for a 'party', not a tupperware party or undercoverwear party or anything else like that, it was a Fair Trade party called 'Hearts and Hands'. It was amazing!! My house was transformed into a marketplace of fair trade handcrafts made by some of the world's poorest people whose lives are transformed through finding a market for their skills and products. The lady who runs it, named Ros, turned up with heaps of boxes of the most beautiful stuff. I was overwhelmed by the range, quality and reasonable prices of the things she had here and wished I had lots more cash on hand to stock up for christmas, and so did everyone else who was here! So we have rebooked her for a christmas shopping afternoon in November and I will come complete with my list to make sure we have a beautiful and ethical christmas!

Here are a few pics of some of the things for sale. Beautiful pencil cases...

photo frames, jewellery boxes, journals, bags, belts, soaps...

lots of jewellery, bookmarks...

bags...

more bags (the comic book one is now my new handbag :-)  )

there were bibs, wooden puzzles, stuffed toys, wall hangings, cushion covers, wallets....

This is Ros telling us about the people who made some of the products and the difference it makes to their lives, she was so passionate and excited and it was infectious!!

These stuffed rabbits were gorgeous and only $15 each, most of them got sold!

Ros also showed us how to make paper bags, something that some very poor people have to make hundreds of in a day just to try to feed their family!

It was such an incredibly affirming experience to be able to make some purchases for upcoming birthdays and events (plus a new handbag) and know that I was helping people in the process. It was the most fun I have ever had shopping!! Plus the hostess rewards for this type of party are totally different too, 5% of sales gets used to purchase a gift from Tears's useful gift catalogue, in this case I picked an organic vegetable garden, and Ros also has a tin there for people to pop their change in if they want to and that money supports a girl who has been rescued from prostitution!!! So many lives impacted by the whole experience!!!
If you want to learn more about it then you can click on the 'fair trade' tab here on Ros's website :-)