lovethatstuff is a brilliant fair trade enterprise.
I can’t believe I haven’t been to their amazing shop in Brighton Marina before. The Marina is a special place to me- I grew up ten minutes inland and my Grandfather was one of the first fishing skippers to operate out of there- but I had never visited the shop before.
I was amazed at the range of things on sale and the links that lovethatstuff has with suppliers all around the world, as this map on a wall of the shop shows:
The website outlines just how many of these connections there are and how many causes they support: ‘Over 30 producer groups in 27 countries are represented, supporting: HIV/AIDS orphans; deaf children; disabled producers; indigenous South Americans; street children; Tibetan refugee children in India; widows; and victims of human trafficking, landmines and torture. Many of the producer groups particularly focus on supporting women, some employing over 95%’.
There were so many things I wanted to buy and so many things that would make good presents: I must remember it for Christmas time. The atmosphere in the shop was friendly and welcoming and a great deal of effort had gone into the way that things were displayed and presented. So much so that I was all the more mortified that I nearly knocked over a display with my clumsiness, but I managed to grab it in time.
While in the shop I got chatting to a lady who has her own Fair Trade business in central Brighton (I’m hoping to visit one day). She told me about the Fair Trade community in Brighton, it seems like it is very supportive, more details are here: www.bhft.org.uk. I particularly enjoyed being able to ask her a few questions about Fair Trade, as while I buy Fair Trade products, especially coffee, I don’t feel that I buy enough or that I know enough. I look forward to learning more and hope your interest is piqued too.
