I’ve been a Compassionate Entrepreneur with Trades of Hope for just over a year. I’d been looking (albeit casually) for work, but it’s kinda tough when you don’t have access to transport during the day. A long time friend introduced me to this direct selling company and I fell in love.

I’ve been interested in Fair Trade for over 25 years. I went to university in Edinburgh, Scotland, and in that town was a church. And in that church’s basement was a fair trade shop. Admittedly, I mostly bought chocolate. But I also bought a couple of ornamental pieces and blankets/wall coverings/table covers too. And I still have them.

I’ve learned a lot about fair trade and sustainable business over the past year, far more than I ever knew before. And it’s got me rethinking how I shop. How does my spending habit impact others? Do I want cheap, which often means being a silent partner in appalling working conditions with extremely low wages? Or am I willing to sometimes spend a little more and know that the people who made these products are working in safe conditions, not in sweatshops, not caught up in slave/child labor, etc?

And so many fair trade products are beautiful pieces, and unique as well.

Trades of Hope is a member of the Fair Trade Federation.

Watch this brief video and discover what Trades of Hope is all about, and what we Compassionate Entrepreneurs do. (If the link doesn’t work, copy and paste this address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AozGu2ct63E )