Our Stand has been changed and here is where we will be located
We hope you will pop in to say hello:-)
Showing posts with label ethical fashion accessories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ethical fashion accessories. Show all posts
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Ethnic Supplies at BBC Gardner's World Live
It is 6 weeks away and we at Ethnic Supplies are very excited to have been intivited to participate in the BBC Gardener's World Live
Our Stand has been changed and here is where we will be located
We hope you will pop in to say hello:-)
Our Stand has been changed and here is where we will be located
We hope you will pop in to say hello:-)
Thursday, 5 February 2009
An ethical present for your Valentine?
I guess by now most folk are contemplating what sort of gift to buy their loved ones for Valentine's Day.We have a range of handmade and ethical fashion accessories for all. Please vsiit our website www.ethnicsupplies.co.uk
By buying our products you will not only show your loved that you care but that you care about those that are less fortunate than you are. This creates a WIN, WIN situation for all.
I would also like to tell you about what you purchase means to the women in Africa or the financial implications for them, so here are some statics,
8p feeds a child a day
£10 pays for a teacher for a whole month
£250- keeps a young girl/man in secondary school for a year
£250- will keep a nusery school of 30 children open for 6 months
£30 pays for a community nurse for a whole month
£5 pays for a mosquito net to prevent malaria
We are looking forward to your your support and just for Valentines postage is free (will be refunded)
bread basket from Uganda
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Primark without the Ethical Tag
I watched the news about Primark on BBC news at 10:00 with interest. You can follow the rest of the story here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7824291.stm
I am not surprised that Primark finds itself in this situation. As someone that works alongside textile and handicraft producers in the developing world I can safely say that there is now way a company can churn out that amount /number of garments without someone somewhere being exploited.
In order to comply or call yourself an ethical provider you have to "police" your suppliers to ensure that they subscribe to your ethical agenda. Here at Ethnic Supplies LTD we do not work with anyone we have not met and even when our producers are required to prove that the work is there own. We inspect their workshops annually to ensure that for instance child labour is not used.
Flotea owner and founder of Marvelous batiks, our Textile producers in Tanzania
Marvelous Batiks workshop in Dar-es Salam
I remember in our first year of trading we met a woman in a handicraft market in Kampala Uganda. We bought a couple of jute bags from her that we thought looked really nice and very well made. She informed us that she was a partner of a Kikuyu woman based in Nairobi Kenya.
The bags were very well made and we had a feeling our customers would love them. We sent a sample to our contact in Nairobi and asked her to help us find the kikuyu woman who apparently made these bags before we could establish a working relationship with the woman in Kampala.
It took our contact nearly 6 weeks to get to the bottom of what was going on, but it transpired that the bags were actually made in Thailand and the Kikuyu woman was merely a distributor to others such as the woman we met in Uganda. Needless to say that was the end of that and it goes to show how vigilant you have to be in order to claim that you are an ethical company!
I am not surprised that Primark finds itself in this situation. As someone that works alongside textile and handicraft producers in the developing world I can safely say that there is now way a company can churn out that amount /number of garments without someone somewhere being exploited.
In order to comply or call yourself an ethical provider you have to "police" your suppliers to ensure that they subscribe to your ethical agenda. Here at Ethnic Supplies LTD we do not work with anyone we have not met and even when our producers are required to prove that the work is there own. We inspect their workshops annually to ensure that for instance child labour is not used.
Flotea owner and founder of Marvelous batiks, our Textile producers in Tanzania
Marvelous Batiks workshop in Dar-es Salam
I remember in our first year of trading we met a woman in a handicraft market in Kampala Uganda. We bought a couple of jute bags from her that we thought looked really nice and very well made. She informed us that she was a partner of a Kikuyu woman based in Nairobi Kenya.
The bags were very well made and we had a feeling our customers would love them. We sent a sample to our contact in Nairobi and asked her to help us find the kikuyu woman who apparently made these bags before we could establish a working relationship with the woman in Kampala.
It took our contact nearly 6 weeks to get to the bottom of what was going on, but it transpired that the bags were actually made in Thailand and the Kikuyu woman was merely a distributor to others such as the woman we met in Uganda. Needless to say that was the end of that and it goes to show how vigilant you have to be in order to claim that you are an ethical company!
Sunday, 30 November 2008
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