Bluffton’s Ten Thousand Villages store, 115 S Main St., is preparing for its biggest sale of the year--to be held November 12 and 13--and is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the fair trade movement. World Fair Trade sales have grown ten-fold from 2004 to 2018 ($.83 to $9.8 billion euros), but the movement's start was on the smallest of scales.

In 1946, Edna Ruth Byler met women embroidering beautiful table cloths after traveling to La Plata Valley, Puerto Rico with the Mennonite Central Committee. She learned they were struggling to feed their children without steady income and no place to consistently sell their craftwork. Edna bought the linens, packed her suitcase full, and began sharing the stories of the artisans and selling items to women in churches in Akron, PA. Eventually she traveled the United States and Canada selling handmade linens, dolls, wooden giraffes, and jewelry from the trunk of her car.

Lois Krieder of First Mennonite Church visited a non-profit, all volunteer Self-Help (now Ten Thousand Villages) craft store/thrift shop in Manitoba, Canada. Krieder returned to Bluffton and started a fair trade gift shop supported by the sale of thrift goods (SELF HELP/EtCetera Thrift) in January 1974.

Ten Thousand Villages uses an artisan investment model which puts the makers first and is built on long-term partnerships and fair trade principles. Each product sold and donation received expands the nonprofit organization’s ability to deepen artisan relationships, explore new partnerships, and continue their work to break the cycle of poverty.

Bluffton Ten Thousand Villages invites you to shop with intention and indulge sustainably with ethical gifts this holiday season. During the November 12-13 Bag Sale, shoppers receive 25% off purchases. Artisans have been paid in full. Shop hours are Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.