Fair Trade Fanatic!

Hi All,

From the outset, Nigel and I pledged that we would have a fair trade section on the website. At home, we try to buy as much fair trade as possible in our groceries, and, as you know, the choice is still quite limited. I guess I expected items for Chakra Bleu! to be in equally short supply, but I have been proved delightfully wrong! One particular fair trade supplier has really touched my heart - and my pocket! From the name - 'Namaste', to the products, to their background, they are simply perfect for us. Also, it turns out they are only 20 minutes drive from Chakra Bleu! so we have the double whammy of also supporting local trade, which is one of our other ambitions. This makes for a very happy Lindsey!

When it comes to selecting fair trade products with which to launch the website, I now find I am spoilt for choice. Rather naively, it seems, I assumed it would be the other way around and that I would have to trawl the earth to find enough products to really be able to say we had a fair trade section. As it is, there are so many products that I am having to reign myself in to avoid a situation where I end up over-stocking! What is it about Asian people and their amazing ability to create such beautiful, colourful things?! It really does bring home the fact that they have been the victims of a huge injustice by the rest of the world refusing to pay them a fair price for more than a fair day's work. Thank goodness things have changed, and continue to do so because the world would be a far duller place for want of these items.

So, what fair trade items can you expect to find on Chakra Bleu!? Where do I start? We have tinned candles, embossed leather notebooks, velvet and sari notebooks, incense and the most fantastic dragon incense burners! Then we have worry dolls; gorgeous, floaty prayer flags, the famous Nag Champa fragrance oil, oil burners, beautiful mango wood candle holders, stunning hand carved wooden tarot boxes and adorable sari fabric covered trinket boxes. I've chosen some lovely sari and patchwork fabric cushion covers and some sparkling glass mosaic bowls that I expect will sell out almost as soon as they appear on the website! My particular favourite item so far is the dragon incense burner, with its life-like appearance and vivid colours. These are but a few of the items we intend to stock, and of course, the collection wouldn't be complete without a beautiful hand-carved Buddah!

So, in the end, our fair trade section of the store is going to be as jam-packed as every other section. And there was I thinking I would struggle to fill it! I think, in many respects, the fair trade section of Chakra Bleu! is going to turn out to be my favourite - and certainly the one area where I will be spending all of my pocket money! :)

Namaste!

Lindsey