Yesterday evening Global Goods Partners hosted a Summer Sample Sale! It was an evening of fun fair trade shopping featuring handmade jewelry, accessories, and home decors from our artisans around the world. In preparing for the Sample Sale, we rediscovered many of our past treasures that were featured on our website: Felt finger puppets from Nepal, silk scarves & rice tote bags from Cambodia, and beautiful clutches that could complement any outfit! Interested shoppers, and GGP friends & volunteers filtered in to browse and buy these quality goodies at discounted prices. We, at Global Goods Partners love to see our customers happy, and what better way than with food! Our customers enjoyed a delicious spread of cookies, fruits and cheeses, as well as delicious apple and mango snacks donated by our friends at Peeled Snacks! Did I mention we had wine? Oh, it was an after-work treat! We would like to thank all those who came out to shop, and support us at the Sample Sale. We had a great time, and look forward to future events. If you missed the Sale, do not fret. Look out for other events by liking our Facebook page, visiting our website, and following us on Twitter (@GlobalGoods)!

Happy International Earth Day! Here at Global Goods Partners we are constantly working toward making the world a greener place with our Eco-friendly products! Instead of ending up in landfill, these rice bags are being put to good use by way of our Reversible Tote Bags! Made out of recycled rice bags and featuring bright, floral fabric on one side along with sturdy recycled rice bag on the other, they are bright, fun and practical. The purchase of one also pays for a  Cambodian child to eat four nutritious meals at Friends-International education and training centers. We love these bags because they not only positively impact the environment, but the life of a child as well!

Our Glitter Wallets are made from recycled candy wrappers and potato chip bags and are also super stylish and fun! Instead of polluting waterways, these recycled materials make for a great item that can be used both during the day or for a fun evening out. What's more, buying just one wallet provides a set of school books to a disadvantaged child in Cambodia. What more of an incentive do we need to shop Eco-friendly and fair trade?

We have several more amazing Eco-friendly products to help get you into the Earth Day spirit this year. Visit our website at www.globalgoodspartners.org to start making a difference!

At a first glance, it's hard to believe that this plant is related to this bracelet: But believe it or not the fiber used to make this product came directly from the leaves of the plant! Known as sisal, this plant is native to Central America but is grown all over the world. The largest producers of sisal fiber today are Brazil and China. The sisal plant was first used commercially by way of the machine grain binder in the 1880's, creating a demand for inexpensive twine. Sisal fiber is durable and mostly inflexible. For these reasons it is mostly used to make chords such as ropes and twines. It has the ability to stretch and is resistant to breakage in salt water. The immense strength of sisal fiber means that its chords are mostly used in the agricultural, marine and shipping industries. Sisal fiber comes directly from the leaves of the sisal plant. A machine crushes the leaves of the plant between rollers in order to extract the fiber. Pulp is then scraped from the fiber, which is then washed and dried. Sisal fiber is usually white in color and can reach 40-50 inches in length once it is fully extracted from the plant. Aside from industrial ropes, the fiber can also be used to make rugs and brushes, and of course, jewelry! We love these sisal fiber bracelets here at Global Goods Partners. Our bracelets are made by female artisans in Colombia who weave the fiber by hand. Gold-wire details adorn the exterior of the bracelets, making them a bold and unique statement piece that can brighten any outfit. Get your sisal fiber bracelet today!

Remember Marcelina?

Some of you may remember Marcelina, an artisan who worked with our partner in Cusco, Peru - Mantay. We shared her inspirational story two years ago, and now there's even more to share! We recently checked in with Marcelina and were thrilled to discover that she now owns her own business. In addition to learning valuable skills pertaining to leather making, Marcelina tells us that her time at Mantay also taught her "how to improve quality control, advertising strategies and developing a brand," which are skills that have enabled her to become an independent business woman. Marcelina isn't stopping there. She would eventually like to create her own brand and sell her merchandise in a commercial center.  Her children  serve as her inspiration to continue striving to  fulfill her goals.  She tells us, "I would like to have the resources to prepare my oldest son to go to university and so that my little daughter can have a good education in a good college." Marcelina still works part-time with Mantay. The organization holds a special in her heart. She tells us that "buying these products allows you to join with single mothers to provide more work for them. I feel identified with the [Mantay] brand because it has a special meaning for me." Marcelina is a perfect example of why we celebrate International Women's Day. She is certainly an inspiration to us all here at GGP!

Launching a nonprofit organization and developing a retail brand all at the same time can present exciting opportunities, enormous challenges – and some daunting realities. When Catherine Shimony and I set out to create GGP six years ago, we relished the chance to make a difference in the lives of women – but we were cognizant of the need to make sure each and every project in which we invested our resources made a wholly positive impact. Social entrepreneurs, like their private-sector counterparts, make hundreds of decisions, small and large, all day, everyday. When funding for GGP seemed elusive, our partners’ products were stuck in customs or our online check-out system failed, we would ask ourselves one question that always served as our guiding North Star: “What’s in the best interest of the women artisans?” It is that same question we ask ourselves today. What option provides our partners the greatest sustainable source of income generation? How will women artisans and their families benefit for the long run and not just for short-term gain? Over the past half decade, the market for fair trade artisan products has found a much wider audience. With the right checks and balances, we believe that this is a market that can welcome more participants – as long as the participants adhere to the rules of the road in supporting fair trade ethical investments. Within the past year, we have secured orders with retail companies that help us broaden the market for our partners’ products. Last spring, we produced a line of fair trade scarves, jewelry and bags for retailer Club Monaco, a Ralph Lauren brand, which was in stores around the world as part of their beach boutique.  More recently, GGP has helped partners secure orders with and produce for Wal-Mart as part of their new “Shop for Good” initiative working exclusively with women-led enterprises. Felt flowers crafted by our partner Friends Handicrafts in Nepal and jewelry crafted by Maasai Women Development Organization in Tanzania will be available on Walmart.com in March 2013. We are proud of how far fair trade has come since we started GGP six years ago. By helping to shine a wider lens on the hard work our partners do and growing market access, we can all contribute to achieving greater equity and income for women and their families around the world.