Queensland Fair Trade Collective

Thank you to Heart of Chocolate for donating delicious prizes to the Fair Trade Christmas Market's raffle for Alola Foundation!

Heart of Chocolate was started in March 2011 by a couple of chocoholics who wanted to provide a fairtrade and ethical alternative to the chocolate lovers of Australia. Our purpose is to supply or create a highly desirable product, which supports workers in developing nations through our weekly shopping and indulgences through having an ethical supply chain.

We've chosen to start with Divine Chocolate, a UK based company that uses fair trade certified cocoa from Ghana, as well as fair trade milk and sugar. Divine Chocolate itself is 45% owned by the Kuapa Kokoo cocoa farmers' cooperative in Ghana, so the cocoa producers and their communities benefit from the company's growth and success, as well as from the sale of fair trade cocoa.

At Heart of Chocolate, we are delighted to offer chocolate products that are beautifully packaged and taste fantastic. We are proud to be providing a product where a greater share of the profits are sent down to the end of the supply chain, to benefit those that work the hardest to provide us with life's little luxuries.

We currently import thirteen different flavours of Divine Chocolate in a variety of 100g and 45g bars. There's something for every chocolate lover, from our best-selling "White Chocolate with Strawberries", the fragrant and creamy "Milk Chocolate with Coffee", a unique "70% Dark Chocolate with Ginger and Orange" and the darkest of range "85% Dark Chocolate". On top of that, we have an extensive gift range including milk and dark chocolate hearts, dark chocolate covered apricots/brazil nuts/mangos, after dinner mints, cocoa powder and even a scrumptious recipe book, which contains 100+ recipes using Divine Chocolate.

We feel truly privileged to be represented by The Dharma Door at this year's www.heartofchocolate.com and www.kuapakokoo.com.

My Fair Ladybird is helping us raise funds for Alola Foundation through the Fair Trade Christmas Market's raffle. Thank you for your generous contribution!

My Fair Ladybird

My Fair Ladybird is dedicated to creating thoughtful, handcrafted giftware for the sophisticated Australian market place.

Working directly with women artisans in Nepal, the product range is focused on the art of Himalayan Lokta paper, handcrafted felt and sterling silver jewellery. Supporting traditional skills, healthy working conditions and ethical trade.

My Fair Ladybird was born in South Australian Christmas markets, 2003. After being involved in the growth of the fair trade industry in Ireland and the UK for the previous 5 years, founder Marianne decided it was time to come home and bring the passion of fair trade and some products along with her.

As a founding member of the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand, we celebrate our dedication to the world of ethical trade, every day.

Happiness can be gained from the smallest things.

www.myfairladybird.com

Sun dried lokta paper on wooden frame

Meet Kaye Menzies, who works with women in Kashmir to share their exquisitely embroidered products with us, and to assist them in their everyday lives amidst a difficult and dangerous political situation.

Kaye Menzies is a sole trader working on a small scale directly with weavers, dyers and embroiderers in Kashmir. Below you will see photographs of some of the women she works with – Meena, Shahmeena and Booba – who carry out the spinning, drawn threadwork and fringing for their collaboratively designed embroidered shawls. They work together, incorporating traditional techniques and designs, to create these pieces. All work is paid for with a fair and mutually agreed upon figure, and the women are provided with equipment and tools where needed, and assisted with medical expenses and school fees.

Kaye has spent several long term stays in Kashmir, and she finds that there is limited knowledge in the West of the difficulties, suppression and human rights atrocities that are still occurring in this region. Yet she has also experienced Kashmiri women's talent and generosity of spirit amid this very depressed economy and repressed way of life. She is hopeful that, with more exposure and promotion of both the traditional and collaborative design products through Fair Trade organisations, the project will continue to grow and expand to offer work to many other widows and young women.

In addition to the exquisite hand-embroidered items, the Kaya Collection also includes Kalamkari hand-block print scarves and bags from a women's group in Rajisthan, and a range of Australian-designed pure cotton voile hand-block printed women's tunic/kurta tops from northern India. Not only are these items Fair Trade, they are printed using environmentally safe dyes.

You can meet Kaye weekly at the Maleny Markets, and on 3rd & 4th December in Brisbane at the Fair Trade Christmas Market.

For more information contact Kaye Menzies on 0404 845660, or email her at kayacollection@bigpond.com.

Thank you to Eternal Creation for donating prizes to the Fair Trade Christmas Market's raffle. With their help we will raise funds to provide early-reader books for Timorese children through Alola Foundation!

Eternal Creation's gorgeous range of Fair Trade babies, childrens, womens and menswear is lovingly crafted and ethically produced in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas.

The entire Eternal Creation range is designed and produced at our tailoring workshop in Dharamsala, a Tibetan refugee community in north India, also home to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The tailoring workshop is Fair Trade certified and employs over 70 staff, spanning Tibetan, Nepali and Indian cultures, and encompassing Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim faiths. We provide a pleasant working environment and fair pay – which equals high employee morale. Rather than outsource to meet growing demand, we’ve concentrated on increasing the capacity of our workshop, providing more jobs for the local community and ensuring our high quality standards and ethical principles are maintained.

A particular focus is womens' employment and training. To help working mothers, we've established a free childrens' creche, as well as providing maternity and paternity leave and bonuses.

Trainees are ensured a fair minimum wage until they get up to speed, and the tailors themselves are involved in setting the stitching rates, rather than allowing an arbitrary retail price to dictate wages.

Our designs combine natural fibres, beautiful prints and classical tailoring techniques. Finishing, beading and embroidery are done by hand, with the attention to detail that has become our trademark.

Visit us online, where you can tour the workshop, meet the tailors and find out more about the amazing Eternal Creation story!

Email: shop@eternalcreation.com, Web: www.eternalcreation.com