By Lois, Store Manager, Banyan Tree
The dust has settled, and I’m getting comfortable with our new name and our wonderful new location. I’m also immersing myself in learning about the festive and fascinating fair trade products on the market today.
With fair trade, I have the opportunity to buy for both beauty and benefits — and most fair trade products are beneficial in many ways. Take the gorgeous earrings made from butterfly wings imported through Global Exchange.
They start in the butterfly refuge in Puerto Maldonado, in the Amazon Jungle in Peru. This region is home to amazingly diverse animal populations, including more than 900 butterfly species. Among the wildlife refuges in the area is a butterfly preserve, where the wings of naturally-deceased butterflies are harvested for jewelry. Artisans in a Lima co-operative encase them in beautifully formed silver for earrings and other jewelry.
Who benefits? The farmers and artisans, the fair trade consumer, but most importantly, the environment. Commercially viable reserves like the one in Puerto Maldonado protect the jungle from deforestation while providing an important educational resource. We all win.
I expect to have these earrings on display in the next day or so. Please come in the new store at 18 SW First Ave., next to the Mercy Corps Action Center and Skidmore Fountain.
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