27 February, 2012

It's Fairtrade Fortnight!

Here in Ireland we can be proud of our Fairtrade record; consumer spending on Fairtrade Certified products in Ireland grew by an estimated 16% in 2011 to rise to EUR159,000,000, up from EUR138,000,000 in 2010. Ireland now has one of the highest per capita spends on Fairtrade Certified products anywhere in the world.

Fairtrade Ireland tell us that last year, as in recent years, the growth in sales has been driven by companies converting well-known brands to Fairtrade. The most recent product to announce a conversion to Fairtrade is Maltesers, which will be on shelves by April this year. Maltesers now joins other iconic chocolate products like Cadbury Dairy Milk and Nestle Kit Kat, and all of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in announcing a switch over to Fairtrade.

However, the recession has hit Fairtrade Certified coffee sales which are down 6% by value compared to 2010. “Obviously Fairtrade isn’t completely immune to the economic downturn as we can see with the small decline in sales for Fairtrade coffee” said Peter Gaynor, Executive Director, with Fairtrade Ireland, “we and our supporters need to encourage businesses and institutions like colleges, to stick with Fairtrade. Interestingly though, even with coffee, it’s not all bad news as The Insomnia Coffee Company saw their sales of Fairtrade coffee grow by 2%” added Gaynor. The vast bulk of the 650 tonnes of Fairtrade Certified coffee sold in Ireland are by five companies; Bewley’s, Insomnia, Java Republic , Robert Roberts and Starbucks.  Here at Arusha Fair Trade we are proud to offer coffee from Fairtrade Pioneers Cafe Direct.

On a further positive note, sales of Fairtrade Certified bananas grew by an estimated 25% in 2011 to 3,250 tonnes and the bulk of these sales are with just three companies; Global Fruit, Fyffes, and Smyths.
In separate developments Fairtrade Ireland expects to make in-roads into non-traditional, non-food Fairtrade Certified product categories like cosmetics and cotton.

The Swedish natural cosmetics company, Oriflame, which has its research and development department in Bray in Co Wicklow, will be launching its new Fairtrade Certified, EcoBeauty range, of three cosmetic products in Ireland during Fairtrade Fortnight 2012. The EcoBeauty range will be sold in over 60 countries word-wide and will bring significant benefits to small farmers of Shea nuts and coconuts in Burkina Faso and India. This innovative new product range was developed by the Oriflame R&D department in Ireland for its global distribution channels.

Burkina Faso in West Africa also features in a new report published by Fairtrade Ireland, ‘Cotton on To Fairtrade’, illustrating the difficulties that millions of small-scale cotton farmers in developing countries face gaining access to rich markets. Due to subsidies for wealthy country producers of cotton in the EU and US, it is estimated that four West African countries, Burkina Faso, Mali, Benin and Chad lose up to US$250 million per annum in income from their cotton sales. These four West African countries, though small in terms of global cotton production, at only 4%, nevertheless depend significantly on cotton for their export earnings – cotton accounts for about 60% of Burkina Faso’s export earnings.

During Fairtrade Fortnight 2012, Sigfredo Benitez, from the Cooperativa Los Pinos coffee coop, in El Salvador; and Samatha Valluri from the CHETNA group in India, who work with small scale cotton farmers will visit many of the Fairtrade Towns groups around Ireland.
Ireland has the highest number of Fairtrade Towns groups per capita of any country in the world. There are now 47 officially recognised Fairtrade Towns and Cities that have met the Fairtrade Towns criteria. Naas will be officially recognised a Fairtrade Town during Fairtrade Fortnight. And 30 more towns are seeking Fairtrade Town status – adding up to a total of 78 volunteer Fairtrade Town groups around the country.

24 December, 2011

Forgotten Anything?

It happens to everybody; it’s the day before Christmas, you are finished with Christmas shopping and then you realise you have forgotten something. Time for a mad panic! But don’t worry we can help!  There is one gift you can order online on the last day of Christmas shopping and still have delivered in time for Christmas; a Gift Certificate from Arusha Fair Trade.   We’ll send the Certificate straight to your inbox; you print it out, present it to your loved one and tell them you thought they would like to choose their own present.   If you like we can add a personal message to the gift certificate, just tell us what you have in mind in the delivery notes section when you are ordering online.

Delivery will be free for your gift recipient; when they place an order using a gift certificate, or voucher, delivery is automatically added free of charge.  There is no expiry date on our gift certificates and vouchers.  Click here to buy a gift certificate.

06 December, 2011

Stocking Filler Idea

This pen is made from wood and comes with a case, also made of wood.  Both are decorated with traditional Worli art.   Costing just €11.95 it makes a great stocking filler or a gift for a 'difficult to buy for' Dad.


Worli art originates from a small tribe of the same name living in Maharashtra, India. Their tribal paintings are spontaneous expressions of folk life, customs and beliefs, conveyed on these products through simple ink-pen drawings on maple wood.






Click here to purchase from our online shop.

05 December, 2011

Beautiful Shoulder Bags now with 25% off

Beautiful shoulder bag made with softest fine Indian goat suede and sheep leather.  25% off the regular price.  Are you tempted?  This bag would make a great Christmas Present and they are now just €56.   Buy this bag and you help support girls in Nepal who have been rescued from a life of slavery. 



This large slouch shoulder bag is is available in brown, black or grey. The main body is made of soft suede with leather detail and leather shoulder straps, magnetic catch to close. It is fully lined with cotton and includes an internal zip.

The bag is handmade in Nepal but hardware is not produced locally in Nepal and so to reduce air miles over the Himalayas, this unique collection excludes hardware, highlighting the soft combination of sheep leather and softest Indian goat suede.

These beautiful bags are made by girls rescued from slavery from the Indian circuses by the Esther Benjamins Trust. You can read more about the story of these girls on the product page of our online shop.

28 June, 2011

Fiver Friday


July 1st 2011 is Fiver Friday in Ireland.  Joe Duffy and the RTE Liveline Team are encouraging consumers to give the economy a little boost by spending an extra fiver locally.


Here at Arusha we are offering all our customers a €5 discount plus a free gift on all orders received from 1st to 3rd July.


How do I use my discount voucher? 
Begin by browsing our store.  Make your selections and click to add them to your cart.  Then  click on the "CART" button to the left of your screen.  
You will see a voucher box  enter the code  "FIVER" and €5 will be deducted from the cost of your order.  (Please make sure you click on the CART button and not the CHECKOUT button.) 
  




26 May, 2011

Fair Trade Pan Pipes

A traditional South American instrument recreated in young bamboo. The artists have created an intricate etched design to the wood. A scale of 12 notes is bound together with bamboo and twine. It is played by blowing across the top of the note to create a haunting, flute like sound. 

Please note this is a real musical instrument (e.g. not a toy) from a range produced in Indonesia by local artists, communities and craftsmen. All raw materials are sustainable and legal.