Ten Thousand Villages
 |
|
| Non-profit organization | |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Headquarters | Akron, Pennsylvania, US |
|
Key people
|
Carl Lundblad, CEO, Ed Diller, Chair of the Board |
| Products | Home Décor, Jewelry, Personal Accessories, Tabletop, Plant and Garden, Baskets, Personal Care, Global Treasures, Stationary, Toys and Games, Musical Instruments, Nativities and Festive Decor |
| Revenue |
 $27.7 million USD (2011) |
|
$358,230 USD (2011) |
|
| Website | tenthousandvillages.com |
Ten Thousand Villages is a nonprofit fair trade organization that markets handcrafted products made by disadvantaged artisans from more than 120 artisan groups in more than 35 countries.
As one of the world’s largest and oldest fair trade organizations, Ten Thousand Villages cultivates long-term buying relationships in which artisans receive a fair price for their work and consumers have access to gifts, accessories and home décor from around the world. Ten Thousand Villages is a founding member of the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT) and a certified member of the Fair Trade Federation (FTF). Ten Thousand Villages is also a nonprofit partner of Mennonite Central Committee.
The original philosophy of Ten Thousand Villages was inspired by Mennonite values including compassion, service, mutual aid, and peacemaking. The founding of Ten Thousand Villages in the mid-twentieth century marks the beginning of a movement later to be called "fair trade." Edna Ruth Byler was moved to take action by the poverty she witnessed during a trip to Puerto Rico in 1946.
Byler began a grassroots campaign among her family and friends in the United States by selling handcrafted products out of the trunk of her car. She sought to provide sustainable economic opportunities for artisans in developing countries by creating a viable marketplace for their products. Over 30 years, Byler worked to connect individual entrepreneurs in developing countries with market opportunities in North America.
In the 1970s the small project moved out of Byler's basement to become SELFHELP Crafts of the World, an official program of Mennonite Central Committee. In 1996, SELFHELP became Ten Thousand Villages, a retail company that now has over 100 stores in the United States and Canada. The new name was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi who said “India is not to be found in its few cities but in the 700,000 villages.”
By 2008, the company’s sales had surpassed $25.5 million, one third of which was paid to artisans directly. The other two thirds covered importing, storage, marketing, retail costs, and administration.
...
Wikipedia