“Reduce and reuse,” says Shared Earth
As well as being the UK’s largest independent retailer of non-food Fair Trade products, Shared Earth offer the best selection of recycled products, including bags made from crisp packets in Bangladesh, toy cars made from tin cans in Madagascar, office stationery from computer boards in the UK, wall hangings from old saris in India and jewellery from recycled glass in Chile. Shared Earth actively campaign against the use of plastic bags with their jute bags made in India which boast a selection of logos such as ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’, ‘Use me till me bottom wears out’ and ‘Say No to Plastic Bags’. They also backed the Daily Mail’s Banish the Bag campaign.
Shared Earth’s seven shops operate successfully because of their Fair Trade and environmental stance. Three of their shops have opened within the last 3 years with sales and profit substantially increasing. Managing Director Jeremy Piercy has worked hard for over two decades to offer a unique selection of products through Shared Earth branded shops which individually generate in excess of £300,000 per annum.
“Fair Trade is making such a difference,” explains Jeremy. “Critics are quick to question whether the Fairtrade logo is just another way of businesses to profit. We are ensuring that the profits of our fairly traded goods directly benefit those communities that require assistance and this Goa project is a classic example.”
Other planned projects include a carbon offsetting scheme funding a tree-planting operation near Saharanpur in India.
