We haven’t even begun back to school shopping yet and already I’m thinking about doing some fall cleaning and some redecorating. I clean (of course) but every couple of months I need to do a deep cleaning – the infamous “fall cleaning” and “spring cleaning” except I do it every other month, give or take. I also want to do a little redecorating by adding some artwork to the wall, moving things around, maybe add a few more decorative pieces here and there.
I like to support good causes. I like to shop from companies that offer Fair Trade products. Fair Trade means that the people who are creating the products are paid fairly for their work. Another words “slave labor” or “sweat shops” where not used to create the products.
I would never want to buy a product knowing it was created by an 8 year old child who worked 20 hours per day for mere pennies. That is just awful! Even if this day and age there are plenty of goods sold every day that were produced by women, children and impoverished people who are forced to work insane hours and get paid hardly anything while the company rakes in the profits.
One such Fair Trade company is Dsenyo. Dsenyo works with groups in Africa and Latin America to create jobs for those less fortunate.
According to Dsenyo…
Dsenyo takes a holistic approach making it not only about paying a fair wage, but also building capacity, committing to work with marginalized people who need these opportunities the most, being good stewards of the environment, respecting cultural traditions, working collaboratively and engaging the producers in the decision-making process and developing long-term relationships among other things. For a full list of these nine principles of Fair Trade please visit www.fairtradefederation.org.
You can read more about Dsenyo’s commitment to the Fair Trade industry and their workers on the company’s “About” page.
Dsenyo has many items available for purchase from jewelry to home decor and from toys to apparel. Their products are proudly made by people in Brasil, Malawi and Zambia. On their site you can shop by the different countries, or under the different categories.
Dsenyo sent me a couple of products to check out for myself to see what the quality of the craftsmanship is. They sent me a gorgeous bangle bracelet and a cute plush rabbit. The bracelet is gorgeous. It’s made with fabric remnants remaining from other products, which makes them eco-friendly since they are repurposing the left over fabric pieces and not tossing them into the garbage.
The bracelet is very well made. Its hard to tell where the fabric started and ended. It looks like it could be all one piece of fabric.
The fabric gives the bracelet a nice texture too. It’s so colorful!
The one I received could match with many different outfits. It’s also nice enough to wear on a night on the town and casual enough to wear when running around town doing errands.
Sadly mine doesn’t fit me. It’s too small to fit around my hand. The bracelets are available in narrow or wide widths. Either mine is narrow width or my hand is too big. Since I can’t wear it I am thinking about giving it as a gift to my co-worker. She would love it. Another product I received from Dsenyo is a plush toy. It looks like a rabbit. It’s part of Dsenyo’s “Little Friends” collection. They are made in Malawi.
These handmade dolls are meticulously hand stitched and made out of 100% cotton African fabric with soft jersey knit. They are stuffed with poly fill and can be cleaned in the washer and dried in the dryer.
It’s hard to believe this is hand stitched. The stitching on the one I was sent to review look perfect – as if it was sewn with a machine. I’ve hand stitched things before and you can tell it was hand stitched.
These women do an amazing job and clearly are very talented with what they do.
The plush Little Friends are available in a colorful variety of animals including a zebra, elephant, owl, fox, lion, hippo and more.
Dsenyo has a lot of beautiful products. The site is worth checking out.
Whether you are looking to add some decorative pieces to your home, jewelry, clothing or a gift for someone special stop by Dsenyo and support Fair Trade.
For more information or to see all of their available products please visit www.Dsenyo.com. They are also found on the various social media sites (links are found at the bottom of their website).
Do you support Fair Trade? What do you think about Dsenyo products? Feel free to share your thoughts.
*I received free product samples in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.