Tauranga store with a fair view on trade

A silk shawl, silver jewellery, a bar of dark chocolate, a cup of finest espresso - it doesn't take much to "fair trade" your world.
But the impact of that purchase is felt across the world.
It is World Fair Trade fortnight and Tauranga Trade Aid will celebrate with giveaways and specials.
By selling their craft through fair trade networks, producers can support their family, or a whole community to work their way out of poverty
"What we do makes a difference. The craftspeople know what a difference it has made to their lives," said Trade Aid Tauranga store manager Melanie Burke, who has just returned from a trip to India and Thailand visiting fair trade suppliers of craft and jewellery.
It was a mind-changing trip, taking Melanie well out of her western civilisation comfort zone.
"There were 10 of us, the places we visited were deep inside the slums of India and in remote villages in Thailand.
"Even though I know what poverty is, to actually see it first-hand was staggering.
"In India the slums were narrow, very narrow passageways, crowds of people. It was a real rabbit warren. We could so easily have got lost."
The group was hosted by the local fair trade organiser Tara, which oversees and organises the many local craftspeople. They led them through the slums.
Melanie said the locals were most proud of their savings book. Bringing it out and explaining how much money they had saved and telling their individual stories about how they began and what they produced.
Melanie said it was exciting to see items they had in the Tauranga store being produced, the jewellery and the stone craft in India. The stone was in huge slabs which were broken down and then ground before inlays were put in.
"Part of the fair trade principles is to look after the health of the workers and to look after the environment so there were huge extractor fans and vacuums to cope with the large quantities of dust. And nothing is wasted. It is collected and then sold on to use for talcum powder," said Melanie.
The trip to Thailand took them eight hours into the mountains where remote Thai tribes produce beautiful weaving, highly coloured cloth along with beautiful jewellery and handmade paper.
"Items such as these tell a story of a craft group or family living in cities or villages that many New Zealanders may never have heard of. But by buying these products we can reach out to support the work of these groups in some of the poorest regions of the world.
"This is the essence of fair trade - making sure the people who make or produce the goods are receiving some benefits from the sale of their goods," said Melanie.
Trade Aid is a member of the World Fair Trade Organisation. Any profit is sent back to the craftspeople for health, education and to set women up in their own businesses.