We are a family-owned, specialty shop featuring unique gifts, clothing, jewelry, home décor, coffee, chocolate and more from over 40 developing countries. We aim to advocate for amazingly talented artisans who aren’t in the position to advocate on their own behalf. The items in our shop are beautiful and all handcrafted by small producer groups or individual artisans who are paid a living wage for their labor under safe working conditions. This living wage allows them to meet basic needs such as clean water, education, medical care, etc. Fair trade also helps defeat the problems of human trafficking, forced child labor, slavery and illegal immigration. We believe that if we change the way we make our purchases, we can help make the world a better place!
Where do our products come from?
We purchase most of the products you see in our shop and website from members of the Fair Trade Federation. Look for this logo on the tags you see in our shop. We choose to support local and regional fair trade vendors first! The items you see in our shop that come from Ecuador, Peru, Columbia, Bolivia, Mexico, Nepal, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda have been purchased from our vendor friends that live in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois but work with artisans in those countries. We maintain long term, trusting relationships with these vendors so that they can do the same with the artisan groups in those countries.
We partner with several non-profit fair trade organizations as well. The largest of these include SERRV and Ten Thousand Villages, both of whom have been in existence since the 1940s and work with hundreds of artisan groups around the world. We also support smaller non-profit groups and church organizations in order to create a marketplace for the items that result from their missions as well.
To learn more about fair trade, visit our website at www.fairtradeforall.net or sign up for one of our “Fair Trade 101” Store tours at either location.
What kind of products and gifts can you find in our shop?
Our line of products includes clothing for men, women and children, clothing accessories, silver jewelry, eco-friendly jewelry, fashion jewelry, hats, hand bags, purses, ethinic musical instruments, home decor, sculptures, christmas ornaments, nativities, holiday decorations, textiles, games, puzzles, toys, organic coffee, chocolate, tea and snacks, and many more.
Our story:
Allen Christian, from North Africa and Gail Bennett met while living in Asia in the 1990s. Before they met, Allen had the “opportunity” to work in a sweat factory during some tough times while living abroad. These experiences were shocking to him. As he became interested in the situations of others around the world, he learned of many people who were unable to support themselves due to religious and other forms of persecution. Having read a passage in Isaiah 58, he felt a burden to do something to help the poor. He wanted to start a business where he could help people learn to support themselves through a trade. Allen, Gail & their son Yacob moved back to Milwaukee and Allen learned about the fair trade movement from Gail’s mom, Alice Foley, a long-time peace activist. He felt that starting a fair trade business could be his mission! We opened our shop in 2007 and have had a life-changing experience rubbing shoulders with people doing amazing things to bring about positive change in the world. We hope that our shop inspires you and we can all work together to make the world a safe and fair place for everyone!
Our line of products include apparel for men, women and children, clothing accessories, eco-friendly jewelry, decor and tapestry, textiles, home and office accents, sculptures and art work, ethnic musical instruments, toys and games, holiday gifts and ornaments, books and stationary, fair trade coffee, tea and chocolate, etc. Many items have been made from recycled or reclaimed materials or other natural resources.
We are active in the local community and we provide support for several organizations, especially that work among the less advantaged youth. We are also proud members of Our Milwaukee a local business alliance (www.ourmilwaukee.net), Milwaukee Fair Trade Coalition (www.fairtrademilw.org), and Fair Trade Independent Stores a nationwide network for fair trade retailers (www.ftis.info).
Our products are unique, high quality, handmade and eco-friendly. Our customer service is outstanding. Our goal is to make all of our customers happy and wise shoppers. We also have a very large selection of items to choose from.
We constantly run promotions. We urge our customers to always keep an eye on our website, facebook page, twitter and email.
Our retail store is localed at 8730 W. North Ave. Wauwatosa, WI 53226.
For payment, we accept cash, checks, Visa and Master credit/debit cards, paypal, money orders and we also do Layaway.
For any addition info and contact email us at
Chocolate, Coffee and Tea
Apparel, Clothing and Accessories
Decors and Baskets
Holiday and Anniversary Gifts
Home and Office Accents
Fashion Jewelry and Accessories
Ethnic Musical Instruments
Stationery and Cards
Toys, Puzzles and Games Wood carvings and sculptures
Nativities and Ornaments
Novelty Products and Many More...
Fair Trade Shop in Milwaukee 
