Ten Thousand Villages

About

Ten Thousand Villages of Glen Ellyn is one of a network of nonprofit retail stores providing a fair trade marketplace in North America for artisans in developing regions in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.

Story

Ten Thousand Villages in Glen Ellyn, IL, is a fair trade retailer of artisan-crafted home decor, personal accessories and gift items from across the globe. Featuring products from more than 130 artisan groups in some 38 countries, we are part of a network of over 390 retail outlets throughout the United States selling Ten Thousand Villages products.

As one of the world’s oldest and largest fair trade organizations, Ten Thousand Villages has spent more than 60 years cultivating trading relationships in which artisans receive a fair price for their work and consumers have access to distinctive handcrafted items. We seek to establish long-term buying relationships in places where skilled artisans are under- or unemployed, and in which they lack other opportunities for income. A founding member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), Ten Thousand Villages sees fair trade as an alternative approach to conventional international trade.

Mission

Ten Thousand Villages provides vital, fair income to people in developing countries by marketing their handicrafts and telling their stories in North America. Ten Thousand Villages works with artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed. This income helps pay for food, education, health care and housing. Ten Thousand Villages is a nonprofit corporation that was established by the Mennonite Central Committee.

Products

Jewelry, personal accessories, home decor, tabletop, personal care, plant & garden, stationery, baskets, musical instruments, textiles, art & sculpture, toys & games, chocolate/coffee/tea, soup & cookie mixes