Ethically Sourced Wholesale Gifts
Published date: 27/04/2018 15:00
Find out how we design, source and make ethically sourced wholesale giftware.
As a company that started off as a car boot sale, it's always been part of our ethos and belief to support small businesses which is why every year we purchase thousands of ethically sourced gifts, from twig pencils to Guatemalan Worry Dolls, in areas all around the world including Bali, Thailand, China and Guatemala.
How It All Began
Our journey into ethically sourced wholesale giftware really began in 2015 when we acquired Windhorse, an ethically traded giftware company that was inspired and led by Buddhist values. Trading for over 30 years, Windhorse sourced their products from carefully selected suppliers around the world and contributed greatly to supporting social projects in the communities of these suppliers.
When Windhorse sadly ceased trading in the March of 2015, Something Different Wholesale were invited to take on their supplier list and continue distributing the products created.
A New Adventure Begins
From our new acquired suppliers, we were able to introduce beautiful, unique windchimes and suncatchers, bamboo chimes, handcrafted mosaics, rustic driftwood frames, exclusive Buddha statues and many more unique and colourful ethically sourced products to our giftware range. We began to forge strong relationships, working closely together on projects to collaborate on new designs and expand on the initial product ranges. Today we have over 300 ethically sourced products available to purchase.
In addition to taking on the new suppliers, we were also able to continue to support and build on the good work that Windhorse had achieved with selected communities over the years. In 2015 our company founder Jane Wallace-Jones and Commercial Director, Anthony David, travelled to Bali to and Thailand to see first-hand the positive impacts being made in the local communities by these companies.
Today, we are proud to support several community projects in the areas of our suppliers which include the Ban Sai Rom Orphanage in Thailand, the Kupu Kupu foundation in Bali and Mayan Families in Guatemala. You can read more about these community projects on our charities page.
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Jane and Anthony with some of our supplies of ethical giftware
Some of the products developed by our supplier
Much of our ethically sourced giftware is painted by hand
Anthony and Jane visiting Kupu Kupu Foundation, Thailand
For us at Something Different, it's important that you as our customer know that part of our ethos when sourcing suppliers is to:
- Pay a fair price
- Build personal connections with suppliers
- Check for good wages and working conditions
- Be mindful of environmental issues
If you're interested in stocking some of our ethically sourced products, please visit our website. When you do purchase any of our ethically sourced lines, you'll notice they feature the ‘ethically sourced’ sticker which confirms that they have been created in workshops where there are safe production facilities and employees are paid fairly and legally for the work they undertake.
Ethically sourced sticker
Some of our most popular ethically sourced ranges include;
If you have any questions about our ethically sourced giftware, let us know in the comments below or get in touch by email or phone.
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