You’re The One That I Want

Day 13- today’s task is to write a blog post using a name of a song.

If you are a regular here you may remember MAMA SAID THERE WILL BE DAYS LIKE THIS

For today’s post it is that tune from Grease-

You are the one I want to describe the perfect customer for Ethnic Supplies product range

But first an introduction to Ethnic Supplies

Sleeping baskets for Dogs- Handmade from banana fibres

 

Ethnic Supplies aims are to promote economic and social development of East African women involved in handicraft and textile production by enabling them to bring their products to the market.

We work very closely with our producers to bring you the customer the very best handmade and ethically produced African handicrafts and fashion accessories created using natural materials and method. The women we work with are almost always excluded from any form of employment and this is their only source of income, therefore buying our products provides valuable income to these women.

We identify our producers through a referral system, and before we begin working with them a company representative visits them to assess the integrity and the work of the groups concerned.

Our purchase prices are determined by the women we work with as they are best placed to decide the value of the effort that they put into the work that they produce

 

The perfect Ethnic Supplies  customer

  1. Are you looking for a unique fashion accessory or home-ware
  2. Do like handmade products as opposed to mass produced
  3. Do you care about social issues
  4. Are you a vegan?
  5. Do you hate waste?
  6. Do you love vibrant colours?
  7. Do you care about the environment?
  8. Do you care that your fashion accessories have a story behind them
  9. Would you like to change your shopping habits
  10. do you like the idea of supporting companies with a strong social agenda
  11. Do you care that whatever it is you buy was ethically produced and that the producer got a fair wage?
  12. Are you looking for a fashion accessory made sustainably?
  13. Do you believe in trade being a better way of ending poverty
  14. Do you believe in taking direct action to end poverty
  15. Do you care about conservation
  16. What are your views on Fair trade?
  17. Do you subscribe to the view that there is no such thing as cheap fashion
  18. Do you care about the ethics of fashion
  19. Do you own a gift shop and are looking for unique gifts?
  20. Are you a retailer ?
  21. Are you a whole sale buyer

So how did you do? Does any of the above apply to you? If so  YOU ARE THE ONE  I WANT AS A CUSTOMER

 

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Is it ethnic or African fashion?

Day 9 of the 30 day blog challenge and if you missed yesterday’s post you can catch up here.

 

Today is all about SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION using some key phrases that folk use when searching for this blog. Hmmmmm… a tall order here, but I am not one to shy away from a challenge and besides I have come this far  and all that..

Nivo raffia basket

 

 

The starting point for me are the products behind Ethnic Supplies which I describe as – Fashion accessories, art and handicrafts from East Africa. But are those the words that folk would type into a search engine to find our online shop?

A quick search tells me may be not, instead the following words come up

Africa Tote Bag- from Tanzania

 

  1. ethnic fashion
  2. African fashion
  3. African jewellery
  4. African bags
  5. African art
  6. African masks
  7. handmade bags

Key words aside African or ethnic fashion as some call it offers a sustainable way out of poverty especially women.

Why? Fashion provides an opportunity to lift many African people out of poverty as VALUE can easily be added at source unlike some of the agricultural products such as coffee. In addition Africa fashion accessories produced by women are mostly from recycled or organic materials and are from sustainable sources

 

Raw Wild Silk scarf- Madagascar

In Madagascar for instance, wild (raw) silk is collected from the forests and woven into beautiful fabrics. These fabrics are for instance used in the making of this bag which starts life as a plain basket made from palm leaves. Palm leaves have no use unless value has been added to them.

nivo-raw wild-silk basket

 

 

In Rwanda sisal, a cactus like plant is used in the making of these beautiful baskets, the same material is used in the making of these silver sterling earrings.

Gahaya Links basket- made from sisal

 

 

 

 

The bark cloth from Uganda is very environmentally friendly as its extraction does not involve the cutting down of a tree; simply the bark is removed, and is allowed to grow back.

 

 

So there you have it folk, what phrases would you  use to find Ethnic Supplies

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Questions about fashion

Here at Ethnic Supplies, ending poverty is about job creation in order that African women can achieve financial independence. To that end I promote and sell the work of women that produce fashion accessories , art and crafts. The products are all handmade from natural or recycled materials.

Gahaya Links basket

I have recently found myself in deep thought as to how much the public understand about some of the terms that are used in the fashion industry and the impact of this on what I am trying to do here at Ethnic Supplies

 

This post is therefore my way of seeking feedback from the public on some of these terms. So over to you folk.

WHAT IS YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE FOLLOWING TERMS AS APPLIED TO FASHION ACCESSORIES ?

  1. sustainable
  2. sustainability
  3. FairTrade
  4. fairly traded
  5. fair trade
  6. humane silk
  7. ethical
  8. ethically produced
  9. Eco
  10. Eco friendly
  11. handmade
  12. handcrafted
  13. fair wage
  14. organic
  15. green
  16. suitable for vegetarian
  17. environmentally friendly
  18. sweat shops
  19. value addition

I also wonder what influences your choice when shopping,

would the above terms influence your choice when shopping?

If so why?

Are you happy to pay a premium for  a product with any of the above labels? If  so why?

I will keep this short so that we can have a discussion.

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