Fairer World update 28.10.26

Posted on October 30, 2026 by Author

A new Food Products price list dated 28.10.26 is available to view and download from our Delivery page.

How is the shop doing?

Following the absolute slow down in sales in August, which we reported in the previous Fairer World update, sales picked up in September, an increase which has been carried forward into October. Sales are now showing a sizeable increase on those of October 2025 and October 2024. The church and community stalls which Fairer World supplies continue to increase in number and generally also to increase in sales totals. Thank you to everyone. And, though these sales increases are very welcome immediately, both in paying the bills and generating cash to place further orders, the crucial sales period is, of course, November and December. In that context we are still looking for more ways of publicising the shop / attracting customers and are looking for more stalls as well. Please see below. 

Christmas products

We now have almost the full range of Christmas foods and crafts. The Christmas foods are all listed on the above-mentioned Food Products price list dated 28.10.26. 

The highlights are as follows

  • Meaningful Chocolate Co. milk chocolate and dark chocolate Advent calendars with the Christmas story – these are sometimes called the Real Advent calendars. Also Divine milk and dark chocolate Advent calendars, There are no card (i.e. non chocolate) Advent calendars at Fairer World. 
  • Divine dark chocolate coins in nets, milk chocolate coins in nets and single milk chocolate giant coins.
  • Meaningful Chocolate Christmas Blessings bars, both milk chocolate and dark chocolate. Also Meaningful Chocolate Christingle milk chocolate orange and milk chocolate angels, available singly or in a box of 30 angels. 
  • Christmas cards: we have our usual very good selection, comprising 12 different designs of Amnesty International and 24 designs of Transform Trade, plus some oddments. Transform Trade cards are branded “Traidcraft”. (Transform Trade used to be called Traidcraft Exchange, is Traidcraft’s direct successor, and has the right to use the Traidcraft brand name).
  • Christmas wrap and presentation bags made out of lokta paper in Nepal. Lokta is a shrub which grows quickly, making it a sustainable source of wrapping and, because it is fair trade as well, the producers benefit more accordingly. We also have bulk produced recycled wrap supporting Transform Trade.
  • Christmas decorations: wonderful papier mache hand painted baubles and bells plus hand painted wooden stars, all from Kashmir; olive wood tree decorations from Bethlehem and paper ones from Nepal and Thailand; Bethlehem Baubles – traditional glass decorations handmade in Bethlehem from recycled glass by artisans who no longer have pilgrims to sell to and, as a result, need to find sales outlets to prevent their craft from dying out. 

Selling Christmas products

As we have mentioned previously, we would like to have more stalls from churches / organisations, and welcome individuals to try having one in their own environment – in a local hall / community centre, maybe, or perhaps in their place of work or place of worship / in their own homes, and show what fair trade can do in the run-up to Christmas. For these, Fairer World can supply the goods and offer help and advice. See our stalls page for more details of how we can support you.

New products and restocks

Foods

New: Ombar organic, gluten free, fairly traded and vegan m’lk chocolate and vegan peanut butter m’lk chocolate.

New: Tony’s Chocolonely: three filled bars: filled truffle bar 127g – milk chocolate with a cocoa cream filling; salted caramel filled bar 135g – milk chocolate with salted caramel and caramel pieces: filled praline hazelnut crunch 127g – milk chocolate with hazelnut caramel filling and caramelised hazelnut pieces. All fairly traded and glutenfree. 

Full restock of Tony’s Chocolonely range and Divine chocolate.

New season Cocoa Loco range of organic truffles and dark chocolate ginger, mango raspberry stars and cinnamon quills have just arrived. These products no longer carry the Fairtrade Mark but Cocoa Loco has told us that the supply chain remains the same.

A restock of the full range of jams, sauces and chutney from Meru Herbs, a producer in Kenya empowering women and young people.

All food products, except sugar, are in stock. None of our suppliers have any fair trade bags of sugar, unfortunately.

Crafts

More ceramics from Palestine and rainbow pottery from Thailand.

A good restock of Thought bamboo mix socks, and some made from organic cotton.

Full restock of our best selling incense from Auroville, an environmental town in South India.

Restock of glitter pens, glitter bangles, small glitter boxes and other inexpensive crafts from India.

Lots more hand knitted wool hats from Nepal along with some gloves, both supporting Child Rescue Nepal as well as the local community. 

More earrings, hair slides, bangles and brooches made by Mayan people in Mexico and purses and velvet shoulder purses from Mayan people in Guatemala.

Another restock of painted wood letters, jigsaws, Noah’s Arks and mini vehicles, plus fabric dolls, all from Sri Lanka.

Hand made paper cards from Nepal, some with hand painted fabric batik on the front; embroidered cards from Bangladesh and handmade cards from Kenya made out of a combination of a weed called water hyacinth and re-used wire. 

White poppies, from the Peace Pledge Union in the UK, 80p. 

Best selling product discontinued

We have just been told by our supplier that Cafedirect has discontinued Cafedirect Freeze Dried Machu Picchu Instant Decaf 100g due to the cost of manufacture. We have some stock at the moment but that is not likely to last until Christmas. We will try to obtain more stock of Clipper Org Freeze Dried Instant Decaf, at present the only alternative that we can find, but this sells at a higher price. 

Trees For Life

The donations box at Fairer World is for Trees For Life, a tree planting programme in Palestine run by the Palestine Fair Trade Association. We have recently sent £250 to Trees For Life, which is sufficient to plant 50 olive trees. The whole of this amount has been provided by donations from our customers. Thank you to everyone.

We are continuing to collect cash for this tree programme and will send off some more when a decent amount has accumulated. For anyone who wishes to fund the planting of some olive tree saplings direct themselves, details may be found at https://zaytoun.uk/plant-a-tree/. 

Some coming events, in brief

Locations are in York unless otherwise stated.

At all the listed events below Christmas products supplied by Fairer World will be available.

Sat 31 Oct Coffee Morning at Heworth Methodist Church 09.30 to 1.00

Sat 31 Oct Coffee on the Green (indoors) at Poppleton Methodist Church 10.00-3.00

Tue 3 Nov Coffee and Lunch on the Green (indoors) at Poppleton Methodist Church, stall open 10.00 to 1.00

Sat 7 Nov Coffee Morning at St Clement’s Church 10.00-11.30

Sat / Sun 28 / 29 Nov St John’s Church, Stamford Bridge, Christmas Tree Festival stall open 10.00-4.00 Sat, 2.00-4.00 Sun

Sat 28 Nov Poppleton Methodist Church Christmas Fair 10.00-3.00. 

Sat 28 Nov St Luke’s Church Coffee Morning in Church Hall 10.30-12.30

Tue 1 Dec Poppleton Methodist Church Coffee and Lunch on the Green (indoors) at Poppleton Methodist Church, stall open 10.00-1.00

Fri 4 to Sun 6 Dec Strensall Methodist Church Christmas Tree Event 10.00 Fri to 4.00 Sun

Sat 5 Dec All Saints Church Poppleton Christmas Coffee Morning in Church Hall 10.00-12.00

Sat 5 Dec Coffee Morning at St Clement’s Church 10.00-11.30

Sat 12 Dec St Luke’s Church Christmas Fair in Church Hall 10.00-1.00

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Shop Open Day, Thursday 1 October 2026

Posted on September 22, 2026 by Author

To mark Fairtrade Fortnight, Fairer World is extending a warm welcome to everyone who would like to visit the shop on our special Open Day.

We are offering:

  • Product tasting
  • Refreshments
  • Tours of the shop shelves with questions + (hopefully!) answers

Thursday 1 October, 11.00am to 4.00pm, 84 Gillygate, York YO31 7EQ

We look forward to welcoming you!

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Fairer World update 16.9.26

Posted on September 16, 2026 by Author

Welcome to our regular round-up of news from the shop, new products and local fair trade events!

New Products

Foods

Divine milk chocolate 12.5g size and 70% cocoa dark chocolate 12.5g size – these are new sizes of established products.

Liberation Chilli & Lime Cashews roasted with peanuts & corn and Salted Cashews and Peanuts are now back in stock after a lengthy absence. Liberation Natural Mixed Nuts (brazils, peanuts, cashews, almonds and macademias) have also returned to the shop shelves after an even longer absence. 

True Origin Chilli & Garlic Beer Bread, Garlic & Herb Beer Bread and Olive & Rosemary Beer Bread have arrived at Fairer World. Sourced from Barret’s Ridge, a small woman-focused business in South Africa, which helps empower women, creating jobs in local communities and supporting children in disadvantaged areas. 

Zaytoun Caramelised Almonds, Roasted Chilli Almonds and Smoked Almonds are on the shop shelves. These seasonal favourites are available at Fairer World at the moment but supplies are limited. Caramelised Almonds and Smoked Almonds have already sold out at Zaytoun’s warehouse. 

Christmas Foods

Divine Dark Chocolate and Milk Chocolate Advent calendars are in stock.

Meaningful Chocolate Company Dark Chocolate and Milk Chocolate Advent calendars and Christmas chocolate products are on order, expected very soon. 

Christmas Crafts and Cards

Amnesty International Christmas cards and New Internationalist calendars are on order, expected shortly.

Papier mache baubles and bells, and painted wooden stars – classic Christmas decorations from Kashmir – have just arrived at Fairer World.

Transform Trade Christmas cards and wrap are now in stock.

Fairtrade Fortnight 21 September – 4 October 2026

Run by the Fairtrade Foundation www.fairtrade.org.uk, this year’s theme is “Do It Fair – For People, For Planet, and for Fair Pay”. Resources are available at fairtrade.net 

Fairer World will have a window display, can offer advice, if any is needed, and is having an open day on Thursday 1 October – see below. 

Events

Wednesday 23 September 7.30 to 9.30pm. Fairtrade Wine and Chocolate Evening at Gateway Centre, Front Street, Acomb, YO24 3BZ. Arranged by York Fair Trade Forum and The Co-op. Informal wine tasting and chocolate tasting. Admission free. 40 spaces available. Free parking available at nearby Morrisons Car Park. Poster below and at fairtradeyork.org.uk.

Friday 25 September 7.00 to 9.00pm. Social Fundraiser for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) at Haxby and Wigginton Methodist Church, The Village, Haxby, YO32 3RR. MAP speakers. Silent art auction. Home bakes. Fairer World Palestine products stall. Everyone welcome. Poster below and at Fairer World.

Thursday 1 October 11.00am to 4.00pm. Open Day at the Fairer World shop. Product tasting, refreshments, tours of the shop shelves, where we will try to answer any questions etc. 

Saturday 24 October 7.30 to 10.30pm. Grand Ceilidh at York Hospital Social Club, White Cross Road, YO31 8JR, in aid of Amnesty International. Live music from Bandiera Rossa. Bar. Raffle. Doors open 7pm. Tickets: Adults £10, under 16’s £5, from Amnesty Bookshop, Micklegate (cash only) or online from wegottickets.com/F/26172. Details on York Amnesty website  https://www.ai-york.uk/events.html. Poster at Fairer World. 

Saturday 3 October to Sunday 1 November. York Environment Festival. Programme of events available at Fairer World and at https://yorkenvironmentfestival.org.uk/events/. 

How is the shop doing?

Sales in August were quite low. The first half of August was poor, even by August standards. Too often we seemed to experience visitors to York coming in to the shop, walking round, and walking out again. Understandably many visitors may never have seen the inside of a fair trade shop before, but it is frustrating that they do not take the rare opportunity to do some shopping without exploitation. This was compounded by low chocolate sales – a familiar situation in hot weather – and with that the temporary removal of one of the standard items which keep the cash register moving. In a fairly stagnant situation, sales of rainbow pottery from Thailand and dolls from Sri Lanka were highlights of activity, with the customers being drawn in by the stock in the windows. 

During the second half of last month, mercifully, sales began to pick up as we regained some impetus at last. That improvement has been carried forward into September. We now look forward to gathering pace in the run-up to Christmas – as has happened in every previous year.

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Fairer World Update 07.08.26

Posted on August 8, 2026 by Author

How is the shop doing?

The Fairer World shop was busy and sales were good in the run-up to Easter this year but since then sales have been generally slow, unfortunately, and, understandably, became slower still in the very hot weeks we experienced this summer. Repeat customers are very significant at Fairer World in terms of sales and we realise that people from York and round about tend to come into the city centre less when it is very hot, or when it is thronged during holiday periods – or are away themselves. We look towards the Autumn and the run-up to Christmas, when shop sales are traditionally a lot higher. 

Fortunately, sales for the most recent whole financial year 01.04.25 to 31.03.26 were £82,832, compared to £77,166 for the year 01.04.24 to 31.03.25, showing a reasonable increase for the year as a whole, as we continue to recover from Covid. The sales are nevertheless still considerably lower than they were ten or fifteen years ago. 

Another development of concern to us is that there has been a fall-off in the number of orders for delivery we have received. To some extent this is because customers to whom we previously made deliveries have chosen to come to the shop themselves to buy and take away their goods, in order to save the need for a delivery. We do appreciate the sustainable reasoning behind our customers’ shopping in person, but would like to say to other customers, who perhaps may not find it easy to come to the shop frequently, that we are very ready to deliver, if people would like to order – by email, text or phone. We are often out and about delivering church / community stalls in any case and the more deliveries we make, the more sustainable our delivery runs become. The range of goods and prices can be found on the other pages of this website. 

We should also say that, thankfully, all the church stalls and stalls at events have gone well all year and continue to do so. Thank you to everyone. 

Fairtrade Fortnight 21 September – 4 October 2026

At one time this was a fortnight of activity in lots of places and enjoying a high profile nationally. Sadly Fairtrade Fortnight has become a lot more limp in recent years, but we will make as much of it as we can. Fairer World has some resources which may be borrowed. 

In addition to this, we were emailed yesterday by the Fairtrade Foundation, which runs Fairtrade Fortnight, to say that there are some new resources available online, including an action guide and some producer stories. There are new online hubs containing free downloadable resources and Fair Pay messages. We are promised Fairtrade Fortnight Social Media resources coming soon and stored on the Fairtrade Fortnight Supporter Hub fairtrade.net. 

We at Fairer World are ready to provide goods for stalls and events. Please do get in touch. 

New food products and restocks

Full restock of all the Zaytoun Palestinian food products range. The extra virgin olive oil, which we have stocked ever since Zaytoun was founded 22 years ago, has just been awarded 1 star Great Taste Award. The specially marked bottles and tins will not appear until early next year, but we want to mention it now. 

Roasted almonds, in caramelised, chilli and smoked varieties, will be available in late August, we are told. We will order them as soon as Zaytoun lets us know. In the meantime we have the basic raw almonds in stock.

Liberation peanut butter is now available in both smooth and crunchy varieties at Fairer World. 

Ombar 100% cacao chocolate is now in stock. Using cacao from Ecuador it is organic, vegan, gluten-free and fair trade.

Vermerien wheat as well as choc chip biscuits from Belgium.

Wish4Fairtrade classic oat, double chocolate, ginger and lemon biscuits. These are all long-dated, at last! There are some shorter-dated, reduced price ones available also. 

New craft products and restocks

Restocks of handmade cards from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and The Philippines; and printed cards using art work from, and supporting, marginalised poor communities in Calcutta and rural Kenya. We now have good stocks of all these cards, plus lots of bulk produced cards from Transform Trade, keeping the Traidcraft brand alive – cards both with sentiments like birthday, thinking of you and sympathy, and also cards with general views.

Embroidery from Bethlehem – purses, bookmarks, glasses case and evening bag. Sales of these – and olive wood products from Bethlehem also – are very important to hard pressed Bethlehem producers in an area which sees very few pilgrims at present, so customers are hard to find. 

New bucket hats from India and a restock of hand knitted woollen hats from Nepal.

Restock of boxed soap bars, including some new varieties, candles and tiffin tins all from the Dalit community in Kerala, South India, a traditionally marginalised people in Indian society. 

Silver studs, plus a restock of affordable earrings, silver plated bangles and hair slides from Mexico, made by Mayan people. 

Restock of painted wood Noah’s Arks in small and large sizes, letters and jigsaws, plus fabric dolls, all from Sri Lanka. 

Short–date, reduced price

We have a range of True Origin products from Meru Herbs, a women run producer in Kenya, which all are approaching their best before dates at the same time: guava jam, hibiscus jam, papaya & lemon jam, mango & chilli jam and green tomato chutney. These are all best before 31.08.26 and reduced to £2.00. Buying them can be an inexpensive way of trying a new flavour. Full price, long-dated options for all these products are on the shop shelves, too. 

Price lists

We plan to bring out new price lists for cleaning and household products and for food products in mid / late September, as soon as we have details of Christmas chocolate ranges etc. Current price lists apply until new ones are issued. They can be viewed on the Orders and Deliveries page. 

Clothing

We had intended to bring back our stock of clothing to the shop once we had done some ordering to balance the range in terms of sizes and variety. Our range of clothing is currently very disjointed. Frustratingly, the garments we were hoping to obtain are also out-of-stock at our suppliers’ warehouses. So that project is on hold for the moment. 

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Fairer World update 26.03.26

Posted on March 27, 2026 by Author

Fairer World shop Easter opening and closing times

Maundy Thursday 2 April OPEN as usual

Good Friday           3 April      CLOSED  

Saturday                    4 April       OPEN as usual

Easter Sunday           5 April       CLOSED

Easter Monday          6 April        CLOSED

Tuesday                     7 April       OPEN as usual

Easter products

We have a full range of Easter eggs available, both boxed eggs and mini eggs. In addition we have opened up some sharing boxes of Meaningful Chocolate hen’s egg size 20g hollow milk chocolate eggs in foil, which we are selling at £1 each. An Easter story / activity sheet is included in the price.

In addition we have Easter cards, painted wooden eggs and crosses from Kashmir and olive wood products from Palestine. Our Easter products are illustrated here. [Update 15/5/26: Easter page deleted as Easter products have now all been sold. Thank you for your custom!]

New products and restocks

Some new designs of hand made and hand painted Palestinian pottery have just arrived at Fairer World, along with a restock of other designs. A full range of Palestinian foods, soap products and crafts is in stock.

Everyday bulk print single cards and hand made single cards are now well stocked at Fairer World; examples can be seen here. 

We have just had a visit from our friend John, who has a one person business called Just Trade. We have been buying fair trade crafts from Just Trade for over 40 years. We obtained more stock of reasonably priced Mexican earrings and bangles, to complement the more expensive glass earrings from Chile already at Fairer World. Plus we have some budget priced new small silver studs from Mexico via Just Trade, as well as a good range of silver earrings and studs from Bali via Pachamama, which is another one person fair trade set up. Some examples of our jewellery range can be seen here.

Clothing back after Easter

We are going to bring back our clothing stock to the Fairer World shop soon after Easter and also order some new tops and trousers over the  next month or two. We no longer have a changing area, as people are aware, so we suggest customers pay for any garments they would like and bring them back to the shop for a refund if they are not a good fit etc. Sorry that this policy may result in an extra journey occasionally. 

Palestine stalls

We remain concerned about the very difficult situation that our hard pressed Palestinian producers are facing, although they do so with tremendous resilience. Fair trade helps Palestinian communities to preserve their culture as well as put food on the table. 

We have enough stock to be able to supply any people who would like to hold a Palestinian products stall in their own homes, workplaces, churches, communities, villages etc. The stalls would be a mixture of Palestinian foods, soaps, crafts and culture / cookery books. We have a lot of experience in providing stalls and can offer advice, and also help with transport. If you are interested in discussing doing this, please get in touch with us. 

Our contact details are:- land line 01904 655116; mobile 07877 947793; email 84gillygate@gmail.com; website www.fairerworldyork.co.uk. 

Customer contact details

As we mentioned in the Fairer World update dated 25.02.26, Fairer World mobile phone 07877 947793, which had been out-of-action in the run-up to Christmas, is now back in action. We needed to buy a new phone, however, and although we managed to keep the old number 07877 947793, we were not able to keep the memory. So we are asking those customers who haven’t already done so – and wish to do so, of course! – to provide their contact details: name, address, mobile number / land line, if possible, and we will add them to our database. And thank you very much to those customers who have already sent in their contact details to us. We didn’t manage to send an individual thank you at the time but we did appreciate receiving those details. 

Moira and Charlie

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Fairer World Update 25.02.26

Posted on February 25, 2026 by Author

Fairer World mobile 07877 947793

Fairer World shop mobile 07877 947793 was out-of-action for the run up to Christmas after the phone broke down. We have purchased a new phone, managed to keep the number 07877 947793, which is on all our publicity, but it turned out that it was not possible to keep the memory also. So, in order to re-establish our data base, customers are invited to email us with contact details including name, address, landline and mobile number, in order for us to add them to our phone 07877 947793 memory.

New food products price list

A new price list for foods is now available and can be downloaded here (in MS Excel).

Easter

We have boxed Easter eggs from Meaningful Chocolate Company (Real Easter eggs), and from Tony’s Chocolonely. Cocoa Loco organic chocolate boxed eggs are on order, expected to arrive at Fairer World very soon. Divine does not have boxed Easter eggs once again this year, but has two kinds of flavoured milk chocolate mini eggs. Meaningful Chocolate has midi size 20g hollow milk choc eggs packed in egg boxes, whilst Tony’s Chocolonely has solid mini eggs in lots of flavours packed in 12’s or 18’s. All these eggs are in foil.

Plus Easter cards and crafts as in previous years, and a full range of products from Palestine.

Our Easter items can be viewed here.

New products 

A small range of chutneys, marmalades and jams from Eswatini is expected to arrive at Fairer World shortly, but they are not quite as before. These products are branded True Origin, as previously, and also use similar produce from small holders in Eswatini, but they are supplied by a new company, Black Mamba. And are all more expensive to buy and packed in smaller sizes than their predecessors. 

Zaytoun’s Essential Medjoul dates. These are Palestinian, like our standard Medjoul dates, but are larger, softer dates. They are a seasonal product, with a shorter shelf life – best before 30.06.26. They sell in a 800g box, £11.00.

Divine hot chocolate is back in stock at Fairer World, at last, but the price has increased significantly and the pack size reduced. We have Divine hot chocolate, salted caramel flavour hot chocolate and hazelnut praline flavour hot chocolate. All in stock, all now 250g, all packed in a bag made of low density polyurethane inside a cardboard box and all selling at £7.80. There is no sign of the return of Divine cocoa, which has been out of stock for a year or more. There is a world cocoa crisis. 

We have restocks in all areas of food and crafts, either already arrived at Fairer World or on the way. 

Sales increase

The sales total for the Fairer World shop in the last quarter of 2025 (i.e. Oct, Nov and Dec) was £37,000 compared to £32,800 in the equivalent period in 2024, once again a welcome increase, continuing the trend for the whole of last year. We would like to say a sincere “thank you” to everyone: customers, supporters, stall organisers and helpers, shop staff and web developer.

We should also say that the sales increase of 2025 has not been carried into 2026, so far, at least. We hope that that situation is weather related. 

Fairer World 30th anniversary on 1st February

Fairer World opened at 84 Gillygate on 1st February 1996, so the start of this month was our 30th anniversary. We plan to mark the anniversary later in the year, when, hopefully, we will enjoy better weather.

Moira and Charlie

Fairer World

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Happy Anniversary Fairer World!

Posted on February 1, 2026 by Author

Today, 1 February 2026, marks 30 years since Fairer World moved to its current location at 84 Gillygate, York.

That’s 30 years of providing locals and visitors to York alike with a wide choice of Fair Trade and environmentally-friendly goods.

30 years of supporting producers in Africa, Asia and Latin America to improve their lives by helping to create and sustain a market for their goods at fair prices.

And 30 years of welcoming loyal customers whose support and custom, both in the shop and through placing orders for local delivery, have made these three decades of service possible. Thank you all!

Come and celebrate with us this anniversary year. More anniversary news and events throughout the year – watch this space.

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Fairer World Update 17.12.25

Posted on December 17, 2025 by Author

Dear friends

Here is the latest update from Fairer World.  

This is the first Fairer World update since the one dated 27.09.25. We had planned to bring one out between then and now but pressure of work and difficulties in not having an internet connection at home as well as at 84 Gillygate combined to mean this was not possible. 

The planned new Fairer World Food products price list has been postponed until the New Year. The price lists dated 02.06.25 remain in force. 

Opening hours in the run up to Christmas

In the run-up to Christmas, the Fairer World shop will maintain its published opening hours of 11.00am to 5.00pm Mon to Sat, but, whenever possible, we will be open well before 11.00am, and be open after 5.00pm also. We will be open on Sunday 21st Dec from at least 12.00 noon to 4.00pm.

If in doubt, before making a trip that will be outside our published opening hours, please ring the Fairer World landline 01904 655116 to confirm. This phone does not have an ansaphone, but is answered when the shop is staffed. Fairer World mobile 07877 947793 is at present out of action, but we are trying to restore it.

Christmas and New Year Opening and Closing

Christmas Eve OPEN (closes at 3.00pm)

Christmas Day CLOSED

Boxing Day CLOSED

Sat 27 December CLOSED

Sun 28 December CLOSED

Mon 29 December CLOSED

Tue 30 December CLOSED

Wed 31 December CLOSED

New Year’s Day CLOSED

Fri 2nd January OPEN as usual (from 11.00am)

Sales situation

Sales continue to be comfortably up compared to last year, we are pleased to say. (Thank you to everyone!). 

New products and restocks

Please do come and have a look at what is on the shop shelves, if you can – quick run down of what is in stock below:-

Foods

We have almost a full range of Palestinian foods, except raw almonds, which are sold out. The only roasted almonds left in stock are the chilli version. 

We have lots of Christmas chocolate – Cocoa Loco organic dark and milk chocolate seasonal treats – “cathedral packs” of favourites like dark chocolate cinnamon chillies, ginger, mango or raspberry stars, milk choc santas, milk/white choc penguins and champagne, Christmas pudding, praline or sloe gin truffles; Divine milk and dark choc coins, dessert bars and the familiar 35g and 90g bars in a good range of flavours. We also have an extended range of Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate pouches / boxes and 35g, 47g/50g and 180g bars. Most chocolate tastes are covered.

We have beer bread mix, chilli & garlic and garlic & herb flavours, from South Africa.

Crafts

Fairer World has some Amnesty International and Traidcraft Christmas cards left, plus New Internationalist, One Village and Transform Trade wrap, and 2026 calendars in stock.

Dalit candles in terracotta pots and soap from India.

Distinctive aprons, bags and scrunchies from Malawi via a charity called Mbedza which is dedicated to preventing and relieving poverty in that country.

Neem and sandalwood soap from India.

Multi cultural dolls, painted wooden toys and letters, Noah’s Arks and jigsaws from Sri Lanka.

Wonderful painted papier mache baubles, bells and wooden stars, all from Kashmir. 

Embroidered knitted acrylic kids’ cardigans from Peru – sizes 0 to 8.

Inexpensive small crafts from India and Nepal. 

Earrings and nodding animals made by Mayan people in Mexico.

Silver jewellery from Bali, Indonesia, made by small scale traditional silver workers in remote parts of that country.

A good range of Thought socks, including Christmas socks. There are good quantities of sizes 4-7 and 7-11 plus multi packs, inexpensively priced. 

Bethlehem Baubles – glass baubles which are hand blown and hand painted in Bethlehem, using local recycled materials whenever possible. Wonderful but expensive.

The full range of Palestinian soaps and bath salts is in stock, including a four soap presentation pack.  

Fairer World also has Palestinian cookery / culture books and a full stock of ceramics, hand made and hand painted in Hebron. 

Moira and Charlie

Fairer World

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Fairer World Update 27.09.25

Posted on September 28, 2025 by Author

Dear friends 

Here is the latest Fairer World Update. In a few weeks’ time we plan to issue a further update accompanied by a new food price list containing details of seasonal foods and chocolate etc.

How is the shop doing?

Compiling the figures for the most recent Fairer World VAT return showed that sales in April, May and June 2025 were about 25% up on the same period last year. Increased sales have also been noticed in July, August and September 2025, compared to the same months in 2024, although the rate of increase has not been quite so high. Thank you to all our customers, to people who do stalls in their own communities, to people who volunteer at Fairer World and to those who promote the shop, not least via the Fairer World website www.fairerworldyork.co.uk. The quarter of the year which covers October, November and December is always the quarter which contains by far the highest sales so we have our work cut out to maintain this momentum!

Fairtrade Fortnight 22 September to 5 October

22nd September to 5th October are this year’s dates for the annual two weeks to raise the profile of Fairtrade and the importance of fair prices for farmers and workers. The theme this year is Brew it Fair, focusing on tea. For those who wish to mark the Fortnight, some resources can be found online at the Fairtrade Foundation’s website www.fairtrade.org.uk.

Lots of new products

New print cards from India and Kenya, plus new handmade cards from Bangladesh, Nepal and The Philippines, as follows:

  • handmade cards from Swajan, a producer in Bangladesh, and flower cards from Salay, a producer in The Philippines. Both producers, whose cards Traidcraft used to sell, use traditional methods and recycled materials.
  • embroidered cards from Calcutta Rescue in India, supporting medical care for destitute people in and around Kolkata
  • printed cards from original paintings on recycled card with recycled envelopes, from Silence, a society of deaf, voiceless & multiple physically challenged people in India.
  • printed cards from original paintings on recycled card with recycled envelopes, from Handsofhope, a charity in the west of Kenya supporting low income familiecos and street children

More designs of the bright rainbow pottery from Thailand. 

More designs and a restock of ceramics from Palestine. Despite the crisis in the West Bank and the difficulties in transportation, Fairer World has a full range of Palestinian products available – foods, ceramics, olive wood crafts and cookery books – due to the resilience of communities there. Buying these goods provides direct benefit to Palestinian producers as well as helping to protect and preserve culture and tradition. 

Hats and gloves hand knitted in Nepal. All these products also support Child Rescue Nepal – a registered charity which carries out physical rescues of children in forced labour.

Lots more designs of silver jewellery from Bali, Indonesia, made by traditional silver workers. 

Lots more designs of jewellery from Mexico plus bangles, purses, scarves, taxco pottery, wristbands and nodding animals from Mayan people in Mexico / Guatemala, plus a good restock of acrylic, embroidered knitted kids’ cardigans from Peru. These are machine washable and suitable for ages up to 8 years old.

Christmas products – briefly

We have Traidcraft branded Christmas cards via Transform Trade (a new and extended range – 3 different 20 card packs containing 4 x 5 designs, plus 16 different 10 card packs containing all the same design, each nicely packaged in good cardboard) plus Amnesty International Christmas cards and New Internationalist calendars all in stock. Regret no diaries again this year. 

Divine milk chocolate and dark chocolate Advent calendars (both selling at £6.50 after the recent rise in chocolate prices) and Meaningful Chocolate Company (milk choc) Real Advent Calendars (selling at £5.50) are all in stock. New stock of chocolate coins, Christingle chocolate orange, Christmas Blessings Bars with both milk and dark chocolate bars available this year, are all in stock at Fairer World. 

Beer breads in three flavours – chilli & garlic, garlic & herb and olive & rosemary – from Barrett’s Ridge, supporting fair trade producers in South Africa.

Cocoa Loco organic chocolate products, including truffles and chocolate ginger etc, and Zaytoun caramelised, chilli and smoked almonds are all now in stock at Fairer World.

Clothing rail to be removed at the end of September

As the volume of stock continues to increase at Fairer World, we find ourselves being short of space to display the products in the way they deserve, so we are planning to take away the clothing rail at the end of September.

Thinning out the Thins

Despite very good chocolate sales in the run-up to both Christmas ‘24 and Easter ‘25 we did not sell as many Divine Dark Chocolate Mint Thins as we expected. So we now have a few cases on our hands, and have reduced them in price accordingly. The mint thins are best before 31.10.25 and reduced to £3.00. Long dated stock of this product is out-of-stock at Fairer World and at our supplier.

Doing a fair trade stall from Fairer World at home, work etc

Over the many years that we have been selling fair trade, some supporters have taken a box of goods from Fairer World on sale or return and put them out for sale in their own environments for a day or two, particularly in the run-up to Christmas, when people are often looking for good ways to do their seasonal shopping. This is particularly true in a village or community environment, but can be successfully done everywhere – at home, at work, in organisations, choirs, churches etc. This is a good way of supporting both fair trade producers and the Fairer World shop. Please get in touch with us if you would like to discuss this. 

Zaytoun Palestinian foods speaker and Chechelele world music choir, Friday 3rd October, 7.30pm, Spurriergate Centre

York Fair Trade Forum have arranged for a presentation by a speaker from Zaytoun plus a performance from renowned world music choir Chechelele, at the Spurriergate Centre, Spurriergate, on Friday 3rd October, 7.30pm. Doors open 7.15pm. No admission charge, donations welcome. Refreshments planned. Fairer World will be providing a fair trade stall which will include Zaytoun and other Palestinian products.

Please publicise the event, if you are able to do so. There is a poster on Chechelele’s website, www.chechelele.co.uk. If you use it, please make mention of the fair trade stall also.

Moira and Charlie Bridge

Fairer World

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Fairer World Update 02.06.25

Posted on June 2, 2025 by Author

Dear friends

Here is the latest update from Fairer World, accompanied by a new Food Products price list and a new Cleaning and Household Products price list, both dated 02.06.25.

The overall economic situation at Fairer World at present is mixed. We were very busy on some days in the crucial selling period before Easter and disappointingly quiet on other days – presumably weather related. Sales in May have equally been up and down, however, despite the prevailing good weather. A root cause may be the lower number of people who shop in the city nowadays. The number of empty shops in Gillygate at present would seem to suggest this, too. 

A feature of what many customers have been buying during 2025 is a high number of Palestinian products, both food and crafts, presumably as customers see the part they can play in helping to directly support Palestinian families, whilst, at the same time, helping preserve Palestinian culture and tradition. For our part at Fairer World, the high sales, in turn, have enabled us to keep a very good stock of all available Palestinian products. Our suppliers of Palestinian goods have been able to keep the prices of most products the same as last year, so we have only isolated price increases in this area.

In general terms, we are well stocked in nearly all our food and craft product ranges, which means we are well placed for a busy rest of 2025 – hopefully! And we are well resourced to continue making deliveries to customers. Please keep sending orders to us, by email, text or phone.

As far as our fair trade suppliers are concerned, reading between the lines, our guess is that a number of our food suppliers are having a difficult time. Changing climate and Inflation, on a global scale, may well be contributing a lot towards this. And we think that the impact of the closure of Traidcraft plc two and a half years ago is still being felt by other fair trade companies, with the loss of what was a key customer for some of them, because Traidcraft included fair trade products from other companies in its range. 

The new price lists for Food products and for Cleaning & Household products include price rises in Cafedirect coffees and Divine chocolate products, unfortunately. These price increases will apply as soon as new stock goes out on the shop shelves. For some products, like Cafedirect caffeinated instant coffees 100g, which are at present out-of-stock at Fairer World and also out-of-stock at our suppliers’ warehouses, this increase will be applied as soon as they come back into stock, whereas, where we have good stocks of other Cafedirect and Divine products at Fairer World, the price increases will be delayed until present stocks are exhausted.  We have good stocks of Clipper instant coffees and tea bags so there are no increases in the prices of these products, even though prices are rising at our suppliers. Some other coffee products and herb teas as well as some dried fruit and cocoa are also increasing in price, a situation that is beyond our control. 

Food products update

New products: Wish4 Fairtrade biscuits, Fairtrade certified lemon, ginger and oat varieties. All Palestinian food products are in stock. Seasonal ones are expected to arrive in September. 

Divine chocolate bars continue to be probably the most popular individual product at Fairer World but Tony’s 180g chocolate bars are becoming increasingly noticed. 

Cleaning and Household products update

New fairly traded Seep rubber gloves, made in Sri Lanka – medium and large sizes. 

New recycled paper Suma Ecoleaf facial tissues. 

Suma has reduced the size of its toilet rolls, noticeably, and also reduced the price of them a little. Two pack Suma kitchen rolls have increased in price but single kitchen rolls have stayed the same. 

All soap products from all our suppliers are in stock – prices of these, and of Bio-D and Ecover cleaning products, have remained steady.  

Craft products update

More supplies of Palestinian pottery including some blue pottery and some in a traditional Palestinian Hamra Zuma yellow design, are on the shop shelves, plus restocks of olive wood and mother of pearl Palestinian crafts. We have a range of kufiyas back in stock at Fairer World, although prices have risen considerably. The kufiyas are authentic and of good quality, however, sourced either from one of the last two kufiya factories in Palestine or from a kufiya factory in Amman, Jordan, which was formerly based in Jericho.

More handmade cards from Bangladesh, India, Kenya and Nepal. 

More earrings from Mexico at affordable prices, and silver jewellery from Bali. 

More papier mache boxes, cats and owls from Kashmir. 

More painted wooden jigsaws and cloth dolls from Sri Lanka and more rainbow pottery from Thailand. 

All the above products sell well at Fairer World, so we are very pleased that our suppliers, in turn, have been able to keep them available to be ordered. 

Clothing to return to Fairer World in mid June

We removed our clothing rail before Christmas last year as we couldn’t find room in the shop to do justice to the garments. We are planning to bring back adult’s clothing to the Fairer World shop during the middle of June and to add some children’s clothing also. 

Some diary dates

Monday 16 to Sunday 22 June Refugee Week 2025. Theme: Community as a Superpower. Details at refugeeweek.org.uk/. 

Monday 22 September to Sunday 5 October Fairtrade Fortnight 2025. Theme: Fairtrade and Climate Justice. Details at https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/. 

Moira and Charlie Bridge

Fairer World

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