Author: rainbowturtle2002

Shop

Saying goodbye to Gemma Elliott and Margaret Bell

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Rainbow Turtle staff and volunteers saying goodbye to Gemma and Margaret

Our volunteers and staff turned out in force today to say cheerio to our shop manager, Gemma Elliott (3rd from left), and long time volunteer Margaret Bell (pictured centre at the top of the photo).

Gemma actually left us back in March during the height of lockdown but we were never able to thank her then in person. She saw us through a difficult period when not only had we had a change in personnel but we were struggling financially. The shop often looked bare because we couldn’t afford to stock it. Then came successive lockdowns when we couldn’t open the shop and sales were badly affected. Yet, Gemma steadily steered us through these various challenges and left before we could benefit from various grants that allowed us to reopen with a fully stocked and reorganised shop.

Gemma kindly sent us the photo of a double rainbow as she left Paisley, saying that it was quite fitting seeing it after saying goodbye to Rainbow Turtle. Thanks again, Gemma, for all your hard work and all the best in the next stage of your career.

And cheerio to Margaret Bell

We also said cheerio to long term volunteer, Margaret Bell (second left). Margaret has been involved with Rainbow Turtle from the very beginning when the shop first opened back in 2002. Margaret had a real gift for making connections with customers and people still come in asking for her. She had a great reputation as a salesperson and many’s the time a politician would be in for a photo shoot with one of our products and Margaret would say to them afterwards, “I hope you’re going to buy that now!”

Margaret has moved close to the sea to enjoy a well earned rest and retirement.

Education, Podcasts

Martin Rhodes interview

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Welcome to the 4th episode of our podcast series with our interview of Martin Rhodes of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum.

For this episode I’m delighted to introduce the chief executive of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum, Martin Rhodes. Martin is an incredibly busy person and it was hard trying to match our diaries for the interview. He is an interesting person to listen to, especially on where he thinks that fair trade should be in Scotland. He is keen that fair trade is a policy issue that is discussed at government level.

Martin became involved with Fair Trade through campaigning on a number of international, development and trade justice issues. He was a founding member of the Glasgow North Fair Trade Group which joined with Fair Trade campaigners from across Glasgow to form the Glasgow Fair Trade Steering Group. He was elected as the Chair of the Glasgow Fair Trade Steering Group and later the Glasgow Fair Trade Co-operative. In September 2010, Martin was appointed as the Director of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum. He led the Forum when Scotland achieved Fair Trade Nation status in 2013 and through the reassessment of that status in 2017.

So sit back and enjoy…

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See our shop stock online

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Would you like to know what Rainbow Turtle has in stock before you pop down to our delightful shop in Gauze Street, Paisley? Well now you can jump onto Google and type Rainbow Turtle into the search engine, or type a product that you’re looking for, and information about our shop and products will appear on your screen.

Rainbow Turtle’s Google entry

To search further for what we have in store, type into the search box under “See what’s in store” or click “View more” under the images of our products. Then come along to visit our shop, close to the centre of Paisley, and chat with our wonderful volunteers.

Rainbow Turtle’s stock in a Google search
Shop

Opening this Tuesday!

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Nearly there…

We’re looking forward to this Tuesday, 27th April at 10am, to welcome you back to our fair trade shop. We’ve been working hard to get it ready in time. Note our new one way system to keep you safe. Admire the new shop layout to show off our delightful products, and marvel at our new refilling station where you can refill your Ecover and our new Bio D cleaning products.

Even if you just want to pop in and say hello to our devoted volunteers, it’ll be really nice to see you.

Please note, during the restrictions, only 2 family groups allowed in the shop at any one time. Thanks.

[Thanks to Anne Scriven for the photo.]

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Cheerio to Gemma

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It’s with great sadness that we said goodbye this week to our shop manager and education officer, Gemma Elliott. Gemma joined us almost exactly 3 years ago when Rainbow Turtle was going through a period of transition. The business was struggling financially and we had lost a number of key personnel over a short space of time (to lose one is a misfortune, but to lose two is carelessness?!!!). Gemma helped us to steady the ship, kept the shop running and maintained our work in schools.

We will miss Gemma’s bright personality and enthusiasm and wish her well in her new job.

(Oh, erm by the way this was not Gemma’s leaving do, it was Lynsay’s from 2019 but it was the only photo I could find of Gemma! We hope to be able to say goodbye to Gemma properly when things open up…)

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Fair Trade Finders

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Teachers and parents setting home learning activities may be interested in a fun game this Fairtrade Fortnight: being a Fair Trade detective! The Scottish Fair Trade Forum are asking for help in tracking down Fair Trade products all around Scotland, which you can alert them to here. These entries will then be added to their map, so that we can all see just how much the message of Fair Trade is spreading across the country.

So next time you visit the supermarket, local shop, or really any business with your children, ask them to have a look around for Fair Trade products, and maybe even let the shop know, either in person or online, if you aren’t happy with their selection!

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Fairtrade Fun with Food

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Fairtrade Fortnight 2021 has kicked off today, and it is of course very different from usual, with almost all of the celebrations happening online. But since one of the most exciting elements of being a Fair Trade supporter is getting to sample all of the tasty treats, how can that be replicated at home?

Well, several organisations have put together guides on cooking with Fair Trade food! Traidcraft have produced these simple to follow videos:

Fairtrade Yorkshire have also arranged several live cook-along events as part of their Fairtrade Connections festival. You can find details, including what ingredients you’ll need, here.

Our friends at JTS have also posted many cooking videos and ideas for their ingredients over on their Facebook. Happy cooking (and eating)!

Education, Podcasts, Seasonal

Liz Cotton interview part 1 of 2

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Welcome to our very first interview in our new podcast series, Rainbow Turtle Rebooted. To mark the beginning of Fair Trade Fortnight 2021 we’re bringing you the first part of a two part interview with founder and former director, Liz Cotton.

Liz has had an interesting and successful life which culminated for us in the creation of Rainbow Turtle, the fair trade shop and charity in Paisley, Scotland. Sit back and enjoy the first half of her interview with Colum Scriven where she talks about her early influences and what led her to open our fair trade shop in Gauze Street…

If you’ve enjoyed this podcast please subscribe to it with your favourite podcast provider and then rate us with five stars! (If you can’t find this episode with your provider, please be patient. The day we went live with this episode our podcast host suffered a hack attack!)

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Virtual Fairtrade Fortnight

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It’s nearly Fairtrade Fortnight 2021, and it will of course be a different experience from previous years with in-person gathering still not possible. Thankfully, fair trade organisations have organised some incredible online events!

The Fairtrade Foundation are running a festival of Climate, Fairtrade and You for the entire fortnight, which includes events and activities for all ages. There are so many to choose from that we couldn’t pick our favourite to recommend!

The Scottish Fair Trade Forum have also arranged two really interesting online events. You can sign up for their roundtable discussion on Fair Trade and the climate emergency, taking place on 24/02/21 12:00-13:00, here. Their innovative and informative coffee morning event, with input from Rwandan coffee producers, is also happening on the 27th at 10:00, and you can get tickets (possibly with free coffee included if you’re quick!) here.

Finally, we’re relaunching our podcast during Fairtrade Fortnight! Our first episode, an interview with Rainbow Turtle founder Liz Cotton, will be available on all of your favourite podcast providers on 22/02/21. Let us know what you think!