The Paisley Daily kindly printed a double page spread on Friday of our birthday celebrations from the 31st August as well as photos from the past, marking our 20 years in Paisley.
Rainbow Turtle’s birthday celebration in the PDE
Tag: ethical
Talking GLOVES Part 1
We are talking Fair Trade gloves with an added, added bonus!
NOT ONLY do the gloves already wash away and weed out unfair trade BUT… they are also of a seriously high standard…
How do I know? I have washed my fair share of dishes and ended up with my fair share of wet hands, despite always wearing rubber gloves! I have a large family and have never owned an electric dishwasher. With a house full of human ones (not electric), we have, until now, gone through too many pairs of washing-up gloves. Always the right hand, falling foul of a sharp knife or whatever secret predator lies in the bubbles, defying rubber gloves.
No longer! At Rainbow Turtle I have purchased a pair of Traidcraft’s wonder gloves and at an extremely modest price too. Note the singular: a pair, still going strong, many dishes and dry hands later!
As if that is not joy enough, we have customers on a waiting list for the marvellous gardening gloves. They have never known such good gardening gloves!
Do not despair, if your hands are smaller than large, as they are also available in medium.
The secret to these marvellous gloves? – aside from the fantastic price, quality assurance and practical way to purchase and support Fair Trade – is a supply chain that starts in a region in southern Sri Lanka and in Laos. It supports the farmers who grow the rubber trees and tap them for latex.
Join us. Shout out loud and clear about this extremely practical way to support Fair Trade. I invite you to be a voice for washing away and weeding out unfair trade, whilst remaining clean and dry.
If you want to give the gloves a try, pop along to Rainbow Turtle and buy, buy, buy…
A Chocoholic’s Dream…
We’ve just taken an enormous delivery of Divine Chocolate to the shop, including some new and unusual flavours!
We’ve also now got advent calendars and other chocolate treats and gifts in stock. A full list can be found here, and remember that you can reserve items for collection or arrange local delivery on our online ordering page here.
Supplier Story: Mary & Martha Mongolia
Mary & Martha Mongolia supply several of our lovely craft items, ranging from Christmas decorations to socks! Watch the video below to learn more about their background and their Fair Trade principles. Of particular interest might be the story behind the recycled glass angels, which we sell many of each Christmas!
Guest Blog
This week we have a guest blog from one of our trustees (who wishes to remain anonymous), reflecting on this difficult period we’ve just come through.
What can we learn from this crisis?
What have been your experiences during this crisis? How have you found strength? What might be some lessons we could learn? What would be your hopes for the future?
At Rainbow Turtle we have come through the shop being closed and our educational activities curtailed. There was no scope for normal business. Shutters and doors remained closed. None of our customers, volunteers or staff could be there to bring life to the shop. “Business as usual” had disappeared. It was a time of not functioning.
Yet, after a time, a spark of hope emerged, thanks to people and to technology. Management and volunteers worked together in outreach to customers online. And our customers responded with enthusiasm. We have learned that while things have changed, there is still deep generosity in people and a real desire to be part of making things better.
Some people hope for a return to “business as usual” and to go back to the way it was before. Some people hope for more change so that society can be transformed. We cannot predict what will happen but we can be part of a fresh start. Rainbow Turtle is one place where we can do this. Your purchase is part of making things better. You contribute to stability of income for producers and to caring for our environment. Both of these are crucial for the well-being of people and planet. You are our hope for the future.
Further reflection:
Radio 4 Analysis with Margaret Heffernan: Thinking for the Long Term
BBC Radio4 Khamal Ahmed in Mohammed and the Market
Or for “online conversation with leading public thinkers”
Click & Collect Still Available
Remember we’re still operating our click and collect service! Just order before midnight on Sunday here and collect on Wednesday at an agreed time. The shop will also be open on Wednesday between 11 and 2 so if there are gaps in our collection schedule you can pop in for a browse! All we ask is that you first have a look through our windows to check if there’s another customer in already, and follow our simple guidelines.
Click & Collect Service Up and Running
Rainbow Turtle successfully launched its click and collect service at its Paisley shop today. The shop is now open on a Wednesday for customers who have ordered through the website.
Each customer is allocated a 15 minute interval between 11am and 2pm to pick up their order. Needless to say, they can also add to their order at the time or get refills for their Ecover cleaning products.
For more information, please visit our online ordering page.
We’re Still Open!
As of Wednesday 18th March we are still open, with our normal opening hours of 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday. Obviously the situation with Coronavirus is changing minute to minute, so this might not always be the case and we might have to close with short or no notice, but for the moment we still have supportive customers and we think we can continue to provide a useful service for our community. Cleanliness has been stepped up in the shop to protect our customers and our volunteers, who we are so grateful to for keeping us going in this challenging time.
We also (for now!) still have stock of toilet roll, handwash, and soap. We’ll also be receiving a delivery of our refillable Ecover handwash tomorrow, and rice and pasta soon. Continuing to shop with us, rather than clearing out your local supermarkets, will help our small business to survive this difficult time as well as ensuring that our fair trade producers don’t lose their much-needed income.
If you’re interested in our fairly traded and eco products, but can’t get into our shop, let us know, maybe we can deliver to you.
Plastic Free New Year
If you’re looking to go plastic free this new year, or even just reduce your plastic use as much as possible, we’ve got lots of options to make your bathroom an ethical zone!
Last Minute Gifts!
Time is ticking on and it’ll be Christmas Day before we know it. How are you getting on with your shopping for presents? If you’re anything like us there’ll be a last minute rush so we’ve compiled this handy gift guide to easy present shopping with a conscience!
Christmas Banquet Box, £20.00
This flavour-packed box squeezes in everything you need to make your Christmas dinner zero waste by turning leftover turkey into a tasty fair trade curry!
Coffee & Chocolate Pairings, £7.99
Traidcraft’s Q Arabica Graded coffee consultant has paired up ground coffee and bars of chocolate for the ultimate taste experience!
Friendly Bars Gift Set, £9.99-£14.99
Friendly’s ethical bars (4 in each set) range from simple shampoo to multi-purpose hair/face/laundry, meaning you use fewer harmful chemicals and no plastic in getting clean this Christmas.
Lip Balms, £8.00 & Balm Duo, £14.00
These Fairtrade and handmade beauty products will leave your skin feeling soft and you feeling virtuous.
Recycled Sari Bags, £4.99
Offcuts of colourful saris have been repurposed into these beautiful and practical bags which unfold from their handy keyring pocket. Perfect for last minute shopping trips!
Bombangles, £7.00
Made in Laos from metal salvaged from unexploded bombs dropped during the Vietnam War, each of these simple bangles comes in a pretty gift bag with a copy of the terrible story behind them.