We were delighted that the Paisley Daily Express wrote up this lovely article about Mary Russell winning the prestigious fair trade award at the annual Scottish Fair Trade Forum’s award ceremony. We’d also like to thank them for kindly giving us permission to share it.
Black Friday, a day known for excessive consumerism and waste, approaches and while we can’t suggest shopping ethically with us instead right now – as we’re sadly closed under Level 4 Coronavirus restrictions – we’ll be supporting Traidcraft’s annual Reject Black Friday campaign.
We believe in doing our best to live in ways that support the environment and people, rejecting mass-consumerism that often relies on taking advantage of workers and contributing to environmental disaster.
Think about where you shop this Christmas, and consider whether you can wait a few weeks to get something ethically sound, rather than opting for mindless speed and volume.
Following the announcement today from the Scottish Government that Renfrewshire will be moving into level 4 restrictions, Rainbow Turtle will be closed from 4pm on Friday 20th November until 10am on Saturday 12th December.
At this time, we won’t be able to offer any click & collect or delivery services. We’ll still be open on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week, from 10am until 4pm, and we hope you might take this chance to buy Christmas essentials (advent calendars, cards, gifts!) early.
We’ll see you in December!
Tonight, pupils at Mary Russell Secondary, and their teachers, were awarded the 2020 Scottish Fair Trade Campaign Award by the Scottish Fair Trade Forum for the work they’ve done with us at Rainbow Turtle and in their community to spread the word of Fair Trade and sustainability. Well done Mary Russell!
The video below shows just some of what they’ve done so far, and you can get a sneak peak at their next project with Rainbow Turtle here!
These festive little guys think that you should hot-foot it down to Rainbow Turtle tomorrow and next week to stock up on Christmas treats like cards to send to friends or maybe some chocolate to enjoy yourself!
There’s still the possibility that the West of Scotland may move into level 4 in the coming weeks, which would mean closing our shop, and so we don’t want anyone to miss out on our lovely Fair Trade and ethical Christmas goodies. If that does happen, we’ll go back to our click & collect model from earlier in the year (more information here), but being a small business we rely on our Christmas sales so we really appreciate every early purchase in this difficult year.
With most of the world interrupted at the moment, you’ll be pleased to learn that some Fair Trade events are now online. This might mean that some things you may have missed in the past are now much more accessible!
The Scottish Fair Trade Forum‘s 2020 awards are taking place on Monday 16th November. Sign up here to celebrate the winners of these prestigious awards, along with Jenny Gilruth, Scotland’s Minister for Europe and International Development.
Younger campaigners may also be interested in this week’s Youth Climate Summit. You can sign up for a wide variety of sessions, on topics ranging from Fairtrade chocolate to sustainable fashion here.
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.
If you’re out and about in Paisley this weekend with kids (or maybe you’re just a kid at heart!) then the Paisley Pumpkin Halloween Trail is a fun, socially distanced activity to keep the whole family entertained. At Rainbow Turtle we’ve got this cheeky chappy to tick off your list, and if you pop into the shop we’ve also got maps of the trail and plenty of Fair Trade sweets on sale to keep your energy levels up!
With the colder weather starting, it feels like time to make warming and tasty meals – like this Malaysian Curry with Kilombero Rice recipe, developed by our friends at JTS. Several of the ingredients can be purchased from the Rainbow Turtle shop!
Ingredients:
Directions:
If you enjoyed this lovely curry, see here for more JTS recipes!
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!
