Your Global Marketplace for Socially and Environmentally Responsible Gifts
One World Projects is an established industry player in the fair trade, socially &
environmentally conscious market.
Founded by Phil Smith in 1992, One World Projects imports and distributes fair trade household goods,
jewelry, fashion accessories, gifts, toys and more handmade by more than 80 artisan groups in over
20 countries throughout Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
Many products are made from renewable resources, thus providing artisans with incentives to conserve, protect, and in many cases restore their natural resources and biologically-diverse ecosystems.
All One World Projects' products provide viable economic alternatives to artisans and their families in developing countries while promoting social and environmental responsibility.
Located in western New York, we import, warehouse, and distribute to both wholesale buyers and
retail consumers, and also offer an affiliate program. For more information, please see our Contact page.
One World Projects fully supports the ethics and principles of Fair Trade.
The commitment and responsibility we have to the 11,000+ artisans with whom we work goes
well beyond paying fair wages for the products they create.
We strive to be a positive force for social and environmental change, and are continually
developing our ability to work with communities to improve the lives of artisans and their families.
Providing artisans with viable and sustainable economic opportunities is the primary motivating force
behind our business.
One World Projects is a member of the Fair Trade Federation.
More information can be found at www.fairtradefederation.org.
Our Mission
To provide those in developing countries with the opportunity for economic sustainability and self-determination.
How we achieve our mission:
Purchase high-quality products that have positive social impacts and environmental benefits. Pay artisans fair wages for their work allowing them to provide for their basic needs (food, shelter, clothing, education, and health-care for their families) and contributes to a better quality of life. Provide support to artisans through opening markets, suggesting product designs, improving artistic and technical skills, educating group leaders about the demands of the market, and the like. Develop long-term relationships with based on respect and fairness, and the promotion of self-determination. Reinvest in artisan groups and communities through economic programs and/or donations.
We also seek to help the environment by reusing boxes whenever possible, and by reusing materials
for padding within the box. We hope that you will continue this reuse and recycling cycle by using these
packing materials yourself, offering them to someone else to reuse, or at least recycle paper materials with
your local municipality.
Special Note about Working with Artisans & Sourcing Rwandan Products
Our Rwandan products are sourced by our partner company Economic Development Imports
(www.edimports.com).
While one may find Rwandan baskets imported and sold elsewhere,
rarely will you find other importers whose commitment to artisans goes deeper and
further than that of EDImports. Beyond building the group of weavers from a few women in a
small village to now over 600 women in a sizable province and paying above local market
price for each basket purchased, EDImports has been instrumental in the following:
Creating a program to help women borrow and save money for the first time in their lives. Managing a very successful program to donate goats to artisan families - with the baby goats being passed on to another needy family.
Working with One World Projects to have 20 knitting machines donated to women in Rwanda through an Aid to Artisans grant in order to help women in United Nations Refugee camps generate income by knitting scarves and ponchos.
Assisting non-profits to help build a community craft center where women can come together to weave, to socialize, and to store their crafts before they are exported.
Similarly, One World Projects has implemented programs with artisan groups in Central and
South America as well as Asia to provide services and knowledge in the areas of medical-care, education,
the conservation of valuable natural resources, donation of tools, supplies and equipment, micro-financing,
securing grants, workshop improvements and much more.
One World Projects has also organized international workshops in the remote Ecuadorian Amazon that
bring together artisan groups from different developing countries with buyers and consultants from the U.S.
for the purpose of sharing ideas, developing the artisans' products and skills, and generating sustainable income.
While paying artisans fair wages for their work is extremely important, responsibility for artisan welfare does
not begin and end with the buying and selling of products.
To truly gauge which suppliers are doing the most to help artisans, one should evaluate the many different
ways that a supplier provides assistance.
For more information about One World Projects or Economic Development Imports
please contact the respective founders,
Phil Smith and
Liz Wald,
via email.
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43 Ellicott Ave