www.World-Shoppe.com Featured in FitYoga

So excited to share that our eco-friendly messenger bags made from yoga mat remnants were featured in FitYoga's magazine, February 2009!

For those of you who aren't familiar with this line, Merle O'Brien, a native of Highland Park in Illinois and now living in Colorado, was in a downward dog position when she began thinking of her yoga mat bag, what is was made from and where it ended up. She quickly learned that while yoga might be good for the soul, the mat material wasn't necessarily good for the earth. So she began researching ways she can take those yoga mat remnants (the extra pieces that aren't used and would wind up in landfills) and started making cute bags from the material. The straps were taken from factories who make those rubbery-sport sandals (I won't mention the brand.). Suffice to say that the bags are not only eco-friendly and cute, but diverts landfill-bound materials into functional pieces!

How did Merle and I connect? Well, she also made Jute Fiber (fairly traded) bags that made it to Sundance a couple of year's ago and, naturally, we began talking about ways in which we can help people and the world through our work. Merle is an amazing woman and I'm honored to have met her. Although our world is large in size, it's people like her who remind me how small our world really is.

Our eco-messenger bags come in two colors - red and slate blue and if you use the coupon code Megy08 in the coupon section, we'll make sure to ship one out to you asap without a shipping fee! We also have adorable clutches in the blue slate - perfect for night's out or when you don't need to carry the kitchen sink with you when you leave your house!

Was so excited to share the news - feel free to share it with your friends, too!

Thank you!

-Megy Karydes, Founder

www.World-Shoppe.com

New Year, New Hope, It's a Journey

Happy New Year! While 2008 was definitely one to go down in the memory books for a LOT of reasons, I'm also looking forward to a wonderful and strong 2009.

Despite the gloom and doom surrounding the economy and retail sales overall, I'm delightedto share that because of loyal and new customers who choose to support those less fortunate through their purchasing power that www.World-Shoppe.com had it best year ever. Not only did sales exceed our expectations, but we were able to continue employment for thousands of artisans all over the world because they need to work to survive.

Am I blind to the fact that our fellow Americans are losing their jobs, too and need work to survive here are well? No, that fact hasn't been lost on me. I have friends and family who have been affected. There is so much to do. But, what I can say is that when I launched www.World-Shoppe.com, my goal was to help empower women in developing countries build their voice by giving them the power to earn income for their talents and work.

Several friends and well-meaning (and some not so well-meaning) individuals have asked why I haven't changed my business plan to help support local artisans (rather than those across oceans) or encourage more local buying (as opposed to buying in other countries). The whole "shop local" movement has taken this country by storm and the whole "green" world has put a new spin on importing from developing countries.

Here is what I say - it's all good. Really. It is.

• Shop local. We need to support our local indie shops and farmers. We need strong and healthy economies that can support our arts and our artists.
• Do your part to help the environment. Think about your purchases. Can you recycle your products or compost your trash? Can you give your clothes to a local non-profit who can sell them and support their programs? Change your lightbulbs to friendlier choices and grab that tote bag and don't ask for paper or plastic when you go shopping again.
• Support fair trade whenever you can. First of all, let's be clear - fair trade isn't just about supporting artistans across oceans and continents - it's about people. People, for circumstances often out of their control, are living in poverty or in conditions you and I will never see or ever wish on anyone. It's about people working in dignity and being paid a fair wage for the work they do. To care for their families and their children who depend and love them unconditionally. To contribute to their communities and their schools and their health clinics. Fair trade is not about a product. At it's core - it's about people like you and me who deserve to live in a world that treats them with respect.

Does it have to be one way or the other? I'd love to think that I can live in a world that cares about our neighbor whether she or he shares my zip code, or my earth. That's the kind of world I want to raise my children and I hope you'll agree and join me.

Thank you so much for your support of fair trade. It is my goal to bring you even more stories about our artisans and their work in the coming months...thank you for joining me in this journey!

-Megy Karydes, Founder

www.World-Shoppe.com