our product range
We’re always seeking out new product lines to bring the best of fair trade and ethical crafts to Reading. The crafts we stock are handmade by artisans from all over the world, including but not limited to Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Vietnam, Kenya, South Africa, Mexico, Peru, and Palestine. The fair trade relationship helps to connect individual artisans to the Western market, and it helps to support the continuation of traditional crafting methods.

Our selection changes with the seasons. If you visit in the summer, you’ll find raffia beach bags and sarongs. From late autumn to December, you can find our Christmas range, which includes baubles, olive wood decorations, and nativities. Late winter brings us felt and wooden hearts for Valentine’s day, and Easter décor, like papier-mâché eggs.

Home Décor

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You can find picture frames, lamps and mirrors all year round. We stock a range of soft furnishings, including fair trade cushion covers, chindi rugs, and woven cotton throws.

Candles and Incense

Candles and Incense

Candles and incense are some of our best-selling items, and with good reason. Our incense sticks are made from pure essential oils and wood resins. Our long-burning candles are made from plant wax and packaged in fully reusable and recyclable glass pots. If you are looking for essential oils in Reading, we stock a wide range of these, as well as oil burners.

Kitchen and Dining

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Our homewares include reusables like stainless steel water bottles and lunch boxes, coffee cups, and straws. Coconut bowls, wooden spoons and chopping board, cork coasters and place mats, and recycled paper fruit bowls are some of our favourites.

Kitchen and Dining 2

A wide range of recycled aluminium tableware is shining on our shelves. Colourful handcrafted Moroccan pottery and rainbow mugs and teapots are on their way to becoming World Shop classics.

Food and Household

Food and Household 1

We are always excited to bring new ethical foods to Reading, and we stock a wide range of Fairtrade pantry essentials, beverages, and sweets. Our Fairtrade chocolates (both vegan and non-vegan) include diverse flavours, from the unusual to the classic. Our range of condiments extends to the sweet and savoury—jams, marmalades, chutneys, hot sauce, curry sauce. And we are never short of a good variety of coffee, tea and herbal infusions.

Food and Household 2

For the pantry, we stock Palestinian olive oil, tinned chopped tomatoes and fish, soups, rice, pasta, quinoa, and baking essentials. Our vegan offerings include meat alternatives like banana blossom, jackfruit, nutritional yeast, chocolate spread and more. If you’re hankering after a snack, we have dried mango, dates, bars, biscuits, nuts and some brand new vegan fudge.

For the household we stock plastic-free, home-compostable washing up sponges and scrubbing brushes, unbleached FSC certified paper bags and baking paper, and beeswax wraps. Our cleaning products include bathroom cleaning spray, alcohol vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, multi-surface sanitiser, laundry liquid and powder, and soap nuts.

Personal Care

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Our personal care ranges include paraben and SLS-free body and haircare products, and vegan-friendly solid shampoos and conditioners. We stock facial moisturisers and cleansers suitable for all skin types. We have an emphasis on Fair Trade certified products, which include bath bombs and body butters. You can also find Fair Trade condoms and menstrual cups, organic cotton tampons and pads, Kingfisher Natural Toothpaste, toothpaste in glass jars, and bamboo toothbrushes. And all sorts of soap, of course… like pure olive oil soap from Palestine.

Jewellery and Accessories

Jewellery and Accessories 1

Our jewellery and accessories include seasonal items like silk and wool scarves, woolly hats and socks, and wide-brimmed sun hats. We stock a range of fashion-forward fair trade purses, bags, and backpacks all year round, some of which are crafted from upcycled materials.

Jewellery and Accessories 2

Jewellery and Accessories 3

The jewellery we stock includes high-quality fair trade silver and semi-precious gemstones in contemporary and classic designs. You will also find fun, funky, and minimalist pieces crafted from tagua, totumo gourd, and recycled paper, always with an eye to current trends and sustainable materials.

Toys and Kids Clothing

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We have a wide selection of wooden puzzles, vehicles, and animals, as well as soft toys. All of our toys comply with EU safety standards. We also stock juggling balls, dream catchers, dolls, and games. We stock a small selection of children’s wear, including hand-knit cardigans and organic cotton onesies and hats. If you’re looking for a gift for a new arrival, our fair trade rattles are sure to please.

Musical Instruments

Musical Instruments

From guiros to dholaks to ocarinas, our selection of instruments spans the globe. You may find mbiras and didgeridoos, as well as egg shakers, djembe, rain sticks, and maracas.

Stationary, Greeting Cards and Wrapping Paper

Stationary, Greeting Cards and Wrapping Paper

We stock a wide range of stationary, much of which is made from recycled materials. This includes elephant dung paper products, as well as recycled notebooks, pens, and pencils.

If you’re looking for a unique greeting card in Reading, look no further. Birthdays, condolence, seasonal observances, greetings, friendship, moving house, kudos and congratulations, and new arrivals: we have cards for all of these. Both our wrapping paper and our greeting cards are available in hand-made and printed varieties.

sourcing our stock

Whenever possible, the World Shop Co-ordinator will meet in person with importers in order to choose the best range of products for the shop. Our product range is growing all the time with the emphasis being on fair traded and hand crafted products, which utilise traditional skills in the production of stylish and contemporary designs. As a member of BAFTS Fair Trade Network UK we buy from importers who have been monitored to ensure they fulfil strict fair trade criteria.

BAFTS membership is based upon the 10 Principles of Fair trade as set out by the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO):

Fair trade principle 1 Fair trade principle 2 Fair trade principle 3 Fair trade principle 4 Fair trade principle 5 Fair trade principle 6 Fair trade principle 7 Fair trade principle 8 Fair trade principle 9 Fair trade principle 10

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