A Year of Fair Trade Impact: Reflecting on 2025 with Gitzell Fair Trade

As we close out 2025, we’re pausing to look back on everything this year has held, both for our artisan partners across Africa and for our community here in St. Charles, and St. Louis, and beyond.

Fair trade is built on relationships: with makers, with retailers, with customers, and with the communities we serve. This year, those connections have felt stronger than ever.

Growing Artisan Partnerships

In 2025, we continued to deepen our relationships with artisan groups in Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal, and beyond. Together we:

• Expanded existing lines like baskets, hampers, and tabletop pieces

• Introduced new items such as greeting cards and fresh gift-able accessories

• Collaborated on color stories and designs that speak to both tradition and modern use

Each new product is not just an item—it’s a new opportunity for consistent work and steady income.

Retailers as Fair Trade Ambassadors

Our retail partners have played a crucial role in sharing these stories. Across the U.S., store owners have:

• Styled beautiful displays that highlight artisan craftsmanship

• Educated customers about fair trade and ethical sourcing

• Included fair trade options in their holiday gift guides and home décor sections

When you choose to stock fair trade, you become part of a chain of support that stretches across oceans.

Trips, Events, and Community Building

This year included special moments like:

• Traveling to Africa with retail partners to visit artisan groups

• Hosting warehouse events and markets in St. Charles

• Participating in fair trade and community gatherings, panels, and conferences

These experiences remind us that fair trade is not abstract—it’s personal, relational, and rooted in people.

Challenges and Resilience

Like every year, 2025 brought its share of challenges: global uncertainty, changing costs, shifting timelines. But through it all, artisans continued to weave, carve, sew, and create and customers continued to show up, support, and invest in meaningful goods.

We are constantly inspired by the resilience of the women we work with and the steadfastness of the community that supports them.

Looking Ahead to 2026

As we look to the new year, we’re excited to:

• Introduce new designs and collections

• Strengthen existing partnerships and form new ones

• Continue improving how we tell artisan stories and share impact

• Offer more ways for retailers and customers to connect with the makers behind each piece

Thank you for being part of this year with us. Whether you purchased one basket, stocked your store with our collection, or simply learned more about fair trade, you’re part of this story.