One Fair World

Specialties

One Fair World (formerly Ten Thousand Villages) in Salem, Oregon, is a fair trade, not-​for-​profit retailer of quality, artisan-​crafted home décor, accessories, candles, personal care items, jewelry, musical instruments, cards, stationery, baskets, carvings, as well as some food products such as coffee, chocolate, cocoa and tea. We have been in Salem since 2000.

History

Established in 2001.

One Fair World (formerly known as Ten Thousand Villages) began several years ago as a dream by a group of resourceful people who had no retail experience but were excited by the idea of bringing a fair-​trade store to Salem.

The richness and beauty of international, handcrafted items drew us to the project, but mostly the idea that a business could be operated to help others brought this group of people together.

Although our store is committed to the mission of alleviating poverty in developing countries, the way we accomplish that is by being a viable business.

The balance between business objectives and mission goals is a stimulating and challenging one. We are a nonprofit, but we still have to pay our bills in order to be a marketplace for the artisans and producers who need to sell their products so they can feed, clothe and educate their families. We are guided by ethical business practices as well as using best sales practices to survive in the competitive retail environment.