Our Sustainability Story

1 / 3 Name: Shared Earth Product/service: When it comes to ethical gifts, you need not look any further than Shared Earth. We are one of the leading ethical retailers and wholesalers in the world, carrying the widest selection of sustainable and recycled products in the UK. We sell it all, from incense to clothes to elephant poo notebooks! Our main goal is to create a fairer, sustainable world, tackle the climate crisis and provide amazing products with a conscience. From its humble beginnings in 1986, shop founder Jeremy Piercys goals have never waivered. Travelling to India after leaving school, he became inspired to help redress the balance of wealth in the World after seeing the immense disparity firsthand. Fair Trade became the obvious answer, leading him to open up his own shop in the UK when Fair Trade was not a widely known concept. From there it has gone from strength to strength with demand for ethical products at an all time high. It’s important to us to never lose sight on why we started our ethical business nearly 40 years ago, that’s why as an importer of Fair Trade goods, we’re a member of the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO). Being a member means that our performance is regularly monitored against the 10 principles of Fair Trade through regular audits so you can trust that when we say we pay fair prices for our products, can guarantee the artisan has been paid a good wage, that no child labour was involved, that working conditions were safe, that workers are supported and often offered perks such as education for their children, medical care, new tools and financial support, you know we’re telling the truth. If you like the sound of that, our website has a huge range of gifts and homeware. All largely handmade from sustainable sources. We sell everything from rugs, crockery, glassware, suncatchers, incense, oil burners, jewellery, scarves, wooden boxes, games, mosaic bowls, greetings cards, clothes, bamboo socks, dreamcatchers and more.. so much more. Prefer to shop in person? we have two shops 1 Minster Gates 71 Bold Street York Liverpool YO1 7HL L1 4EZ 2 / 3 Images: Key Sustainability Points: We’re so glad that many other companies are choosing to trade with the environment in mind. Being amongst like minded businesses is how change is driven. We started our Fair Trade business wanting to make positive changes for some of the poorest, most marginalised people on the planet, and as we grew, so did the Fair Trade movement. It’s clear that we have our trade ethics in the right place, but what about the eco side of things? First off, the majority of the products we sell are handmade from recyclable materials; it’s what we’re famous for! For those of our products that do not use recycled materials, we aim to instead use sustainable materials, such as wood, jute and bamboo so we can still make amazing gifts without negatively impacting future generations and adding to the effects of the climate crisis. The wood we use is taken from reclaimed/fallen trees or sustainable plantations. For every sale that goes through our website, we donate 10p to the Joliba trust, a charity that plants trees to help reverse and prevent the effects of desertification in Mali, so locals can reclaim their land. We have also donated many thousands to the creation and running of a river barrier in Bali that traps and prevents rubbish going straight into the sea. That rubbish is then collected and recycled locally, providing more much needed work. We’ve also recently donated money to supply new tools too to all our Balinese producers to help them be more efficient so they can grow their potential. Helping support the people there and their environment. 3 / 3 A jewel in our sustainable crown is also our carbon neutral shipping policy. From our artisans doors to yours, our carbon emissions are offset by ‘the good shipping company’ from start to finish to make sure we ship responsibly and sustainably. Every decision we make as a company, the effect on the environment is a key deciding factor. It’s at the heart of our mission statement, and our primary motivation. We’ve almost helped every producer eradicate plastic packaging, either opting for sustainable card and paper choices or choosing plant based compostable bioplastics. Long term change doesn’t happen over night, but each decision we make, whether it’s new products or new packaging for us, or whether it’s buying a gift with a conscience from us, all start with first steps and the best intentions. No one is perfect, but we’d love you to join our journey and start making small changes here and there because they soon add up.