Seattle Fair Trade has been a part of the Seattle community for decades. Our mission has always been clear: to support Fair Trade and artisans around the world, especially those in developing countries. 

We are a vibrant group of volunteers, board members, and dedicated staff. 

Along with operating our retail space, we host events and pop-up markets around the area, as well as showcasing work by regional artists. With support from our matrons/patrons and loyal customers, we sell fair trade goods from around the world while fostering income and recognition for the artisan makers. We want Seattle Fair Trade to serve as a center for art and fair trade in the Roosevelt neighborhood.

Volunteer with us!

Seattle Fair Trade is almost entirely volunteer run, which means there is a wide variety of ways in which you can participate, from clerking in the store to operating pop-up markets to producing arts events and helping with graphic design. Volunteering with us means becoming involved in your local community. You will interact with people from the neighborhood and greater Seattle area who all believe in the Fair Trade movement, supporting local and global artisans.

Volunteering with us means actively learning about the system of Fair Trade, global handicrafts, and the people creating these goods, many of them in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. We also have opportunities to visit local facilities for volunteer appreciation
and educational tours.

Become a volunteer

Make a donation to support artisans around the world.

Be part of your community, and the global community too by becoming a part of the Fair Trade Movement through your donation.

Make a donation

Our History

Seattle Fair Trade started in Seattle in 1991 as Ten Thousand Villages - Seattle, which was a branch of the national organization Ten Thousand Villages. The organization was unofficially founded in the 1940s by Edna Ruth Blyer, a Mennonite woman in Pennsylvania. During a vacation in Puerto Rico with her husband, Blyer discovered embroidery made by women of La Plata. She was fascinated by the beauty of these textiles and brought pieces home to sell to her neighbors and friends, which gave birth to Ten Thousand Villages. Today, it is a founding member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO). After operating for a few years in downtown Seattle near Pike Place Market, Ten Thousand Villages - Seattle moved to its current location in the thriving Roosevelt neighborhood in 2000.

In 2023, we decided to branch out on our own to promote fair trade products by artisans globally beyond those served only by Ten Thousand Villages, including those in our local Pacific Northwest. We now are excited to serve our community as Seattle Fair Trade.

Online store opening in 2024!