February 2008
Green was the theme at the February New York International Gift Fair and sustainability was the trend. Aid to Artisans' eco products from projects in El Salvador, Colombia and South Africa were right in step.
Vendors at the recent New York International Gift Fair reported that business was indeed off, on an average between 10-15% but, they said, not as bad as might have been expected with the stock market headlines and the general countrywide economic jitters. The aisles were often crowded, as even in worrisome times retailers need something enticing to sell. (Pictured are Artecnica's green recycled bottles from Guatemala).
GREEN was the clear market trend along with the now widely adopted Fair Trade emphasis. Throughout the show from Handmade to Accent on Design the emphasis was sustainability. Widespread concern for our planet's renewable resources meant that some vendors even took the trouble to list every material used in a product, the source, and the process employed in production.
Eco-Chic from El Salvador, Colombia and South Africa
ATA has been working "green" for years and we had many green products in our booth. Magazine editors looking for eco-chic - and they all were - could choose from El Salvador's eco-products: recycled leather bags (from leftover factory leather bits and pieces, softened, much like paper pulp and reconstituted into leather again); lace-like wicker baskets and trunks from Fibras Naturales; natural indigo tabletop fu...
