Fair trade under the mask
Although most of the Ten Thousand Villages (TTV) stores closed in Canada in the spring of 2020 when the TTV Canada entity ceased to exist, seven stores decided to stay open and continue to offer fair-trade products. Four of these stores—in Abbotsford, B.C.; Cobourg, Ont.; and Brandon and Steinbach in Manitoba—continued to operate with the…
Fair-trade store emulates Ten Thousand Villages
The Ten Thousand Villages (TTV) store in Vancouver has closed, but the idea of fair-trade products continues to inspire a new generation to shop both ethically and globally. Kasandy/Locally Global occupies the space that TTV formerly had on Granville Island. “We are a fair-trade shop in exactly the same ethos, values and beliefs as TTV,”…
Former Ten Thousand Villages stores in Alberta rebrand
“What would it take to stay open?” asked members of the Edmonton Ten Thousand Villages (TTV) Society after the organization announced its closure in early January. Independently owned stores across Canada held emergency meetings to decide what to do next. According to Ernie Wiens, a board member of the Edmonton TTV Society and of Edmonton…
Ten Thousand Villages Canada shuts down corporate operations
Mennonite Central Committee Canada has announced the closure of the corporate operations of Ten Thousand Villages Canada, its fair-trade social enterprise. The closure includes the head office and distribution centre in New Hamburg, Ont., as well as Ten Thousand Villages Canada’s web store, wholesale operations and 10 remaining company stores, with the wind down of…
Edmonton store to contribute to Ten Thousand Villages sustainability plan
On June 27, 2018, supporters of the Edmonton Ten Thousand Villages (TTV) store voted overwhelmingly to grant its board the authority to gift $100,000 to the TTV program of Mennonite Central Committee (Canada), in a one-time attempt at a sustainability plan. The Edmonton store was the final partner to agree to the plan that also…
TTV stores to close in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec
In early February 2018, Ten Thousand Villages (TTV) began the process of permanently closing nine stores in four provinces. They include: • Calgary (Heritage) • Saskatoon (2nd Ave.) • St. Jacobs, Ont. • Stratford, Ont. • Montreal, Que. (both Monkland and St. Denis outlets) • Independently operated stores in Red Deer, Alta., and Windsor, Ont.,…
