Her hard work... You're new look

Shop for Change is excited to be featured in the Global Edition of Belch and Belch’s classic text Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective published by McGraw Hill. The authors chose Shop for Change’s magazine advert, which was developed to launch our brand partner Mother Earth’s Shop for Change range, as an example of “advocacy advertising”—a marketing strategy that promotes a social cause in a way that also supports the sponsor. We feel this is a great compliment to the strength of our efforts as we work hard to keep farmers at the forefront of every initiative we undertake.

Shop for Change’s brand partners continue to dazzle this festival season with Mother Earth’s launch of its new Men’s and Women’s designs. Made from Shop for Change Fair Trade certified cotton from partner Chetna Organic’s projects in Orissa, these garments are comfortable, stylish, and friendly to your wallet. They are priced from Rs. 699 to Rs 1199 for the five new women’s styles and Rs. 1199 to Rs. 1299 for the two men’s styles. Available in all three Mother Earth stores in Bangalore, the South City Mall in Kolkata, and the R-City Mall in Mumbai.

If you can’t find your way to any of these locations, visit our ‘where to buy’ page at buy.shopforchange.in.

Just in time for the festive season, Anita Dongre’s AND stores (as well as participating Shoppers Stop, Lifestyles and Pantaloon stores) have a new range of chic ladies garments made from Shop for Change Fair Trade certified cotton. When the Shop for Change team visited a few of these stores last week, we were extremely excited about the new designs, including an array of shirts, vests and dresses in soothing blues and greens as well as classic black. The ladies on the team are also happy to report that the new pieces are not only stylish but super-comfortable and fit well. AND’s knowledgeable store staff also informed us that additional Shop for Change cotton garments would continue to arrive over the coming weeks. For more high-quality, fashionable fair trade cotton clothing, check out your nearest AND store while inventory lasts!

To find out where you can purchase more Shop for Change products, please visit http://shopforchange.in/buy.htm

Seth here – Shop for Change’s CEO.  My colleague Jaishankar and I spent the day in Sankeshwar, Karnataka meeting with the newest group of Shop for Change Fair Trade certified cotton farmers.  Mr. K. Sainathan from Agrocel oversees work to support the farmers and help them market their cotton on fair trade terms.  I asked Mr. Sainathan to talk a bit about what Agrocel does as a fair trade organisation to support these farmers.

Click to view Parvin's Photos of fair trade farmers!

On the way to our friend Parvin Dabas’ house for an interview (watch it here!), we passed two local busses donning hoardings with Parvin’s face on the side. Sahi Dhandhe Galat Bande (Right Work Wrong Guys), Parvin’s film writing and directing debut produced by his wife Preeti Jhangiani, hits the multiplexes Friday. At the same time Parvin was beginning to work on Sahi Dhandhe Galat Bande, Seth Petchers, Shop for Change’s CEO, contacted him asking if he wanted to get involved with Shop for Change. Over a cup of coffee, Seth invited Parvin to photograph cotton farmers from Shop for Change’s partner Agrocel Industries in Kutch, Gujarat. The award winning amateur photographer signed up without hesitation. In the near two years since, Parvin has exhibited his commitment to farmers and Shop for Change, helping to launch India’s first Shop for Change Fair Trade certified products with brand partner Mother Earth, showcasing his Kutch farmer photos at Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda Festival, and now including the photographs from Kutch in his new film. Parvin and Preeti sat down with us to talk about why they think it is so important to Shop for Change. Watch the interview and check out some of Parvin’s fair trade farmer photos in our online gallery!

Still from Sahi Dhandhe Galat Bande featuring photos of Shop for Change Farmers

Diti Kotecha, Seth Petchers, Apurva Kothari and Sapna Bhavnani

On July 22nd, Shop for Change teamed up with No Nasties, the band Airport, and Bombay Hub for an event that delivered on its promise to make you smarter, make you stylish, and make you dance. In April, No Nasties launched India’s first 100% Shop for Change Fair Trade certified brand. The July event in Bandra celebrated the availability of No Nasties designer tee-shirts online and in four stores in Mumbai, as well as locations in Delhi, Chennai, and Bengaluru. After all, that’s what founders Apurva Kothari and Diti Kotecha were striving for to begin with–a stylish, accessible way to address the serious issue of farmer suicides. With local designers putting graphics on the tee’s themselves, Apurva and Diti tapped into yet another way to involve the community and grab people’s attention. Attendees at Bombay Hub had discussion with Apurva and Seth Petchers, CEO of Shop for Change, and enjoyed a live performance by the Hindi rock band Airport.

Seth Petchers, Jackky Bhagnani, Puja Gupta, and Sandeep Thalor

Mumbai, March 22, 2011: Shop for Change Fair Trade, a not for profit organization promoting the concept of fair trade in India, has announced its association with a Celebwear.in, an e-commerce start-up bringing authentic Bollywood outfits into people’s wardrobes. Through this partnership, Celebwear.in will offer select designer wear from Bollywood films made from Shop for Change Fair Trade certified cotton.

After the successful foray into mainstream cinema with Gul Panag starrer Turning 30!!!, Shop for Change & Celebwear.in have joined hands with a unique and youth movie – F.A.L.T.U., directed by debutant director and renowned choreographer Remo Dsouza. The cast and crew of the movie have also pledged their commitment towards promoting the cause of fair trade.

Seth Petchers – CEO, Shop for Change Fair Trade says, “We are very excited to be partnering with Celebwear.in as it gives us great opportunity make fair trade an option for a wide, mainstream audience base. Bollywood connects very well with the masses across age groups and with Celebwear.in we look forward to maximizing awareness among filmy fans and letting them know how they can make a difference when they Shop for Change.”

Celebwear.in is a Gurgaon based e-commerce company that tracks celebrity fashion and makes celebrity outfits available to the masses. Sandeep Thalor, Co-Founder & COO, Celebwear.in says, “Through our association with Shop for Change we can give our consumers glamorous celebrity outfits along with the satisfaction of knowing they’ve helped ensure a better livelihood for the farmers of our country. We are delighted to be partnering with Shop for Change as we truly believe in the cause.”

The Shop for Change Mark guarantees poor farmers a better deal so they can care for their families and the environment.

Download full press release here

Check out more photos on Facebook