Welcome to State College, land of feel-good local shopping experiences!
We’ve got farmers markets and farm shops, unique small businesses and locally-owned restaurants, and plenty of opportunities to support our neighbors and community with our dollars.
Our two local Targets have their place, but did it feel really great to stop into beloved downtown staple Kitchen Kaboodle last week to buy some new oven mitts instead? It did. (Like Target, that store also tends to entice me to take home a couple more items than originally planned!)
Newest on my list of feel-good shopping experiences is the State College Ten Thousand Villages, a nonprofit whose global mission is to break the cycle of poverty for disadvantaged artisans and farmers. More on the really cool way they achieve this goal (and some of the unexpected items I found in our shop) later!
But first, a little backstory.
To start, did you know that State College is one of fewer than 50 designated Fair Trade Towns in the United States? Talk about a proud local moment!
Jenn Miller, current Director of Outreach and Education at our local Ten Thousand Villages, moved back to State College in 2018. She was ready to launch a Fair Trade Town campaign here, but was happy to find that a group of Penn State students had completed the certification process in 2015!
Jenn’s story is an increasingly common one in State College. She grew up in the area and, 18 years later, moved back to town with her family after years involved in the fair trade movements in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Raleigh.
State College had made the short list of places she and her husband had considered moving with their young daughter because of its easy access to the outdoors, walkable neighborhoods, and great schools. After relocating, they also found that, even though State College is much smaller than most of the places they had lived, it offered many of the same amenities.
Now, she spends her time raising awareness about our Fair Trade Town status, encouraging more locals to support the mission and enjoying the community she’s building as a result.
For example, she told me about one of her favorite outreach events, which involved talking to local art students about fair trade. Jenn showed them some Batik fabric pieces created by artisans in Ghana and then each student designed and dyed their own Batik art. The art was displayed in the front window of Ten Thousand Villages and the students were invited to an “Artist Reception” where they could show off their work. So many students, parents, and family friends attended that they ran out of refreshments!
Jenn emphasized that this type of community collaboration and support doesn’t happen everywhere. We’re lucky to live in a place where it does.
Our local Ten Thousand Villages is full of sunlight and friendly vibes. There’s free – fair trade, of course! – coffee to sip on while you browse, which adds to the cozy, welcoming feel. (I learned that the coffee, tea, and chocolate industries are the top three offenders when it comes to child or forced labor and that swapping out these items with fair trade alternatives is a great first step to supporting more equitable practices.)
I’ve been gifted Ten Thousand Villages items in the past, but this was my first time inside our local store and the concept of “fair trade” was something I was only peripherally aware of beforehand.
What’s so cool about Ten Thousand Villages’ model is that all makers and farmers are paid a living wage, upfront. So by the time a shipment of woven baskets or candle holders or coffee leaves its country of origin, the maker or grower will have been paid in full. That means that any discounts or unsold products are the responsibility of the store to take on, not the producer’s.
Oh. And I would also be totally remiss if I didn’t mention the alpacas.
Every year, the store hosts an Alpaca Party (Saturday, Sept. 30 this year!), complete with live, fluffy alpacas! (Lucky us, PA has got its fair share of alpaca farms.) The event coincides with the seasonal release of alpaca wool winter-wear from Bolivia and Peru, which is wildly popular. And when I say wildly popular, I’m not exaggerating. Our State College store sells more than double the amount of alpaca wool socks than any other Ten Thousand Villages, which I’m chalking up to the fact that there is nothing cozier for your feet on a Pennsylvania winter morning!
One word of warning before you visit, though. You should know that there’s a little controversy surrounding our local store.
A debate has been raging and if you haven’t weighed in already, you’ll probably want to.
The debate surrounds a bar of chocolate. Lemon ginger chocolate, to be exact.
Apparently, this is a “love it!” or “hate it!” item, with many intense feelings held on both sides.
After trying it, I can say with full confidence that I am on Team Love It and highly recommend you try it out for yourself and join me on the correct team. 😉
Laura Mustio made her way to State College via Pittsburgh in 2015. Her writing celebrates our area’s hidden gems, treasured locals, and not-to-be-missed experiences.
