In 1992 Charlotte di Vita founded her first ethical trading
company in order to create environmentally sound and economically
viable means to alleviate poverty in impoverished communities.
Since then her international ethical trading initiatives
have achieved considerable success.
- Since 1992, Charlotte di Vita's ethical trading companies
have assisted producer groups in 21 countries by purchasing
their handicrafts or sustainably-harvested rainforest products
- Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Mali, South Africa,
Zimbabwe; Bangladesh, China, India, Nepal, Philippines,
Thailand; Belize, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Guatemala,
Mexico, Peru.
- Charlotte di Vita has provided on-site marketing, accounting,
export, design, pricing and negotiation skills training
to 11 handicraft organisations in Ghana, Kenya, South Africa,
Brazil, and Thailand entirely free of charge.
- Charlotte di Vita's ethical trading companies have designed
over 450 new products for clients. These include stationery,
toiletries, collectibles, household items, musical instruments,
garden ornaments, textiles, clothing and Christmas decorations.
- These products have been marketed successfully internationally.
- Today, a minimum of 482 individuals in China and South
Africa receive a fair, reliable monthly income by producing
for Charlotte di Vita's ethical trading companies. These
crafts people support 1,680 members of their family, mainly
elders and children, with the income they earn from producing
handicrafts for the Charlotte di Vita Collections
and the Trade plus AidŽ Design Studio .
- To date, Charlotte di Vita's ethical trading companies and partners
have purchased over US$5,500,000 million worth of handicrafts
from producer groups in developing countries.
- In 2003 the Charlotte di Vita Collections agreed
a worldwide licensing deal with Goebel, one of the world's
leading giftware companies, that guarantees a minimum fee
of US$1.3 million over four years.
- The Charlotte di Vita Collections is now recognised
internationally as a leading collectibles brand.
- To date, Charlotte di Vita has committed US$420,200 surplus
profits from the sale of ethically traded handicrafts to
fund development projects designed to alleviate poverty
in 25 of the world's poorest communities in 14 countries
- In 2003, the Trade plus AidŽ charitable trust agreed funding
for 10 development projects to be implemented by carefully selected
Project Partners in six countries in Africa and Asia: South
Africa, Sudan, Zambia; East Timor, Mongolia and Vietnam.
- In 2004, two further projects were funded through Charlotte di Vita and Trade
plus Aid in Afghanistan and Thailand.
- In 2005, Trade plus Aid agreed funding for another project in Mongolia.
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