Oxfam

I had a wee nosey in here. Very clean, and had a nice selection of things. I was only in looking at the books:) these places are always worth a visit, as you never know what you will find.

This isn’t an Oxfam like most others. There are no second-​hand clothes nor hand-​me-​downs to be found here, and no, before you ask, it’s not thus like most Barnardos South of the city either, the type that boasts bona fide anthologies of vintage clothes, records, jewellery, home-​ware and books — unsurprising in light of the fact that there are some fairly affluent areas South of Dublin and so the model suburban resident would expectedly have high-​quality clothes to ‘hand down’. No, this Oxfam sells only new goods that either originate from ethnic locations or have been highly influenced in terms of design by distant cultures. These cultures are often located in the same developing countries that the Fairtrade campaign is trying to help. Such attractive and uniquely designed home-​ware as Bamboo Wind Chimes, Carved Wood Pestle and Mortars, Chopsticks Gift Sets, Leather Photo Albums, Red Leaves Lacquer Photo Albums, Hand painted Batiks as well as Lidded Traditional Baskets and many more feature in this distinctive store. However, aside from the shop only selling new goods, the other major factor that sets it apart from ‘the’ charity shop archetype is that it is rather expensive. For example, nothing that features on the list of items I have just recited is priced at under € 15.
These distinctive items however do make for excellent gifts. I have frequently picked up some stellar birthday and Christmas presents in here such as a Palestinian Foods Gift Set, Geometric Embroidered Handbag, and a Woven Bamboo Shopper as well as on one occasion a beautiful Leather A4 Notebook. These make for very chic and unique presents.
Clothes and textiles such as Lattice Weave Hats, ‘Fair Trade Feels Good’ T-​shirts together with a large collection of camisoles made from untreated cotton are also for sale within this distinctive store.
Nothing sold here (including the confectionary and coffee — e.g. Luxury Belgian Fairtrade Chocolate Box and Café Direct Machu Picchu Organic Coffee Beans) feels domesticated. You feel like you’re being kinder to the Planet just by merely stepping inside. Everything oozes a disposition that is a lot more vibrant and full of life than most other outlets owing to the items being of such a palpable ‘exotic’ nature. You could be easily tricked into thinking that the goods on offer are a compilation of random things explorers and travelers alike picked up trekking through Tanzania or walking in and around the hectic stalls of Kathmandu. This shop has a uniqueness exclusive only to itself and unquestionably worth a visit as a consequence.

I love this place for a number of reasons. First of all, they source products from artisans all over the world and pay them fair wages for their work. They have a cooperative relationship with many job-​creation projects in the third world, which allow poor workers to learn a skill that will enable them to earn living wages.
Second of all, the stuff they sell here is just fabulous! Lots of it is highly giftable: jewelry, candles, decorations, pillows, textiles, music, purses, bowls and boxes and even candies and snacks made from fair trade ingredients.
Third, the kids section is really special, featuring organic cotton onesies and t-​shirts and some really cute picture books printed on recycled paper and focusing on the environment, geography, and creating a better planet.
This would be an ideal place to pick up a gift for a well-​traveled, globally-​minded friend.

I always feel slightly guilty for not buying fair trade when I go into Oxfam. It’s full of pictures of delighted coffee bean growers beaming smiles at you because of how much fair trade has improved their lives. Which sucks if you just bought a jar of tesco instant coffee.
The shop aside from that is really nice. It’s full of bright and colourful tribal ornaments, drums, birdhouses and ceramics. Not to mention really good fair trade coffee, chocolate and the like.
Just try not to feel guilty if you’re broke

Oxfam is a brilliant shop. They have a little bit of everything but everything they have is great. It’s great because it’s Fairtrade, it’s helping people in developing countries and it’s just good stuff.
It’s great for some jewellery, Fairtrade chocolate or coffees. They also have nice housey stuff, photo albums and then lots of trinkets that make great presents.

The Oxfam Fair Trade shop stocks an array of ethically sourced goodies from all over the world. And just because nobody was horribly exploited in the making of those goodies, doesn’t mean they aren’t great quality and good value.
You’ll find a lot of artistic and unique products sourced in developing countries like rugs, shawls, candles, bookstands and ornaments. There’s a particularly strong concentration on Indian and African crafts. It’s a great shop to buy gifts in and I recently picked up a colourful stained glass candle holder here. You’ll also find a good range of Fair Trade goods such as coffee, chocolate, biscuits etc. and a selection of books focused on developing countries, the environment etc.
You get a good quality product and the producer gets a good price for his/​her work. That’s a fair exchange, that’s fair trade.

For some reason I expected the Oxfam Fair Trade shop in front of the Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre to be filled with junk that no one wanted. I thought that it would sell old withered blouses and musty books that grannies would like. I was wrong and now that I have discovered all the hidden treasures, I will come back and do my shopping here.
Let me describe some of the gems I found. First off, it stocks merchandise from all around the world with a concentration of stuff from the Third World. I found jewellery from Vietnam, rugs and carpets from India and frames and ornaments from China. I also saw Worry Dolls which took me back to my childhood when I use to put these little Guatemalan dolls under my pillow to ward off trouble. It has a great selection of adult and children books too.
Prices are really good. This shop has beautifully woven Indian scarves for 5 Euro and great threaded South American pillows that are on sale.
The best thing about shopping here is that you’re supporting fair trade. Spending money here will make a difference in the world.