Ethics Trading

The sun is shining and warm and we’re just waiting for it to dry the grass a bit more so I can go and mow it.

The soap nut solution does seem to be keeping the seedlings safe from slug, snail and greenfly attacks.  So we’ll be sowing more seeds later on today and hopefully we’ll not lose so many this time!

In other news, The Portal Between is now listed all over the interent - well, on a few notable book shop sites, including Tesco.com and WHSmith. This has inspired 2 new pages on the Ethics Trading site.

The Merchandising page features t-shirts, mugs and bags all with the Portal Between cover. These are printed and dispatched by Spreadshirt and although Ethics Trading earns a small commission we are not responsible for quality or dispatch times. Do let us know what you think though as this may affect our continued use of Spreadshirt.

There is now an Amazon shop linked on the Ethics Trading site.  Again, this is an affiliate scheme and Ethics Trading has no responsibility for any item you purchase through that store. However we do control the content, so if you spot anything unpleasant or that you feel shouldn’t be on there please let us know.

Hope you’re all enjoying the sunshine.  

Ethics Trading is expanding!

We now have a shop at Climate mall where all our top selling products are listed.  Next phase is to get the essential oils listed on there and then I’d like to find a new product for Ethics Trading, any suggestions?

ClimateMall is an online shopping centre focussed on ethical and green businesses. It’s a one stop shop where you can find a number of retailers, but all sharing the green, ethical and fair trade vision! If you’re a customer then please do wander along for a browse, if you’re a fellow entrepeneur who shares our priorities then please do wander along too, there are plenty of free shops going on there and it looks like being a great place to be.

Also for fellow business owners - I found Quassia recently. If you want to network on Quassia then there’s a sign up button on my page (link above) I look forward to seeing you either on Quassia or in Climate Mall.  

In a week Ethics Trading should be able to announce that the Portal Between is listed on Amazon.com. It could be a little longer as that is the sixth week of a six to eight week window and it does fall on Easter weekend so that’ll probably mess with the schedules a bit. But the Lulu process seems to to be stable and there is no reason for it to fail or go wrong. Still, you never know!

Yes, Ethics Trading is now technically a publisher.

No, that doesn’t mean you can ask me to read your book, sorry. Maybe one day?

Let me explain. When choosing the self publishing option for my own work I discovered I had to register a name as the Publisher, and that name could be the business name. So, why not? It’s extra subtle publicity having the Ethics Trading name and logo in EVERY copy of The Portal Between and any subsequent books, and I intend to sell loads!

This means that the British ISBN agency has Ethics Trading registered as a publisher, but it’s only my own work at the moment. I’m not putting a finality on that because you never know what tomorrow will bring. However, I have one book out, one that I’m writing and a small handful of ISBN’s to use.  It’s very very small for now, and for the foreseeable future.

If I ever do decide to expand things I’ll be sure to let everyone know.

What a weekend this is!

Happy Mothers day to everyone who is a Mother, whether your child grew to be born, grow up or whatever stage you are at, you are a mother and Sunday March 2nd is your day. I just love a home made card, some flowers are nice and a big hug from my kids.

Grab some daffodils while you’re out shopping and remember it’s also St David’s day today too - A big hello and much respect to all our Welsh customers.

It’s also Fair Trade Fortnight.

By choosing fairly traded products you can make a real difference on a fundamental level.

Fair Trade is the principle on which Ethics Trading was founded, it’s our core and our business model.

Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives.

Fair Trade is all about not exploiting people at any level, about empowering the source producers of the things we eat, wear and use every day. You can find out more on The Fair Trade Foundation’s FAQ page. So, when you pop out for a new jar of coffee, box of tea bags or chocolate (or whatever) seriously think about choosing the Fair trade option instead of your normal brand, it might be a few pence more expensive but isn’t it worth it?

Oh and in more personal news - The Portal Between, my very own book has cleared the approval prcess at Bowkers and is now heading into the distribution channels and on its way to Amazon and beyond. I am so excited.

Have a fabulous, sunny weekend and Celebrate something!