Ten Thousand Villages rebrands

BLUFFTON — The name has changed, but World Goods Et Cetera is still committed to the concept of fair trade — just like its predecessor, Ten Thousand Villages. "The biggest question I get is well, are you still carrying things from the Third World? Are you still carrying things that help people?", said store Manager Wendy Chappell-Dick. Absolutely, she said. This is just one more incarnation for the store on Bluffton's Main Street. "I think the most important thing to note is that we have not always been Ten Thousand Villages. We were Self Help Crafts, and that was another whole phase of our 50-year history," she said. The roots of fair trade — a business model emphasizing paying a living wage to artisans or farmers in developing countries — began with Edna Ruth Byler in 1946. She and her husband went to Puerto Rico as Mennonite missionaries. While she was there, Byler noticed the women were selling hand-embroidered items along the street for little money. She wondered if these things would sell better in the United States. Byler took some of the women's handiwork home with her to Akron, Pennsylvania and sold the pieces to friends and neighbors. The idea then caught on with other churches. Eventually she threw everything in the trunk of her car and took off on a road show. In 1952, Byler's business became a nonprofit program of the Mennonite Central Committee called the Overseas Needlepoint and Crafts Project. The program changed its name to Self Help Crafts in 1968. Led by Lois Kreider, members of Bluffton First Mennonite Church opened the first fair trade storefront in town in 1974. It was called Self Help Crafts. The name changed in 1996 to Ten Thousand Villages. In 2012, Ten Thousand Villages separated from MCC, although the organization still appointed board members. Chappell-Dick explained that Ten Thousand Villages was basically functioning like a franchise what meant they were trying to make all of the stores alike. "We all had to use that color of red and that color of white exactly. We all had to have the same window displays, and we all had to have the same percentage of products from Ten Thousand Villages," she said. That took a lot of staff time, she said. "And now that is just not the goal anymore," said Chappell-Dick. "The goal now is independence and variety." In an attempt to stay solvent, Ten Thousand Villages decided to focus its resources on selling online and business-to-business wholesale markets rather than managing multiple branded stores. Thirteen company-owned stores were closed in 2025, while 21 independent stores operated by local boards remain open in the U.S., according to Anabaptist World, an independent journalistic ministry. Those stores are now making changes, Chappell-Dick said. "It is really fun and interesting to see what people are choosing," she said. For example, the store in Archbold is now called Collective Goods. "Lots of new logos, and I love logos," she said. "I love designs that you know they're creating something to express what their store's all about, and it's beautiful to see these independent efforts." She said as part of Ten Thousand Village, 80% of the stores' stock was required to come from the main retailer. "Our store had 83%, but we were mandated to have 80," she said. "And then we had the leeway to get things from other fair trade organizations." The percentage that will now come from Ten Thousand Villages will be lower, she said. Chappell-Dick said she's looking forward to diversifying. Among the new items she's considering are felt birdhouses. "And felt, it turns out, is actually a good material for birdhouses because its weather proof, it's warm, it's flexible," she said. "And that's something, if I had to have 80% from Ten Thousand Villages, I may not branch out in those ways." Another new company she working with, called Pomegranate Moon, sends felted wool scarves that resemble pieces of art, she said. "That, too, is an example of ways I'm branching out a little bit more," she said. There are a lot of organizations that are fair trade. "However I feel strongly that Ten Thousand Villages is by far the best," she said. "The reason is because we have so much information about the people who make our goods. And just because an organization says they're fair trade, how am I going to know that? I want to know what the organization that brought us that good does, specifically for their workers." Chappell-Dick said the Bluffton store will continue to carry items from Ten Thousand Villages. "Their history is stellar in terms of being able to not be greenwashing, to be able to back their claims of fair trade with actual facts. That's very important to me," she said. Hours for World Goods Et Cetera are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and closed on Sunday. The store is located at 115 S. Main St.