Owners, Jill and Liz Dean, a mother-daughter team from Chugiak, have wasted no time ensuring their own business follows the Fair Trade principles. The store is a model of sustainability, from the eco-friendly polished concrete flooring to the low-VOC paint, to the recycled and repurposed materials used for the displays. 

While the space itself is creative and unique, it’s the products that will make the biggest impression. "Every item at GrassRoots has a unique story behind it,” said Jill, “Each product represents a group of people who are now receiving the opportunity to support themselves and their families with dignity.”

Along with Fair Trade coffee, tea and chocolate, GrassRoots also offers children’s toys,  clothing, stationery and cards, jewelry, handbags, textiles, decorative items and house wares. One product that clearly stands out is the Ellie Pooh line, which consists of stationery, notepads, journals and greeting cards made in Sri Lanka from elephant poop. A slightly less naturally recycled product is the jewelry made by women in Uganda from old magazines.

The Fair Trade movement can be traced back to projects initiated by churches in North America and Europe in the late 1940s. Their goal was to provide relief to refugees and other poverty stricken communities by selling their handicrafts to Northern markets.