We were delighted that the Paisley Daily Express wrote up this lovely article about Mary Russell winning the prestigious fair trade award at the annual Scottish Fair Trade Forum’s award ceremony. We’d also like to thank them for kindly giving us permission to share it.
Black Friday, a day known for excessive consumerism and waste, approaches and while we can’t suggest shopping ethically with us instead right now – as we’re sadly closed under Level 4 Coronavirus restrictions – we’ll be supporting Traidcraft’s annual Reject Black Friday campaign.
We believe in doing our best to live in ways that support the environment and people, rejecting mass-consumerism that often relies on taking advantage of workers and contributing to environmental disaster.
Think about where you shop this Christmas, and consider whether you can wait a few weeks to get something ethically sound, rather than opting for mindless speed and volume.
As today is the final shopping day with us before our 3 week lockdown hiatus, we’ll be staying open until 6pm!
We have stock remaining of The Real Advent Calendar and Divine’s dark chocolate calendar which is vegan society certified – get them while you still can!
Following the Scottish Government’s announcement that Renfrewshire will be moving into level 4, the Rainbow Turtle shop will be closing for 3 weeks at 4pm on Friday.
So you’ve got three days to get shopping! We recommend stocking up on all of your household essentials, like refills and toilet roll, as well as treating family and friends to some of our Christmas goodies!
We’ll be open from 10am until 4pm today, tomorrow, and Friday.
Following the announcement today from the Scottish Government that Renfrewshire will be moving into level 4 restrictions, Rainbow Turtle will be closed from 4pm on Friday 20th November until 10am on Saturday 12th December.
At this time, we won’t be able to offer any click & collect or delivery services. We’ll still be open on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week, from 10am until 4pm, and we hope you might take this chance to buy Christmas essentials (advent calendars, cards, gifts!) early.
We’ll see you in December!
Tonight, pupils at Mary Russell Secondary, and their teachers, were awarded the 2020 Scottish Fair Trade Campaign Award by the Scottish Fair Trade Forum for the work they’ve done with us at Rainbow Turtle and in their community to spread the word of Fair Trade and sustainability. Well done Mary Russell!
The video below shows just some of what they’ve done so far, and you can get a sneak peak at their next project with Rainbow Turtle here!
The pupils of Mary Russell school, under the guidance of their art teacher, Miss Ferguson, have started smartening up Rio the lion. Our hope is that they will have him ready for the beginning of December for our new Christmas window.
What do think of his new rainbow mane? We enclose a picture of how he looked when he came to us to compare with how he is starting to shape up.
Please keep supporting Rainbow Turtle. We hope to keep trading, even if we have to shut the shop during lockdown, by restarting our click and collect service. Click here for more information about our click and collect service.
These festive little guys think that you should hot-foot it down to Rainbow Turtle tomorrow and next week to stock up on Christmas treats like cards to send to friends or maybe some chocolate to enjoy yourself!
There’s still the possibility that the West of Scotland may move into level 4 in the coming weeks, which would mean closing our shop, and so we don’t want anyone to miss out on our lovely Fair Trade and ethical Christmas goodies. If that does happen, we’ll go back to our click & collect model from earlier in the year (more information here), but being a small business we rely on our Christmas sales so we really appreciate every early purchase in this difficult year.
With most of the world interrupted at the moment, you’ll be pleased to learn that some Fair Trade events are now online. This might mean that some things you may have missed in the past are now much more accessible!
The Scottish Fair Trade Forum‘s 2020 awards are taking place on Monday 16th November. Sign up here to celebrate the winners of these prestigious awards, along with Jenny Gilruth, Scotland’s Minister for Europe and International Development.
Younger campaigners may also be interested in this week’s Youth Climate Summit. You can sign up for a wide variety of sessions, on topics ranging from Fairtrade chocolate to sustainable fashion here.
Rio the lion was recently off on his travels, but where was he going, I hear you ask? (Note, lions are not covered by the current travel restrictions, since there is no evidence that they are carriers of the covid 19 virus.)
Rio’s been looking a wee bit tired lately and he arrived at Mary Russell school in Paisley today where he is to undergo a makeover. The pupils of the school are going to redecorate him for this year’s Rainbow Turtle Christmas window.
Again, I hear you ask, what has a lion got to do with Christmas and fair trade? Our theme this year will be about diversity, and how much more diverse can you get with a green lion and a rainbow turtle?
Watch this space for further exciting episodes from the life of the far-travelled Rio the lion.
