Ten Thousand Villages Reviews

To open an account on tenthousandvillages.com, follow these steps:

1. Visit the tenthousandvillages.com website.
2. Look for the "Account" or "Sign In" option, usually located at the top right corner of the homepage.
3. Click on it and select the "Create Account" option.
4. You will be asked to provide some personal information such as your name, email address, and password.
5. After filling in the details, click on the "Submit" or "Create Account" button.
6. You may be asked to verify your email address. If so, go to your email inbox, open the email from Ten Thousand Villages, and click on the verification link.
7. Once your email is verified, your account is set up and ready to use.

Remember, the exact steps may vary slightly depending on the website's layout and design. Always ensure to keep your account details secure. Happy shopping!

At Ten Thousand Villages, returns are addressed on their website. For any questions or concerns about return, exchange, or damage policies, the best way to reach Ten Thousand Villages is by phone at 877-883-8341 between 9:00am and 5:00pm Eastern Time, Monday-Friday, or by email at support@tenthousandvillages.com.

Regarding shipping, all orders placed through their website are shipped from their warehouse in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. They currently only ship to addresses in the United States. Shipping costs and times will fluctuate based on what is being purchased, where it is being shipped, any current shipping promotions, high-demand and volume changes, and weather conditions affecting carriers. Orders can be shipped to only one address. To ship to multiple addresses, a separate order for each address is needed. Ten Thousand Villages is not responsible for lost or stolen packages. If theft is suspected, filing a complaint with the local police department is advised. For the most up-to-date shipping estimate, items should be added to the cart and the zipcode entered into the shopping cart shipping estimator.

Ten Thousand Villages is a nonprofit fair trade organization that markets handcrafted products made by artisans from more than 120 artisan groups in more than 35 countries. The organization was founded in 1946 by Edna Ruth Byler who was moved to take action by the poverty she witnessed during a trip to Puerto Rico. Byler, with the help of the Mennonite Central Committee, began selling handcrafted products out of the trunk of her car, eventually expanding to a storefront called Self Help Crafts in 1958. She sought to provide sustainable economic opportunities for artisans in developing countries by creating a viable marketplace for their products. The original philosophy of Ten Thousand Villages was inspired by Mennonite values including compassion, service, mutual aid, and peacemaking. Over the past 30 years, Byler has worked to connect individual entrepreneurs in developing countries with market opportunities in North America. In the 1970s, the small project moved out of Byler's basement to become SELFHELP Crafts of the World, an official program of the Mennonite Central Committee. In 1994, the company became a member of the Fair Trade Federation. In 1996, SELFHELP became Ten Thousand Villages. The new name was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi who said, “India is not to be found in its few cities but in the 700,000 villages”. In 2006-2007 fiscal year, the company increased purchases from artisans by more than one million dollars. In 2007, Ten Thousand Villages redesigned stores to minimize environmental impact in order to meet what they call their "triple bottom line" of economic, environmental and social sustainability. By 2008, the company’s sales had surpassed $25.5 million, one third of which was paid to artisans directly. The other two thirds covered importing, storage, marketing, retail costs, and administration. In 2012, Ten Thousand Villages and the Mennonite Central Committee entered into a partnership agreement. As one of the world’s largest and oldest fair trade organizations, Ten Thousand Villages cultivates long-term buying relationships in which artisans receive a fair price for their work and consumers have access to gifts, accessories, and home décor from around the world. Ten Thousand Villages is a founding member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) and a certified member of the Fair Trade Federation (FTF).