Global Village was founded in 1987 by three Billings women intent on making a difference in the lives of individual artisans and farmers around the world. With the help of family, friends and the local faith community, they opened a retail store and went to work building a strong volunteer organization where people can shop their values of diversity, world understanding, equity, and fairness by purchasing merchandise that meets fair trade guidelines.
For discerning shoppers, Fair trade items provide an alternative to mass-produced goods that have little or no connection to their origins, and are often produced by exploiting poor and indigenous peoples and the natural world. In contrast, fair trade brings to market handmade items by people who are fairly paid, work under safe and fair conditions, and are thus able to support their families and communities.
Today, Global Village continues its fair trade mission, and also sells carefully curated Montana-made products, helping our state and local economies, and providing another alternative to mass-produced goods that come from afar.
We remain essentially a volunteer organization, directed by a volunteer board and a single paid employee, our store manager. Other volunteers help with clerking, fundraising, merchandising, financial management, technology, events, and community outreach.