HumanKind Fair Trade is moving to expansive new storefront in SLO
A nonprofit retailer with a humanitarian mission is moving to a new storefront in downtown San Luis Obispo with twice the space.
HumanKind Fair Trade, which aims to provide income to people in the developing world, is moving from its current spot at at 982 Monterey St. to the former site of Ascendo Coffee at 974 Monterey St. in mid-August, according to a news release.
A grand opening is set for Aug. 28 in its new building, which has more than 2,000 square feet of space.
Founded 12 years ago, HumanKind sells clothing, jewelry, home décor items, greeting cards, children’s toys and games, as well as food such as chocolate, coffee and tea.
Products are made by farmers and artisans in about 40 countries.
“As a nonprofit, it is our mission to purchase handcrafted goods from artisans around the world,” HumanKind manager LynAnne Wiest said in the release. “We know that the more we grow our shop, the more we can continue to purchase and provide sustainable income for these talented makers. Many of them rely on fair trade shops like ours for continued orders and consistent income.”
In 2015, HumanKind added 200 square feet to its Monterey Street storefront by taking on some neighboring space in its building.
HumanKind closed up shop at its old location this week to move to its new home two doors down, on the other side of Boo Boo Records.
Ascendo Coffee left that Monterey Street spot in 2020 when it relocated to the commercial space vacated by The Station wine bar on South Higuera.
When the coffeehouse location became available, “it felt like the right time to take the next step to grow our organization,” Wiest said.
The additional shop space will allow HumanKind to offer a wider selection of goods. Already, orders have been placed with eight new artisan groups in Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, South Africa and Thailand.
The expansion also will allow the store to grow online sales, Wiest said.
Besides Wiest, the store employs two full-time staff members and plans to hire two new part-time staffers. The store also has about 15 to 20 volunteers.
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