Clothes, Jewellery, Accessories and Gifts, from far away shores.... and most of our stock is fair trade and ethically sourced.
About Rainbows:
We are positioned in the centre of Pages Court, in Petersfield. Here we have tried to create something a bit different. Take a trip to Rainbows to browse a beautiful collection of clothes, gifts, jewellery and accessories, from far away shores......
with our friendly staff on hand to help, our extensive variety of gifts, different styles of clothes and relaxed atmosphere with world music playing in the background, we are sure you will enjoy your visit to Rainbows.
Many of our items are Fair Trade or ethically sourced and with our comprehensive range you are bound to be able to find that perfect gift that’s a bit different for someone.
Looking for a new or more unique outfit? Look through our all Fair Trade range of clothing. Much of it is handmade mostly in India, Nepal and Indonesia, often using traditional dyeing and printing techniques on the fabrics to create a wonderful array of styles in beautiful colours and patterns. Complete your outfit with some of our interesting jewellery and our stunning silver earrings and rings, or a beautiful scarf or bag!
We also stock a variety of Incense, oils and oil burners and pretty incense gift sets.
Brief History:
Rainbows itself has been going for a long time and has changed hands several times over the years. The current owner, Ruth Henslow, was herself a customer for many years and then worked in the shop for 3 years before taking it over in February 2012 and saving it from closure. Since then Ruth has made many changes to build it up to what it is today, and we hope Rainbows will continue on with its new look now for many years to come!
Fair Trade at a fair price:
Wherever possible the stock I buy for Rainbows is from Fair Trade and ethical suppliers, many of which are members of BAFTS (the british association for fair trade shops and suppliers) such as Nomads Clothing, Namaste, Gringo, Siesta crafts and Paper High.
My Suppliers often work directly with the producers and crafts people, ensuring that fair trade standards are met, the workers get paid a fair wage, have good working conditions and aren’t exploited. No children under 16 are employed in any factories and men and women are treated equally. Sometimes my suppliers help the smaller businesses to get going by paying for orders in advance thus preventing the producers from having to borrow money to make the order. Often the producers are small or family run businesses employing skilled crafts people who use techniques that have been passed down through generations. This helps to keep traditional crafts alive whilst providing a stable income for the workers. Some of the larger producers are also able to support various charities or community projects in their area.
Also, as my suppliers work directly with the producers it also cuts out big profits made by agents and middle men so that we can supply you, my customers, with beautiful fair trade goods at a fair price!
The Environment:
We also try to lessen our environmental impact. Some of our products are made from recycled materials. Our suppliers encourage their producers to source raw materials locally and to use recycled packaging.
We stock a range of interesting gifts made from coconut shells and bamboo and we have stunning recycled aluminium enamelled table ware. We also have many eco friendly items that are skilfully hand carved from mango wood that is sustainably sourced and we stock various styles of clothing made from beautifully soft organic cotton.