Wonderful small store. Products here are created consciously, whether that means to support individuals in third world countries by offering a fair wage for their work, and thus having fair-trade items; having music in which the profits go to nonprofits, or items that have been recycled or re-purposed to help the environment. It is a great place to check out. read more

How could you not love a charitable organization that has fair-trade products... It's a perfect place for consumers to put their consumerism to good use... Prices are extremely reasonable considering that none of the items are made from children in sweatshops... Good karma shopping at its finest. read more

Love the friendly and helpful staff at the store! I went in to buy a gift and it was nicely wrapped up for me. I appreciated the extra effort by the friendly, volunteer staff. The prices are not cheap - but, you can find very unique, international items - everything fair trade. The products are very well made and you certainly don't feel like you are compromising any quality. There's also a fair-trade food section in the back! I always feel like I'm traveling, when I walk into the store... which is an added bonus. read more

Love the fair trade items! Fun place To look around! Parking in back that we didn't know about but free and easier than street parking! read more

Everything here is super neat-wonderful crafts and furnitures. I love every piece that they carry-drums, bowls, chairs, jewelry and various crafts. And the most amazing thing is that the price is so reasonable. And to think it's for such a good cause, you'd want to buy the whole store! I ended up buying a hugggeeee drum that was done by artisans in Kenya. It now sits so beautifully in our living room, and I'm so thankful of their talent. The lady who helped us was extremely friendly, and I think her name was Harley. It's a such a pleasant place to shop. I enjoyed every min. of it. read more

This shop carries moderately priced unique goods that I don't mind spending money on because it's fair trade. The employees were very nice and informative. I wanted so many things but I'll have to budget myself. I will definitely be coming back. They have a lot of holiday-related merchandise right now (as well as regular stock), so it's a good place to get gifts and decorations! read more

This store is tucked away in a Pavillions plaza of all places. A small shop, when you walk in, it's truly a magical experience. Everything is amazing and to think that most of the stuff is handcrafted somehow.. wow! It's really amazing exploring the store. A majority of the store's wares are household items for decorating. A great place to pick up a gift for a friend's apartment. I recommend the hanging picture frames grouped in sets of three or four. The store offers a bunch of these and they've got great splashes of color and have such charm to them. As for me, I love to pick up unique (and affordable!) jewelery, and Ten Thousand Villages did not disappoint! I was agonizing between two gorgeous golden earrings from India. On another note, I was a little surprised to see the amount of religious figurines around the store. I'm not Christian, so it made me a little uncomfortable. But I guess that's an exploration of culture meant for another conversation. So final note? Support fair trade and fair wages! :) read more

Want to be an eco-consumer and don't know how? Start by walking - or running - to Ten Thousand Villages. This is a beautiful, zen-like fair trade shop with merchandise from around the world. I've purchased gifts, music, furniture, textiles and many other beautiful and exotic things from here, and unlike a 'faux' world market, this place is the real deal. A portion of proceeds go to helping local villagers receive a living wage for their incredible handmade work, and in the meantime, you get a truly unusual piece of whatever - call it a zebra salt and pepper shaker or rain stick - that you can feel good about buying. Bring your credit card and charge it guilt free! read more

I love Ten Thousand Villages! This place supports fair trade by selling items made by local artisans and paying them a fair wage for their labor. The items for sale are unique and well worth the slightly-higher-than-chain-store prices. The staff here are really friendly and helpful, and even offered me free gift wrapping and a sample of their fair trade chocolate. read more

Totally not what I was expecting at all. As previous reviewers have mentioned, Ten Thousand Villages is like a Pier 1, except better and more carefully selected items. Plus you can feel good about spending your money here. I need to step in one more time and just give myself up to the details. I first discovered the website while I was searching for unique and unusual gifts. I was happy to see that there was a location near by. I suggest two methods of attacking Ten Thousand Villages. Either load up an hour's worth of parking in those new electronic meters and get lost for a while or browse the website in the comfort of your own home and make your selections. Then take your list and see what those specific items look like in person - keeping in mind that not every item online may be present in the store. This is a small store yet it is actually quite easy to get overwhelmed. The store makes really, really good use of space. Everywhere you look you will find something that catches your eye. When you come closer for inspection you will understand why there will always be an obvious difference between something carefully crafted and something manufactured in mass. There is a difference when the people creating items are treated like people and not machines and this difference gets passed on to their creations. You just can feel it. All the items have a certain kind of warmth to them. If you get so drawn in by the store that you see everything but the item you are looking for, the employees / volunteers will be more than happy to help you. And note that they are actually, sincerely content, not sincerely content to take your money. That is just so rare to find lately. read more

May 9 was World Fair Trade Day, and I couldn't think of a better place than Ten Thousand Villages to buy from and support the event. By happy coincidence my dinner plans were in Pasadena, so I stopped in yesterday to pick up a Mother's Day card. I ended up buying a lovely Fair Trade greeting card from the India Collection by Hope for Women. According to their website, women artisans from India handcraft each card with "tree-free paper faced with real pressed wild flowers and native plantings from the foothills of the Himalayas." This was my first visit to Ten Thousand Villages, and if I wasn't in a hurry I would've definitely spent a lot more time browsing. I know I'll be back and will make sure my friends are aware of this wonderful store. read more

This store is very cool. For my birthday I was offered a present from anywhere I liked from my best friend and I immediately knew it had to be from Ten Thousand Villages. I got a great guatemalan bag there and an african statue. Being able to shop and help is pretty sweet. P.S. almost everyone who works there is a volunteer and they're always looking for more, so if you're interested you should definitely help out! There's more to do than just work in the store, as they hold all kinds of events. read more

I love you Yelpers! This is a perfect example of Yelp at its best. I would have never known about Ten Thousand Villages if it weren't for you beauties. I LOVE this store! I was worried it would be full of hokey, cheap-looking "crafts," but it's not, everything is really nice. And, after my Heal the Bay beach clean, a girl has to get her eco-shop on. You *will* love this shop too -- it's that good. Oh, and once again proving Yelp *does* work, look at the reviewers for this store y'all. No "this is my sister's store, and this is the only review I ever wrote," here. Just honest-to-goodness local folk sharing their local loves (and not-so-loves). Oh, I love Yelp again! Oh, I love Ten Thousand Villages! read more

I have been a long time supporter of Ten Thousand Villages because they do fair trade. However, their customer service has gone downhill since they moved to this location. Yesterday, I had an awful experience. I was even called a liar to my face. I will no longer support this establishment due to the way I have been treated as a customer. (you will notice that most of these glowing reviews are from 2010 and earlier.) read more

Needed birthday gifts and found beautiful and meaningful gifts here. So easy even during Covid. Great service and felt very safe.

I love this store and have been a volunteer with them for 20 years. My family has benefitted from receiving gifts from them as well. No where else can you find fair trade only, in Pasadena. They have everything from chopsticks for kids to glass and olive oil from a Palestinian-Israeli co-op. Just walk in for a trip around the fair trade world. read more

Stop in and find something UNIQUE and cool for a gift. I got my girlfriend a cool box made out of recycled newspapers that she happened to LOVE! And the best part is it all goes to help provide jobs in third world countries. read more

This place hands down is one of the best shops I've ever entered. They have an absolutely great purpose to ensure fair trade for the works that other individuals do in other countries, you can find neat things from various places in the world here and they the artists that make these works are paid exactly what someone should get paid. As Americans, we are so use to cheap items, made cheaply where people are paid cruelty wages --cents by the hr. It's preposterous and that is why I love this shop because It actively supports fair trade. Shop here people. It's amazing :) I loved it! Definitely going back for unique gifts for loved ones/thank you gifts/ or whatnot. :) read more

This cute little store is wonderful! The staff has a passion for the cause and are friendly and provide great customer service. They wrap your hand made fair trade purchases with love. There is a lot of cute decorative items to choose from here and you can go home feeling good your purchase helped make someone's life better. My favorite items here are the handmade cards with quirky messages. Parking on street right outside. read more

Great store, I'm a regular shopper! Great gifts, great variety. I even get food items here! The staff and volunteers are fantastic. The work behind the products is the icing on the cake! Sign up on their email for sales and events too. read more

this is one of my go-to places for holiday shopping and gift shopping (for kids and adults) in general. i can't praise this place enough! they have beautiful items from all over the world, but most importantly, they are all fair trade items. it's so important to support this work, the artisans, and non-profit organizations like this! u'll also find really unique items that are both useful and awe-inspiring. i've also bought decor items for my own place. a similar store that u can also visit and support is CAFAM (craft and folk art museum) on wilshire, directly across from the la brea tar pits. they also sell fair trade items and unique gifts from around the world. :0) places like these may seem pricier, but that's the nature of fair trade. workers aren't being exploited. please support and spread the word! :) read more

This shop is THE VERY BEST. Everyone who works here takes so much pride in the store and each product is beautifully handcrafted by artisans from all over the world. The shop is a non-profit so the focus remains on the artisans, supporting their craft and empowering them to provide for their families and communities. Most of the store employees are volunteers. And since transparency is what TTV is all about, I might as well mention that I worked here for nearly 6 years and to this day, the shop is still very dear to my heart. How many people can leave a job and still love it and gush over it like this? Not many. That's because this place is soooo special. read more

One of my fav stores to shop at. Excellent hand made card selection and gifts. Ann and Nadine are always so helpful and friendly. Sample coffee and tea nice touch while shopping. read more

I was in much need of new furniture, and after searching on yelp, I found this place Ten Thousand Villages and after going to their website and reviewing their products and looking at their mission statement, I decided that I had to make my trek to Pasadena to check out this store. I walked in and instantly fell in love. The store is small but it is quaint. They have a lot of variety for your different needs. They have small furniture (I bought a bamboo side table), wall decorations, bowls, jewelry, small accessories. The prices are very reasonable, and not only that but all items are handmade from artisans of third world countries. They do fair trade, so all their items allow for opportunities for those artisans to make a livable wage. I highly suggest checking this place out. Right after I left, I wanted to go right back in and buy more, but I resisted the urge. Not only are their items great but the staff is very friendly and helpful. read more

Found this store first in St Paul, MN and now I frequent the Pasadena, CA store. It's not a place to go over and over again, but when you need something unique for a gift or yourself, this place is perfect. A little over my budget for every day purchases, but I LOVE to treat myself here. And it's all fair trade, so even if its a little more expensive there is a good reason for it. read more

I love everything this shop stands for and supports. Prices may be a little more pricey then you may expect but I love knowing where it's coming from and that I'm impacting a life in the world The women that work there are so friendly and knowledgable. Be sure to check-in and get 20% off too. read more

Damn good place. This little store has a wide variety of clothes, pottery, music, and other items from all over the world that make this place really interesting. The stuff's pricey but the money goes to the people running the store and the person who made the item. There's other similar places out there that deal with the Free Trade movement that are far too hippie for my tastes but this place does a great job of controlling that feeling. read more

Remember that "teach a man to fish" thing your dad taught you when you were a kid? It totally works! The concept of Ten Thousand Villages is that very saying, but IN ACTION (and you get to buy amazing gifts as a result). Go do a good deed and shop, my friend. Shop until your wallet bleeds. You will be so happy you did. And you might even get a free ticket to heaven! read more

This place is pretty amazing... YAY for Fair Trade. The owner is super nice if you have the pleasure of meeting him, and the staff are generally pretty friendly/helpful. The prices are a little higher than you can get at one of the local chain shops, but the extra money is so worth it when considering their mission as a store (non-profit solely interested in supporting fair trade producers!). Stop by and pick out a gift for someone you love: this is a great spot for unique, moderately priced gift items. read more

This is the first place I go if I want to buy a gift for someone. There are so many wonderful things to buy, in a wide range of prices. I like that I can splurge and feel good about my purchase. The staff and volunteers are helpful and friendly. read more

more like ten thousand gifts. i do all my gift shopping here. many beautiful, original items. and yes, every time i go i fight the urge to buy two of everything--one for me. not only is it fair-trade, it also makes my friends think that i'm a woman with impeccable taste. i will go to great lengths to keep that one going. read more

Cute shop. Love how all the items in the store benefit abd support artists or people in need.

A good place for a variety of handcrafted items at reasonable prices. Hard to find stuff like this except online.

I love this place. Sometimes socially conscious products are more of a "pity purchase" but not here. The products are well crafted and unique. The stories of the fair trade artisans are clearly displayed. The store is laid out beautifully with lots of natural light. Gift certificates to TTV Pasadena are my favorite thing to give as gifts because the shopping experience there is part of the fun. read more

This store has some very beautiful items and does a wonderful job with supporting artisans from poor countries. Its an all around win - you get something nice and you support a family in need. Some things seem a bit pricey but when you consider the work that goes into each piece its worth it read more

If you are in the area you have to go here! The store is warm and all the things you love about the fair trade movement. The volunteer staff are just so sweet. They also have a tiny but diverse selection fair trade foods. I LOVE this company because artisans are paid fairly in advance for their work, meaning everything you see in the store supported the livelihood of the person who made it. It might seem a little pricey, but remember that we have a distorted view of how much things should actually cost. read more

Great store for a great cause. They carry beautiful crafts that are hand made from people in little villages all around the world. Your definitely gonna find some unique one of a kind stuff here. read more

I love this little store and all of the unique items they carry. The staff is usually pretty friendly and willing to ask questions. I just had one instance where the woman behind the counter didn't want to be bothered. She huffed and puffed while packing an item in a ripped gift box, which she poorly taped together. Again, the poor service is not always the case. This is the first place I go to for unique handmade gifts. read more

Love this place. Unique products and a great concept to give back to artisans.

This was a very interesting store with many items from all over the world. It was hard to pick something to buy.