When trying to choose outdoor items and gifts for Mountain Sage, we thought long and hard about what we wanted to make available to Groveland and the neighboring communities. In the end, we made sure every item we offer follows one or more of these overall criteria:
The first two criteria are easy to define. But what is “Fair Trade?” Why support the “Small Guy”? Look, everybody knows you can buy from a large box vendor and get things for less. Every town in America is looking like every other due to the “Box Store Syndrome”. We’ve tried very hard to find gifts and outdoor products that are either handmade by individual artists or at least made by small companies that support and keep small towns (like Groveland) unique.
If we’ve imported from outside the country, we made sure to buy it through a certified “Fair Trade” dealer. This means the people who are handcrafting the gifts in other countries are not taken advantage of, and actually receive fair compensation for their hard work.
This philosophy includes plants as well. Many of our plants are from small native, sometimes organic farms in the local area, not shipped across the country. This means a few cents more for us and you, but a livelihood and a better future for the small towns of America. Locally grown plants means you’ll have better adjusted, healthier, happier plants and a healthier, happier local community.
So feel free to stop by and ask questions. We will be more than happy to share with you pictures and stories of the actual artists who have spent countless hours handcrafting something unique just for you…
