To keep costs down, the stores rely on volunteers. The Los Gatos store, for example, is run by 40 volunteers and two paid staff members. In the small store next to a dry cleaner's, shiny things, wooden things and things made from natural fabrics jostle for space on shelves and along the walls. Part of a wall devoted exclusively to satchels showcases bright Bangladeshi jute bags. Doesn't sound like fair pricing.
Martin rushes to the rescue with an explanation.
And all of a sudden basketmakers in Bangladesh were making more than doctors, and it threw the whole economy out of whack. Now the artisan helps decide what a fair price is. Basically, we give them what they ask. The store also sells the work of Seleha, a gifted Bangladeshi woman whose paintings are helping to feed her children and disabled husband. I spend as much money as I want here, and I can feel good about it, knowing it's going to a good cause.