Ten Thousand Villages is a non-profit retail store that sells fair-trade merchandise from artisans in dozens of countries. The store's website says that the staff are volunteers. I recently shopped in this store, and I felt pleased with the assortment of home decor (e.g., blankets), kitchenware (e.g., bowls, kettles, and mugs), hygiene products (e.g., soaps), clothing (e.g., dresses, robes, hats, gloves, scarves, and socks), accessories (e.g., necklaces, handbags), Christmas gifts (e.g., ornaments, nativity scenes, and stockings), foods (e.g., coffees), and more. I thought that the prices were reasonable for the quality. I found many things that I liked, and I feel good knowing that I can support artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed. If you cannot shop in person at this store, then you may instead shop on their website. read more

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I always feel good when I shop here, due to their reputation and business practices. The items are beautiful in addition. This time, we were looking for Christmas ornaments as gifts for a group. We found 26 in a variety of styles and prices and ended up choosing colorful animals, stars, and angels out of paper. The friendly staff person individually wrapped them for safe travel! Street parking. read more

Not very friendly. Would never go back. I feel this place is overrated. I also feel the prices are too high for the quality.

I always love stopping at Ten Thousand Villages. They have a ton of different and unique items, and they're one of the only places that I've found thicker incense locally. They're also known to support fisr trade practices. 10/10 recommend! read more

Very unfriendly vibe. I heard such wonderful things but my experience wasn't a very good. No one greeted me, said hello and I felt very unwelcomed. read more

This is such a great place! I have started to buy my gifts from Ten Thousand Villages because I love the items, the concept, and the volunteers! The variety of home decor, jewelry, kitchen items, and scarfs is all labeled with where it was made, as it supports countries and workers who traditionally are disenfranchised and not paid fairly for their goods. This is a place with great items that you can actually feel good about spending your money on! I highly recommend visiting soon. read more

Not only is the store full of great (hand-crafted!) gifts, jewelry, decor, greeting cards, baskets, and other items, but the service is also fantastic. They go above and beyond to take care of customers. This was true before, but has really come through during the pandemic. I needed to send a special gift to family in the area while away. I could not travel to the store to pick it out. By phone, the staff took great care to arrange the order and get it to my family safely and quickly - it made a difficult time much better for them (and for me). They live their mission to provide important opportunities to marginalized farmers and artisans and great service to those of us in their community. read more

When in search of a gift for a person who loves supporting a good cause, I make a point to either stop in to this store or browse their goods online. Ten Thousand Villages is such an amazing place to buy gifts, home goods, and apparel. The tags and packaging always makes it clear who you're supporting and how; Hundreds of artisans across the world earn income and provide for themselves and their loved ones through their crafts. Not only are you directly impacting a real person's livelihood by shopping here, but the products here are often also eco-conscious. Even gift wrap and bags are made paperless, some are made from cotton, while others are made from river weeds that are removed so as to not block riverways for boats. Even though the money you spend here goes to the artisans, prices are incredibly reasonable and don't come with a steep mark-up. If the ethics aren't enough to give you the warm fuzzies, the staff here is both helpful and genuinely friendly (as opposed to being friendly as it pertains to you making a purchase). This store also occasionally holds craft classes where you can learn a new skill. This place is all around wonderful. I'm so glad we have a Ten Thousand Villages in Pittsburgh! read more

I've been to Ten Thousand Village stores in other cities, but this location has the friendliest service. The employees here are quick (but not in the scarily overeager way) to greet you, and are more than happy to answer any questions you might have. The prices at Ten Thousand Villages are really good. When my mother came here with me, she kept looking at the prices, and saying, "Not bad. I'd pay double at X, or Y." I spend a lot of time in the jewelry section--lots of dangly, funky jewelry, if you or someone you know likes that stuff. I find a lot of good gifts for women here, whether it's jewelry, handbags, or cute houseware stuff. I think the selection for men's gifts is more limited, but then again, it depends on the recipient. They also have a neat little children's section, and a section with musical instruments. Knowing that all these--many very affordable--goods are fair trade is a major bonus. read more

I first became aware of Ten Thousand Villages via an advert in Pittsburgh Magazine. The one item that was depicted in the small feature happened to be perfect for my brother-in-law for Christmas, so I decided this would be my target location for purchase on "small business Saturday," and it did not disappoint. My shopping experience was excellent. The volunteer ladies working in the store were very helpful and polite. The shop is pretty big but is filled to the brim with cohesively themed collections of items every few feet. The wares are various and largely decorative, with a lot of accessories (so much jewelry, scarves, purses, etc.), photo frames, decorative dinnerware, Christmas ornaments, children's items, baskets, and really such a wide array of treasures that you can be carried off for some time just marveling at them. Each item has a tag that indicates the origin of the product and each piece I saw seemed unique. In many cases it appeared that items were made of materials repurposed into tasteful new forms or from sustainable products. Prices vary widely, and while you can find some small gifts for under $10, I saw prices go up through a few hundred for some of the fancier pieces. Importantly, the prices seemed fair. This shop supports a great cause by providing a market for sustainably made goods from artisans that live in the poorer regions of the world, and their selection of unique items is excellent. I will definitely be headed back to Ten Thousand Villages for more gifts in the future. read more

Ten Thousand Villages is such a wonderful concept. The workers are volunteers and the establishment is a not-for-profit business, so 100% of the profit goes back to the workers in less fortunate countries who made these products. While I was in the store there was a young boy who was playing with the instruments there. Instead of getting nervous and discouraging the boy from using the products, the employees were cheering him on! After he left they continued to talk about what potential talent he has. The workers are as kind-spirited and good-willed as the cause they are working for. I would definitely encourage everyone to visit! While I'm a babe on a budget, a lot of things were out of my price range, but my eyes were wide and lustful at all of the neat trinkets and handmade clothing they had to offer. read more

It's a nice place, nice staff. Reminds me of Cost Plus, but the proceeds go to help humanity. It's all very craftsy, artsy, folksy, which is just not my taste at all. There was nothing that appealed to me. But I appreciate their mission and their commitment to helping the world. I just wish they would consider a few more sophisticated products, away from Birkenstock Patchouli vibe, for those of us who want to support the effort but aren't earth mamas. read more

In the interest of avoiding "review inflation," I would like to think of a reason to give 4 stars instead of 5 whenever possible. But sometimes places are just the best they can be. Ten Thousand Villages is one of those places. When you think of a nonprofit store, you might think of a dingy place with low overhead and cheaply made gifts. You feel like you're making a donation rather than purchasing something of quality. Well, Ten Thousand Village does not fit this description at all. The store is beautiful and it seems to fit right in amongst higher-end gift shops selling Swarovski nearby. The handmade crafts they sell are impressive quality. Gorgeous artisan work. Some items may seem more expensive than you'd find at, say, Pier 1, but you've got to think about what you're getting: a handcrafted item for which the artisan gets paid a living wage. You won't find any substitute for carefully and skillfully created work. The employees in the store are actually volunteers, which means more proceeds go directly to the producers who are mostly women living in underdeveloped countries. There's also a whole range of items, so you can shop within your price range and find a great gift. I came here for a Secret Santa gift and my spending limit was $20. I bought the Unity Candleholder for $20 exactly and it was perfect. I'm not talking some little cup--this was heavy, substantial Kisii stone from Kenya, carved into two gracefully interconnected figures. A simply beautiful item. So many great treasures to find here, either as a gift or to treat yourself. Oh, and one more thing! They also have a gift registry! Great for wedding gifts. read more

Somehow, I had been to multiple Ten Thousand Villages outside of Pittsburgh but had never been to my own local shop just 10 minutes away from my home! I was delightfully surprised when I walked into the store. This location is the largest one that I have ever seen! It offers a large selection of home decor and accessories plus carries a lot more women's apparel and accessories than I have ever previously seen in a Ten Thousand Villages. As always, the volunteers are very friendly. I found a couple small things to purchase and definitely want to return again in the near future. read more

I love all locations of this shop because the stuff they sell is great and ethically produced, but this is the best location of this store I've ever been to. The women who work here are volunteers and also happen to be some of the sweetest, most welcoming people I've ever met at a shop! They made the experience so much fun and I knew that they genuinely loved meeting my sister and me. I left wishing I could work there just to hang out with those women more! read more

I buy all my house-warming gifts here. It's really nice to buy at a shop that has a good cause. The volunteers are really helpful and the selection of items is great. The clearance section in the back left of the store is worth investigating. read more

This is such a great little store. Their store volunteers are the nicest people and they really try to educate their customers on where their items come from and the stories behind them, if welcomed. You can find the most worldly and unique one-of-a-kind gifts there. It's a delightful little shop with a great cause. read more

. I went into Ten Thousand Villages with no particular agenda in mind. No Idea what I was looking for and no idea if I'd find anything at all. Now you've heard me extoll the virtures of TTV before--how they're a fair trade, not a free trade store and how their products are not only environmentally friendly, they help artisans around the world enrich their lives by earning non-sweatshop wages. I did buy some lovely cinnamon spice soaps and a body care kit, both from artisans working for Palam Rural Centre ("People's Association for Leather and Allied Manufacturing") in Tamil Nadu, India. Per their website, "...with money from product sales, Palam has purchased land and homes for artisans and built a school for artisans' children. Other artisan benefits include health care and retirement pensions. Palam artisans see education of their children as the key to hope and change. Through this work, Palam Rural Centre is providing dignity and security to artisans and helping to break down caste walls in society." Ten Thousand Villages sells socially responsible goods that are really useful. Check 'em out sometime. read more

Cute gift shop for fairly traded art, jewelry, some toys and textiles, baskets and home décor items, chocolate and coffee. Beautiful and unique greeting cards. Seasonal items and holiday decorations. A multicultural, artisan made collection of eccentric and interesting things. read more

Want to shop 'till you drop, and still feel good about yourself? Then Ten Thousand Villages on Forbes in Squirrel Hill is the place for you! Shop fair trade and know that you're giving people a hand UP, not a handout. read more