Ethical Fashion: Adwoa Adu’s Arm Candy Casa boutique......

***We are under no illusions at Ghana Rising that whilst we are celebrating: the Ghanaian Glitterati, fabulous lifestyles, fashion, beauty, design and all the yummy happenings of the Ghanaian community etc –that many of our fellow Ghanaian brothers and sisters -would have gone to bed with very little food in their stomach last night –and for this we are truly sorry; -and thus we love entrepreneurs like Adwoa Adu, -who have managed to create successful businesses by marrying commerce and development! Ms Adu holds a Masters in Microfinance and after a stint in Japan, returned to Ghana to volunteer as a small business development trainer with Canadian Crossroads International. It was through her experience helping women to build businesses in Africa that inspired her yummy boutique - ‘Arm Candy Casa’.

‘Arm Candy Casa’ carries fashionable fair-trade items [handbags, shoes and a large collection of on-trend accessories] created by artisans in the developing world –enabling them to get a fairer price for their goods/designs.....For more information about ‘Arm Candy Casa’ boutique please visit:

Arm Candy Casa
4 Elm St
Toronto,ON
M5G 1G7
Tel: 416-916-7888
http://shop.armcandycasa.com/shop/

It's official -Ghana is the sweetest country on Earth....

Zingolo is the first single from Glass and a Half Full Records. Ghana is the heart of Cadbury Dairy Milks Fairtrade Cocoa and so the track celebrates all things Ghanaian; its people, its rappers, its dancers, its culture and, of course, its cocoa beans.

Beyond Fashion -Trashy Bags

I am sure that like me, - you have become more savvy about our plant Earth, -and the damage we are doing to it -daily. Climate changes ('Global Warming', the 'Greenhouse Effect' etc), and my [increasing] carbon footprint -have made me more conscience of my own conspicuous consumption, -and my out of control -buying habits have changed -somewhat. From turning the tap off whilst I brush my teeth [ my four year son pointed out -just how wasteful it is -to keep the water running] -to switching off all electricity (bar the fridge and freezer -of cause) -from the mains at night (it has now been proven -that the television [and other appliances of that nature] -still uses energy [even] after it has been turned off and left on standby) - I have become more responsible and buy Fairtrade goods, -like Fairtrade cotton t-shirts from M&S, Fairtrade pineapples/mangoes/coconut from Ghana at Waitrose and of cause -all the chocolate I buy are all fairtrade -and contain cocoa from Ghana (I am enjoying a Fairtrade certified Co-operative Milk Chocolate bar as I type this piece). I'm also up to date and can tell you which multi nationals are ethical -and which are not -and thus, -now demand more from those I buy from. But what of the mess we have already created? Well, Trashy Bags are trying to right, -some of the devastating wrongs -like the mountains of plastic bags that line our streets, beaches and trees in Ghana. Trashy Bags, -have come up with a solution for the; ugly, pollution and Malaria inducing - plastics bags that plague Ghana -and have turned them into uber fashionable handbags for the ethically savvy woman [or man]. A sustainable and ethically sound solution to a very modern malaise -Trashy Bags is an incredible business model -and I hope they inspire other businesses -to not just think about profit -but to think about how their businesses impact Ghana -environmentally. To find out more about Trashy Bags visit: http://www.trashybags.org/