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South African answer to Etsy relaunches

Are you the kind of person who prefers the polished perfection of the mass-produced, or would you rather buy your clothes and jewellery from a local maker who’s stitched every thread themselves? If you’re the latter, you might want to check out MzansiStore, the newly relaunched home of the handcrafted for South Africa. Taking its lead from the enormously popular Etsy in the United States and similar marketplaces, MzansiStore is a place where South African cottage industries can sign up for a shop front and sell to people who are interested in buying specifically locally made wares.

The site originally launched last September, but has recently been redesigned and the sellers’ dashboard has been overhauled. There’s an interesting interview with founder Dierdre Luzmore over on HumanIPO this morning which makes for interesting reading, and while the site is small – there’s only 600 or so products in its catalogue so far – it is apparently growing. From the interview:

“Locally made handcrafted products will always sell well at a craft market and MzansiStore.com cannot completely replace that,” said Luzmore. “But small-scale producers should be making a concerted effort to sell online because of the growth potential in the South African market and the potential to reach global markets. I would like for MzansiStore.com to be part of their sales strategy.”

MzansiStore also seems to have got a decent payment system in place, which is surprisingly rare for online shops in SA.

Personally, I love the idea. I was a huge fan of Etsy and its ilk while in the UK, and even used it for Christmas shopping for personalised gifts while in South Africa last year. Where else would you get 8-bit artworks of Half-Life 2 and handmade beanies for friends? I haven’t worn the Steampunk goggles I bought from Etsy yet, but if that sort of thing starts appearing on MzansiStore I’ll be a regular customer for sure. Right now, the crocheted and fabric jewellery (above) is probably the most unusual thing you’ll find there. There’s tons of locally made clothes though, and even if you hate handmade stuff they can’t possibly wear out faster than the rubbish you buy in the chains at the moment </grumpyoldmanmode>.

One thing I would like to see which isn’t on the site yet, however, is a commitment from MzansiStore to check out its suppliers and make sure that they aren’t using any kind of exploitative labour. Handcrafted products where the maker gets a fairer deal than in the supermarkets are great, but there’s a real danger that it could be used as a front for some kinds of South African sweatshops – which would defeat the point entirely.

(Via HumanIPO)

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