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A King Street shop packed with jewelry, clothing and home goods from around the world is using retail sales to support artisans thousands of miles away.

Ten Thousand Villages carries more than 1,500 products, including jewelry from India and Guatemala, baskets from Uganda and Rwanda, kitchenware from Egypt, eyeglass holders from Peru and turtle earrings from Colombia. Manager Kate McMahon describes the Alexandria store as “retail with a cause.”

The independent nonprofit shop was founded in 1994 by a group seeking to promote fair trade and support the artisans behind its merchandise. Originally located at King and Alfred streets, it moved in 2008 to its current home at 915 King Street.

The larger Ten Thousand Villages movement dates to 1946, when Pennsylvania Mennonite Edna Ruth Byler began selling handmade goods created by women she met while traveling in Colombia. Byler paid the artisans a fair price and sold their products from the trunk of her car in an effort described as “by a woman to help women.”

McMahon said the Alexandria store buys only from certified fair-trade sources that provide safe working conditions, fair wages and environmental protections. Artisans are paid before their merchandise reaches the United States.

“I buy from them and they ship to us,” she said.

The store recently provided space for a one-day pop-up organized by Taiba Rahmani, a 14-year-old Afghan girl now living in Arlington. Rahmani has started a business selling scarves, shoes, tablecloths and dresses made by girls in Afghanistan.

The products are shipped to Rahmani, who sells them locally and sends the proceeds back to the girls to help their struggling families. Among the items sold during the pop-up were hand-embroidered tablecloths, pants, beaded shoes and a cashmere scarf.

McMahon said many customers visit because the store offers unusual goods they are unlikely to encounter elsewhere. Its inventory includes paper made from elephant dung, colorful clothing produced with sustainable fabric and distinctive household items such as cat-shaped salt and pepper shakers.

She contrasted those products with fast fashion, which she said harms garment workers and the environment. Nothing in the shop is mass-produced, she added.

McMahon said even routine purchases can influence working conditions and help artisans earn a living without forced labor.

“It makes sense all trade should be fair,” she said. “I want to live a life of dignity; so do they.”