A new store opened on the busiest shopping day of the year with one ironic goal in mind.

"We thought it would be good to subvert consumerism," said Nathan George, one of the owners of Trade as One, Santa Cruz's newest fair-trade focused boutique.

With his wife, Catherine, the Georges opened their store on Black Friday, the day of the year most dedicated to consumption and shopping.

The difference is the items in his boutique have a conscience. It's part of the store's fair trade mission.

The goal of fair trade is to help producers in developing countries have sustainable jobs and livable wages. For folks who live on less than a dollar a day, the Georges see fair trade as a way of changing lives for the better.

"All of the crafts are made by people that were taken out of human trafficking, that were in the sex trade," George said. "It's a way of sustainable creating jobs that break cycles of dependency and abuse.

The grand opening of the store marked the expansion of the 4-year-old online shop to a brick-and-mortar location. The grand opening event included performances by local musicians, children's activities and samples of some of the store's edible products.

In the store, there are hundreds of different items from dozens of countries across the globe: greeting cards from South Africa, hand-woven rugs from Nairobi, bowls from Vietnam made from recycled magazines, organic coffee from Ethiopia, chocolates from Ghana, lunch bags from Indonesia.

Each item has a story—and each story is what inspires the Georges. His passion is apparent as he gives a tour of the merchandise.

"There's 27 million slaves today in the world," said George. "We're trying to use everyday spending power to make change."

The store is also focused of offering items that are useful everyday.

"We are trying to go for products people would find downtown any day of the week in a boutique," said Nathan George.

Customers who discovered the store on opening day were enthusiastic about the offerings.

Susan Mason, a Bonny Doon resident, read about the opening in the newspapers and decided to check it out.

"It's kinda fun and it's reasonably priced," said Mason. "I prefer to buy things that make a difference, that are locally produced or fair trade."

Michele Johnson, who was in Santa Cruz visiting family for the holiday, also liked the store's offerings.

"It was pretty cool," she said. "Every time you buy something, you save a life."

Trade As One is at 332 Ingalls St. in Santa Cruz.