Fair Trade Giving

Still looking for Christmas gifts? I have a few ideas. I know it's a little late but if any of you are leaving some of this to the last minute, you might find this helpful. If anything, it's something to keep in mind for next year or for any other gift-giving or shopping.

If you haven't watched this video, please do.
(I can't figure out how to imbed a video from youtube in my post. How do you do that anyway?)

Each year we have aimed to buy less and less. We've gotten it down to a minimum as both of our families draw names. We have been influenced by campaigns like Buy Nothing Christmas and the Advent Conspiracy, which have not caused us to give up gift-give altogether but have inspired us to change the way we think about gifts. We want to make sure the season is not lost in the rush to buy gifts just for the sake of pleasing others. We want our gift-giving to be thoughtful and used as a way to connect with family members that are far away. We have gotten better over the years in making the gifts something meaningful and serve as a way to connect with that particular family member in a special way and we've grown in our enjoyment of this way of gift giving.

This year, a new element has been added for us as we've aimed to make our gift-giving more beneficial to the needy in some way. Of course donations are always good ideas for gifts, and there are tons of options out there, but if you really want to buy and give something material to someone fair trade gifts are a responsible choice. I just discovered this idea this year and got really excited about it. We are gradually becoming more aware and responsible in how we handle gift-giving and purchasing alike.

Here are a few reasons to buy fair trade:

Fair trade products do not involve child and forced labor. I recently read a post on a friend's blog that had a link to this US Dept of Labor list of goods produced by child labor and forced labor. I thought I was pretty aware of how ubiquitous this type of thing was but this list really brought the issue very close to home as I don't think I had realized how many of the products we use often or every day involves child and/or forced labor. I think we all need to be aware of the impact our purchases have on the world.

Aside from the child/forced labor-free element to these goods, fair trade products give opportunities of economic self-sufficiency for impoverished families and communities around the world. Most of the websites I found have information on the producers so you can learn about the people and communities you are supporting by purchasing their products. There are millions of products out there that can be easily ordered online and make great gifts!

I have discovered numerous companies that have great fair trade products. There are also some organizations that have a more specific target, such as products made by trafficking survivors or those at-risk for trafficking. I'd like to share some of my favorites:

Companies that ship to the US and Canada:

Nighlight Ministries reaches out to sex workers in Bangkok, Thailand - many of whom have been trafficked internationally from Africa and Eastern Europe. For the trafficking victims they help them get back home and for local women interested in getting out of sex work, they provide training and jobs needed to start a new life. They make gorgeous jewelry. They rely on jewelry sales to keep their work going.

Ten Thousand Villages

SERRV

Urban Trader

Companies that only ship to the US (I think):

RIJI Green markets products made by trafficking survivors and those at risk of trafficking in a few countries. RIJI Green gives a certain amount of it's proceeds to IJM.

Trade As One

Global Exchange

Gifts with Humanity