Holiday Gift Guide: Where to Find Fair Trade Gifts

In the U.S. and many other parts of the world, the December holiday season has become synonymous with the three S's: shopping, spending, and stuff. We spend millions of dollars on sweaters and iPods and toys made in overseas factories by exploited workers, children, and slaves. But this holiday season, you have an opportunity to do something revolutionary: shop for freedom. You can take a stand against human trafficking and exploitation by spending your money on gifts and products which help trafficking victims. This three-part holiday shopping guide (parts two and three) is intended to empower you as a consumer to choose to buy products that support the freedom of workers this holiday season. The resources here are by no means exhaustive, and I encourage you to educate yourself on all companies you choose to buy from. Happy and free shopping!

Part 1: Ethical Products

One way to shop for freedom this season is to buy ethically-produced products.  Even these products don't come with a slave-free guarantee, but choosing products with labels like Fair Trade and Sweatshop-Free is a good indication that the people who made it were treated fairly. Here are some places to find ethically-produced products.

Fair Trade:

The Fair Trade label means that certain strict environmental, social, and economic criteria were met in producing that item. When consumers buy Fair Trade products, they are sending a powerful message to business owners that the fair treatment of workers, often those in developing countries, is important. As consumer demand for Fair Trade products grows, so will the number of businesses who sell ethically-produced and Fair Trade products. And that means fewer men, women, and children living in slavery to make your stuff. Here are some places to get Fair Trade gifts this holiday season:

Fair Trade Federation: You can search their online directory for Fair Trade vendors in your area.

Fair Trade Shopping Network: Jewelry, clothing, home decor, bags, etc.

Global Exchange: Chocolate, coffee and tea, gift baskets, accessories, jewelry, crafts, recycled products, etc.

Ten Thousand Villages: Home decor, jewelry, accessories, recycled products, clothing, etc.

Sweatshop-Free:

There's a fine line between an exploited worker in a sweatshop and a slave, and it's a line that is often crossed. You can help keep people out of slavery and ensure workers get a fair deal by shopping sweatshop-free. You'll be supporting companies that treat workers with respect, rather than those that exploit and enslave workers. Here are some places to get sweatshop-free gifts this holiday season:

Sweatfree Communities: Sweatfree Communities has a great shopping guide with a number of places to buy sweatshop-free apparel for men, women, and children.

No Sweat Apparel: 100% union-made clothing and shoes.

Unite Here: You can browse their database of union-made apparel vendors.

Handmade:

The handmade movement is gaining ground, in part because a handmade item stands out in a world of factory production. But buying handmade also supports individual artists and artisans who support themselves. By shopping handmade instead of at a chain store, money that might have gone to sweatshop owners and slaveholders instead goes to individual artists. Here are some places to get handmade gifts this holiday season:

Artfire.com: Artists from around the globe selling their wears and supplies to make your own art.

Etsy: Etsy features handmade and vintage items created by individual artisans.

Multiple Impacts:

As the ethical consumption movement has grown, a number of places have popped up that benefit specific causes or allow the consumer to shop by values that are important to her or him. Here are some places with multiple impacts to get gifts this holiday season:

World of Good: You can shop for items that are people positive (i.e., good for workers), eco positive, animal friendly, or that benefit a cause.

The Hunger Site and Co.: The Hunger Site and it's sister sites, including the Child Health Site and the Literacy Site, offer products that benefit specific causes.

Do you have a favorite place to buy ethically-produced products? If so, let us know in the comments!

Photo credit: Menage a Moi