Monday, November 27, 2006

Today's Christmas gift ideas

It's a couple minutes late, but before I head home for the night here's Monday's Christmas gift ideas.
Today's theme: Fair Trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement which promotes equitable standards for international labor, environmentalism, and social policy in areas related to the production of FairTrade labeled and unlabelled goods, which may range from handcrafts to agricultural commodities. The movement focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries.
Fair trade's strategic intent is to deliberately work with marginalised producers and workers in order to help them move from a position of vulnerability to security and economic self-sufficiency. It also aims at empowering them to become stakeholders in their own organizations and actively play a wider role in the global arena to achieve greater equity in international trade.

Under $10
Handmade candle holders from Pakistan
A great conversational piece


Under $20
Family Circle Ornament
This marvelous handmade, fair trade ornament embodies a loving family message. Sculptured in soapstone by Kisii craftspeople using only simple tools. As each item is individually hand-carved from natural material, colors and dimensions will vary. Made in Kenya.


Under $50
Handmade woven baskets
Who doesn't have a place for cool handmade woven baskets?


Under $100
Coffee Aficionado Gift Box
Probably not a great gift for my fiance, her roommate or others who should avoid caffeine, but for the rest of us the Coffee Aficionado Gift Box is a great way to test the wits and expand the palate of discriminating coffee lovers. They have paired our six most popular origin coffees with Coffee Smarts trivia cards and a Grounds for Change logo mug.


Over $100
Coiled Wall Hanging
Tree of Life design has religious and cultural significance, showing how all living things are related. Artisan rolls different colors of dyed wool from Andean sheep into long strands. Then this tapestry is woven on a wooden loom, using cotton for the warp and coiled wool for the weft. Each wall hanging is woven by a single artisan, requiring two days.

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