If there is a birthday, anniversary or a “just because” occasion coming up, you’ll want to browse through these international treasures. You’ll find everything from jewelry to clothing accessories, from home décor to quality wood carvings and paintings. And all of the items are created by artisan workers who have begun their artistic journey through micro-loans or work in fair trade settings.
In addition to buying beautiful and unique items on these sites, you may be interested in becoming a short-term micro loan donor. It’s a satisfying way to find the right gifts, plus benefitting a creative artisan in another part of the world.
Novica works in conjunction with National Geographic in many areas around the world including the West Indies, West Africa, India, Bali, Thailand and Brazil. You’ll find stunning, high quality jewelry, scarves and shawls, wood and soapstone carvings, leather and cotton bags and many more gift items.
Greater Good is a unique organization which allows your purchases to contribute funds to a cause of your choice. You may choose world hunger, autism, animal protection, rainforests and more. They highlight a project of the day, but you can search out your favorite cause. Currently much is being done to meet the needs of the people of Nepal.
Items for sale span a wide array from clothing to home and garden items and even educational toys. Take a look. You’ll find great items to purchase and you can help support your favorite cause at the same time.
One of the oldest and most respected fair trade companies is Ten Thousand Villages, now in operation with the fair trade vision for over 65 years. You’ll find gift items in many categories from kitchen baskets, tablecloths and candles to more artistic items such as sculptures, stone carvings and one of a kind ceramics.
Gifts with a Cause from World Vision
Gifts with a Cause has a wide variety of jewelry and home décor items. They specialize in elephant-themed prints, paintings and carvings. In addition they have collections of items especially for holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Christmas. As with all the above organizations all items are made by adult artisans in safe working conditions and each artisan is paid a fair wage for their work.
