October is officially Fair Trade month and I plan to celebrate it by purchasing a gifts that are few Fair Trade this holiday season. I like to get my holiday shopping done super-early so I don’t get that nasty panic coming over me mid-December. Actually, I’m going to try to do what my mom does – she gets everyone’s gifts by the end of October, wraps them, and puts them up in a cupboard. Although it’s super-annoying to be asked what I want for a gift in early October, it does free her up to enjoy the holiday season doing things other than traipsing around malls with ghastly holiday muzak and that toxic fake mulled wine scent, which is sprayed everywhere.
I like to purchase gifts that have soulful, good energy about them. I know that sounds horribly new-age-ish, but when you stop to consider 
that we are all interconnected and that what you do to others/the environment, you do to yourself – it makes sense to purchase items that leave everyone feeling happy. I’d hate to think that a purse, piece of jewelry, or a shirt that I might purchase, was made by someone who was suffering as they made it, or by someone who was paid a pittance, while the giant global company employing them raked in huge profits! NO that’s not a feel-good gift at all.
Fair Trade basically means that the company/artisan who produces the good is paid a fair wage, and is treated decently. It’s a horrible reality that as we speak, millions of workers across the globe work in appalling conditions – cockroach-infested sweatshops where more than one bathroom visit a day is not allowed. It’s even more horrendous to realize that even swanky high-end designers utilize this cheap labor, in countries where they are safely under the radar. This is unfair trade on a massive scale and I want to avoid it as much as I can. Although it may not be possible for us to buy everything fair-trade, various companies have now made it pretty easy for us. One such store is World Of Good, where you can literally find a holiday gift for every member of your family and all your friends. I love that The World of Good Store carries incredibly unusual gifts, things like hand-woven hammocks or hand-embroidered meditation cushions. I particularly love their toy section, which shows me that there is no need to buy plastic toys, which are often toxic and most certainly not fair-trade. I also dig that you can click on any item in the store and read the story of the artisan/company who made it – these stories always make me feel grateful for what I have, and more inclined to help someone less fortunate than myself, by supporting their tiny business.
Fair-trade has become a buzz word now that’s often thrown into the same category as “eco” or “organic” – but as far as conscious living is concerned, it’s a really important one. My philosophy is always that small changes make a big difference. Although you may not be able to find that pair of trendy Fall shoes on a Fair Trade site, you will be able to find almost every gift you need for this year. You can also do a world of good by choosing to buy fairly-traded coffee, tea, sugar, and chocolate at the grocery store.
Find out where to buy Fair Trade staples in your area by clicking on this convenient map.
