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At the end of the year, like every Festive Season, families will spend quiet a lot on gifts. Many people will seek alternative and sustainable gift options than the expensive gadgets and latest fad toys available in many toy stores. Many will also look for originality and uniqueness. While it's sometimes hard to discourage our kids - who are fed with ads and addicted to the latest plastic action hero or collectable piece of junk - it is worth giving it a try and offering alternatives.
Nowadays some families are also looking into more charitable donations and "gifts that give back".
Buying fair trade toys and gifts is the answer as not only do they allow a charitable contribution on behalf of the giver, they also provide a unique product that is often hand-made.
What is fair trade exactly? Well, in short, fair trade is a worldwide movement seeking a better deal in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, often marginalized producers and workers. Basically, it means the income from those products is fairly distributed amongst the makers, distributers, etc. so that everybody involved in the process receives a fair income from their work.
There are 10 principles to fair trade practices you can read in details about here but to summarize, fair trade means: creating opportunities to disadvantaged producers, transparency, good practices, fair payment, no child or forced labour, no discrimination, good working conditions, capacity building, promoting fair trade and respect of the environment.
Although there are some regulating bodies like the World Fair Trade Organisation or Faire Trade Internationnal, most of the companies are making their fair trade claims on their own and this is where it gets a bit tricky. So if you are looking for fair trade gifts and products, you have to take some time to look into the brands a bit, read who they are where and how they work.
Prefer buying from outlets specialized in fair trade products or look into handmade market places.
To see our handmade and fair trade collection click here
