10 Fair Trade Gift Ideas for Christmas

Gift Idea #1
Snowflake Table Linen Dining Set This hand-woven set gives you all the table linen you need for a seasonal spread. The full-size cotton tablecloth comes with 6 placemats and 6 napkins.
The tablecloth boasts an all-over snowflake jacquard pattern and two lurex border stripes; the placemats feature an elegant grey border stripe, while the napkins pick up the design key with a central lurex snowflake. Made in India by The Tamilnadu Handloom Weavers Co-operative Society. Sustaining traditional handloom weaving in southern India means that more fairly paid work is available for weavers than if the process were mechanised.

Gift Idea #2
Double Weave Silk Wrap. A best seller this wrap is woven with pink and gold threads in one direction and soft grey threads in the other to create a luxuriously wide soft silk wrap in two shimmering layers.

It was produced by CT Philip, India. Based in Madras, C T Philip began in 1971 as a father and son partnership marketing Indian handicrafts. India is a major country for the production of craft goods, but the business climate often means that the craft workers receive very little for their work, and become dependent on money-lenders. Through CT Philip, producer groups, otherwise too small to consider exporting, are given access to overseas markets. Workers are paid a fair price and get support with the complications of shipping and additional paperwork.


Gift Idea #3
Dayak Nativity Set. A familiar scene with a charming Indonesian interpretation, the bright hand- painted colours on these six wooden figures are inspired by the Dayak traditional dress. Made in Indonesia by Pekerti. Pekerti supports rural craftspeople to develop and sell traditional crafts.
Pekerti stands for Pengembangan Kerajinan Rakyat Indonesia (Indonesian People's Folk-Art and Handicraft Foundation), a social development agency formed in Jakarta, 1975. It's mandate is to supplement the incomes of subsistence farmers and rural people through the development and sale of traditional fair trade crafts and folks art. Pekerti trains and gives assistance to the producers to market domestically. They also give services in marketing, especially in export marketing, which cannot be done by the producers themselves. Pekerti also gives the producers an advanced payment for the producers and also a credit scheme for investment.

Gift Idea #4

A Wooden Train for a special little man. A beautifully simple and superbly hand-crafted pull-along wooden train from an organisation in Thailand which preserves traditional craft skills. The carts are linked with cord while the front of the train can be taken to pieces. Made in Thailand by ThaiCraft. ThaiCraft is a non-profit organisation that was established in 1992 to work with artisan groups, help them gain self-reliance and preserve Thailand's indigenous crafts. Although originally assisting these groups to sell their fair trade crafts to local markets only, ThaiCraft has been keen to expand into export markets as well.

Gift Idea #5
Soft suede handbag with beautiful embroidery on the front panel, if has leather top and straps. The bag is available in black and brown. Magnetic catch to close, internal zip pocket and mobile pockets. This black Suede bag is made by Hatti Productions in Nepal. These original embroidery designs are inspired by Sari prints and translated into traditional Kasmiri needlework. This meticulous art form is displayed in these bags in tonal threads on soft goat suede and raw silk. The bags are made by survivors of human trafficking.



Gift Idea #6
A special necklace and bracelet set for a special princess. This children’s jewellery set is one of a collection made from with Blue Kyanite, Freshwater Pearls and Japanese Glass Beads. They are made by a co-operative in The Philippines made up of sixty women. It was specifically set up to provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for families and communities displaced from their homes by a major hydro-electric project. Nearly 800 households were affected by the project.

Gift Idea #7
Wooden Picture Frame with unusual Carved leaf design. We can put your family photo into this frame, gift wrap it and send it on to your loved one. There is no charge for this service. Tick the gift wrapping box at check out and tell us in the comment box that you will be sending on a photo, then email the photo to “info at arushafairtrade.com”
The frame is made in India by Asha Handicrafts who have been practicing Fair Trade since 1975, even before the concepts of Fair Trade became popular abroad. Asha in Sanskrit means 'hope' and Asha have brought hope by providing a marketing outlet to the individual craftsmen. Based in Mumbai, India, Asha is an association of voluntary businessmen dedicated to helping craftsmen, financially, ecologically and spiritually though its welfare centre and interrelated programs. The team of Asha welfare workers are stationed at different producer groups and cooperatives and move closely with them and their family sharing skills, extending medical help and education. Technical training is also provided to increase efficiency and productivity to encourage the growth and development of cottage industries.

Gift Idea #8
Our hand-crocheted top with front tie fastening is a beautiful way to add a delicate feminine touch to both evening and day-wear. The Vietnamese craftspeople who made this benefit from a range of training opportunities, enabling them to improve their livelihoods. Made in Vietnam by Craft Link.

Founded in 1996 by a group of international nongovernmental organizations, Craft Link works with fair trade artisans in an effort to generate income, with a focus on ethnic minorities, street children and artisans with disabilities. The organization's goals include cultural preservation, income generation for small Vietnamese artisans and acquiring new markets in a changing economy. Artisans working with Craft Link receive tools, interest free loans, education, training and literacy classes.


Gift Idea #9
Crisocola Pendant Necklace. Treat a loved one to this special piece of jewellery, a hand-crafted sterling silver necklace with turquoise crisocola gemstone inset. From Allpa, bringing Peruvian craft skills to a wider market. Shades will vary according to natural stone used. Made in Peru by Allpa.
Allpa is named for a Quechua Indian word that means "earth." Allpa is a Peruvian craft trading company providing marketing assistance to artisan groups and family workshops throughout Peru. In addition, Allpa provides technical help, product development advice, skills training, tools and appropriate equipment to artisans. Artisans can access short-term and mid-term loans to improve infrastructure and their workshops. Allpa works with families located in Cusco, Ayacucho, Chulucanas, Cajamarca and Huancavelica as well as Shipibo people living in the Amazon rainforest area of Pucalepa. For most of these people, craft production is a sole source of income. In 1982, a group of economists, anthropologists and sociologists of the Universidad Católica of Lima created Allpa to improve living standards of handicrafts producers.


Gift Idea #10
We couldn't resist it, would Christmas or Dad's birthday ever be the same without the socks! Only this time with an ethical twist. These socks were produced by Craft Aid in Mauritius, a non profit-making organisation dedicated to the welfare of disabled people. It was created in the year 1982. Their main objective is to provide paid employment to the disabled and rehabilitate them in society. The workforce includes a significant number of mentally and physically handicapped persons as well as mute and deaf persons.

The Incredible Story of a Man Bag

The Man Bag in classic messenger style makes a great Christmas gift for the stylish man in your life. In natural buffalo this Eco Friendly is perfect for the urban man with lots of stuff. The incredible story of how these bags are produced in a remote area, high up in the Himalayas is worth reading:


These bags are made in a small village in a very remote area named Sindhukot which is located high up in the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal. There is no electricity or computers. Neither are there any telephones, mobiles, or radio, in fact no form of communication. So when an order is emailed to the not-for-profit producer’s organisation in Kathmandu and money is sent for the raw materials, it waits there until the villagers can visit.


There is no work in the village, most people barely exist by subsistence farming, however, it is not enough to survive, so in order to get work, the villagers set off for the capital city of Kathmandu. As there is no transport apart from the odd donkey or buffalo, they walk for 3 days to the nearest road; they then get on a bus for another day’s journey to Kathmandu. In Kathmandu they visit the producers’ organisation to find out if there is any work for them. They receive the order then do the same journey in reverse.

At the end of the road, they prepare for their long three day walk back up to their village, on the way they visit all the small villages buying buffalo hide, thus providing other villages with a small income. There is no buffalo hide cash and carry where they can pull up in their pickup truck and load up with the leather they need. All the leather is a bi product and has to be collected bit by bit along the way home.

Having collected all the leather required and arrived home, the villagers then make the bags by hand; there is no electricity or sewing machines. When finished, they do the whole journey again. They put the bags on donkeys and walk for three days down through the mountains, having arrived at the road once again, they put them all on buses (the bags that is, not the donkeys!) for the day’s bus journey to Kathmandu where they can deliver the finished bags and receive final payment.

We buy the bags directly from Hatti Productions who are currently responsible for the income and welfare of the whole community, high up in the Himalayas which make these bags; the income they receive provides invaluable support for the local school. The bags are IFAT Accredited as Fair Trade.

Not only are these bags classically stylish, the leather is extremely tough and durable, the more they are used the better they will get.

This is more than just a bag; it’s a lifeline for a forgotten community.


Thank you to Hatti Productions for providing us with the story.

Christmas Cards helping to create a livelihood for disadvantaged women

We have some special Christmas Cards on sale in our online shop this year. It is disadvantaged women that benefit most from these enterprises which enable them to earn a sustainable living.

From the Philippines we have a set of three handmade paper cards hand-decorated with dried flowers, leaves, sequins, gems and metallic thread. The cards are made by Salay Handmade Paper Industries is a family-owned business that started in 1987 with the objective of providing a sustainable livelihood for the people in the local area. The business currently has three production sites housing the fair trade paper production, the fair trade craft workers and an admin/sales office. Several workers work from home on a piecework basis. There are over 200 employees, the majority women.

We have a set of four cards is made entirely by hand, and that includes the paper, by skilled Nepali crafts people in the heart of the Himalayas. The craftspeople, most of whom are female, are employed by GPI, a company set up in 1984 with a loan from the World Bank. Originally, it made paper from lokta for the local market. In 1988 it began trading with Body Shop and its market was exclusively exported for some years. It also began using more environmentally-friendly raw materials (waste cotton from garment factories and waste paper from local businesses), because lokta use was linked to deforestation. Employees have grown from about 20 to over 100 (80% women), all in permanent jobs. Products are made from a variety of raw materials including cotton rags, waste paper along with banana tree stems, water hyacinth and jute.

We have another set of four cards, this time from Bangladesh, and they are also handmade. They are made by Eastern Screen Printers who are part of Prokritee. Prokritee has been working in Bangladesh since 1972, starting and operating small cottage industries in rural areas around the country. These include Action Bag and Eastern Screen Printers. There are about 700 people (about 95% are women) who are involved in making a variety of handicrafts and they strive to develop unique products.

The name 'Prokritee' means 'nature' in Bangla. The organisation aims to create employment for disadvantaged rural women. It tends to work with women who are head of their household (often widowed), and who are landless, with few or no assets. It sets up and runs cottage industries in rural areas as well as providing marketing and design assistance to 9 enterprises. The aim is that the groups become strong enough to become independent of Prokritee.

You can buy the cards at http://www.arushafairtrade.com

Safe and Secure

Every day now we hear about some new internet fraud and shoppers are naturally wary about who they give their credit card details to. We would like to reassure you that shopping on our site is safe and secure and give you some more infomation on how the payment process works on our site:

Arusha Fair Trade works with Paypal to process online transactions in the most safe & secure way possible. Paypal is a leading payment security service provider and they take security very seriously. When you enter credit card information at our checkout, the information is being collected by PayPal and stored in their secure servers. We do not retain or see any of your credit card information.

This is how the payment process works:




Encryption and Data Storage

Paypal automatically encrypt all sensitive information sent between your computer and their servers.

Your computer:
Once Arusha transfers you to the Paypal site they verify that your internet browser is running Secure Sockets Layer 3.0 (SSL) or higher.
In transit:
Information is protected by SSL with an encryption key length of 168 bits (the highest level commercially available).
PayPal servers:
Your personal information is stored on their servers and heavily guarded, both physically and electronically. To further shield your credit card and bank numbers, Paypal do not directly connect their firewall-protected servers to the internet.


Employee access

No individuals within Arusha have access to your cardholder data. Paypal have strict rules regarding privacy which you can read about in the Paypal Privacy Policy

Fair Trade and Climate Change

Most Fair Trade producers live close to the land. They are either directly involved in farming fairtrade tea, coffee, bananas etc. or are subsistence farmers supplementing the family income with craft production. As such they are concerned about their environment and the land. Fair Trade actively encourages better environmental practices and the application of responsible methods of production. Revenue from Fair Trade cooperatives is used on a variety of community projects, including training of producers in organic and sustainable farming techniques (i.e. composting). Where possible fair trade premiums are invested in diversification. Cafe Direct and their project, Adaptation for Smallholders to Climate Change" (AdapCC), supports coffee and tea farmers in developing strategies to cope with the risks and impacts of climate change.

All Fairtrade certified producers are required to comply with the international Fairtrade environmental standard as part of the requirements of certification.8 The standard requires producers to ensure that they protect the natural environment and make environmental protection a part of farm management. Producers are also encouraged to minimize waste and the use of energy, especially energy from non-renewable sources.

There is the issue of transporting goods great distances so that well meaning consumers can make fair trade choices. Saving the planet is not solely about reducing carbon emissions. There are over one million people in Africa whose livelihoods depend on supplying fruit and vegetables into Ireland and the UK. Carbon Emissions from the Africa/British Isles trade route are a tiny portion of our worldwide total. Cutting off the income of this many people would cause devastation on a much greater scale than that caused by the emissions. Most Fair Trade goods are actually shipped and that would be the case with the majority of items we offer for sale at Arusha Fair Trade.

We must focus on the basic facts; the poorest people in the world will be affected most by climate change and the poorest people in the world have done the least to cause climate change. They need a sustainable income if they are to make the investments necessary to help them overcome climate change.

Fair Trade creates a way to secure this income for the farmers. Unfortunately, the benefits of Fair Trade are not reaching all Fair Trade farmers because of insufficient demand for their crops. Producers sell an average of 20% of their crop at Fair Trade terms; the rest goes through the world market at much lower prices. The same story goes for artisans. Lower prices mean that farmers and their families, in poor countries, live in poverty with no prospect of investing for climate change.
The prospect is appalling. If you haven’t done so already you need to watch this video: http://faceit.oxfamireland.org/video.php

This blog has been posted as our contribution to Blog Action Day, an annual event held every October 15, that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. The topic for 2009 is Climate Change

Top 10 Reasons to Support Fair Trade

1. Fair Trade means fair pay and working conditions for farmers and producers. Fair Trade products are made in safe and healthy working conditions, where farmers and producers receive a fair price and have a voice in how their workplace is run.


2. Fair Trade is better for the environment. Fair Trade supports sustainable practices that minimize our environmental footprint.


3. Fair Trade means high quality goods. Artisans take pride in their work. Crafts are often handmade, which translates into closer attention to detail and in the end higher-quality products.


4. Fair Trade means better tasting food. Farmers are involved and invested in the entire production process, and crops are grown and harvested in smaller quantities. As a result, Fair Trade food is fresher and tastier.


5. Fair Trade is safe. Fair Trade actively promotes integrated farm management systems that improve soil fertility and preserve valuable ecosystems, and limit the use of harmful agrochemicals that present dangers to farmers’ health. That means food that’s safer for you and for the people who grow it.


6. Fair Trade supports communities. By working through cooperative structures, Fair Trade artisans and small farmers are able to invest Fair Trade earnings in their communities, improving housing, healthcare, and schools.


7. Fair Trade is trade farmers can count on. Fair Trade is committed to strengthening direct partnerships between buyers and producers. These partnerships provide an avenue for buyers to purchase quality products from people they trust, and offer a sustainable and reliable way for farmers, artisans and their families to improve their livelihood.


8. Fair Trade connects you with other cultures. Fair Trade products are unique to the places they come from and the people who make them. Farmers and artisans are involved in the entire process, and Fair Trade products reflect the people and cultures they come from.


9. Fair Trade means sustainable local economies. Fair Trade gives farmers and artisans control of their own future. They can build their own businesses, rather than working for a middle man, and the profits stay in their communities and go back into their businesses.


10. Fair Trade means what you buy matters. By choosing Fair Trade products, you are not only accessing high quality products, you are making a difference in the lives of the people who grow the food you eat and the goods you use.

(Fair Trade Resource Network 2008)

August 19th is World Humanitarian Day.

Established by the General Assembly (GA) of the United Nations in December 2008, 19 August 2009 is the first World Humanitarian Day. The designation of the Day is a way to increase public understanding of humanitarian assistance activities worldwide. The Day also aims to honour humanitarian workers who have lost their lives or been injured in the course of their work.

Why 19 August? - Six years ago, on 19 August 2003, the United Nations office in Iraq was bombed and 22 people lost their lives. Among them was Sergio Vieira de Mello, at that time the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Iraq. While there have been many other fatal incidents involving humanitarian personnel the General Assembly decided to use the anniversary of this incident as World Humanitarian Day.

We would like to mark World Humanitarian Day by mentioning a couple of our producers engaged in humanitarian service:

St. Mary’s, Ahmadabad, India
St. Mary’s Mahila Shikshan Kendra, is a non profit Women’s Handicraft Organization run by the Dominican Sisters of the Rosary in Gomtipur, Ahmadabad since 1970. They are committed to the development of economically and socially marginalized women in Gomtipur, a slum pocket of Ahmadabad. St. Mary’s aims to give employment with fair wages to women of Gomtipur from minority social, cultural and religious groups. Working together as a group in the Centre the women develop a sense of community.

St. Mary’s concentrates mainly on hand embroidery in cotton; using their indigenous craftsmanship, these women immigrants produce high quality mirror work and embroidery in traditional designs. Their products include cushion covers, letter boxes, bags, purses, bed spreads, table cloths and Christmas presents.By adhering to very high standards of quality control, they try their best to inspire in them a deep sense of self-respect and integrity of character, earning their own hard earned wages without any trace of pity or condescension, thus bringing them in touch with their own basic human dignity. Besides their rightful wages, all surplus profits or producer dividends are shared with the women.

The Sisters also have a dispensary, a maternity clinic and Medical centre called ‘St. Mary’s Nursing Home’, they run health programmes, saving schemes, loans especially for educational and health purposes, a government recognised course for women in sewing, embroidery and design and also educational scholarships for their children. They ensure that the women send their children to school and educate them and avoid child labour. In many cases when the women are incapable of paying the fees, and educating their children especially the girls they help them by paying their fees etc.

The Esther Benjamin’s Trust, India and Nepal

In 2002 the EBT sent research teams to the 30 major Indian circuses. At great personal danger, teams identified 232 children under the age of 14, 82% of them girls and nearly all Nepalese. Most of the children had been trafficked at the age of 8 or 9 (although some had been as young as 5). They told how their village communities had been preyed upon by professional agents who had tricked their impoverished and illiterate parents into handing them over to the circus for just a few dollars.

Thumbprints on documents that the naïve parents could not read condemned their children to an 18-hour per day, seven days per week routine for the next 10 to 15 years. Inadvertently they were also handing over their children to a life of malnourishment, harsh training schedules and vicious beatings by the circus staff. Frequently the girls would also be sexually assaulted.

Bold rescue teams were sent to confront the circus owners and use all legal means on the ground to secure freedom. This high-risk process led to the release of over 200 trafficking victims during the period 2003 - 2006. The youngest children who return from the circuses can mostly - and safely - be reunited with their parents and join school at an appropriate age.

For the older girls who might lack the academic ability or interest in joining formal education there is a skills training project to help them get back on their feet and gain an independent life, however, it has became evident that securing jobs for the returnees is virtually impossible due to the social stigma associated with being trafficked. So in 2005, instead of trying to secure outside employment for the girls the EBT, in conjunction with Hatti Trading (UK) set up a handbag production centre under Fair Trade conditions to provide a realistic economic alternative to being re-trafficked.

The Esther Benjamin’s Trust and the charity is on hand to look out for the girls’ welfare, but the production centre is now an independent entity.

What wasn't anticipated at the time was the impact it would have on the girls who worked there; suddenly, they transitioned from being ‘charity cases’ to independent professional young women working for a foreign organisation. Their self esteem went through the roof; finally they could hold their head up high when asked what they do. At the same time there was a move to a new premises so the locals had no knowledge of what they had come from, and the girls could at last truly move on from their past. A selection of these beautifully made bags are sold by Arusha Fair Trade.

You might be interested in reading more about the Esther Benjamin’s Trust and their work with children and young girls rescued from Indian circus: http://www.ebtrust.org.uk/.

Fair Trade v Free Trade

Source: Artisans World Marketplace

Child Slave Labour and Jewellery Manufacture

Did you know that child slave labour is common in jewellery manufacture? Trafficked children, or others who work to support their families, are often used because their little hands are good with beads. Children are also sent into underground mines to salvage precious stones or put to work polishing and cutting diamonds. When Dan McDougall of the Observer visited Delhi he found children as young as eight sewing crystals into clothing, holding their needles with blistered fingertips. According to UNICEF, (as of 2006,) an estimated 158 million children aged 5-14 years are engaged in child labour in developing countries. In India in particular the extensive reality of child labour is well recognized and contributes considerable value each year to the diamond industry.

We have a unique collection of jewellery at Arusha Fair Trade which you can buy with the comfort of knowing that it was produced by adults who were paid a fair wage for their work. All of the jewellery is stylish, handmade and of excellent quality. We feature pieces from India, Peru, Kenya, Thailand and the Philippines which are ideal for day wear or to match up with your special occasion dress.

Arusha is Ireland’s leading online fair trade gift store.

Arusha Fair Trade was set up to provide a place where you can find lovely gifts for you and your family, at reasonable prices, and also make a difference to the lives of the people who produce the products. Our aim is to have a gift for every occasion.

Each beautiful item is fairly traded and traceable back to the original producer and their community, making an outstanding present. Each product is deliveredwith an information sheet on the organisation and people who produced the products. These are wonderful stories of people improving their lives through trade instead of aid.

Most of our products are handmade from natural materials by skilled artisans. For this reason there may be minor variations in colour, finish and dimensions and the item you purchase will be unique.