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