Glass Tealight

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March 1st, 2010 admin Leave a comment Go to comments

Glass Tealight

The treasures of fair trade gifts beyond bananas!

I feel confident the majority of us are aware of fair trade tea, coffee and bananas since supermarkets have posters everywhere emblazoned with the striking green and blue logo with a picture of the food product. We can then choose whether or not to buy this range depending on our understanding of what fair trade is all about.

Though I wonder how many of us realise the fair trade range goes way beyond such consumables. For example, there is a magnificent range of fair trade gifts available spanning across accessories like bags, scarves and purses. There are colourful, educational childrens toys. High quality hand made fair trade jewellery. Also homeware like brightly weaved or natural rugs, throws, cushions, candles and wooden plates and bowls.

The list really is endless! Not only is there something special for everyone but also everything is hand made by artisans using traditional skills passed from generation to generation. Since fair trade is literally created and not manufactured on a production line, I truly believe every piece is unique.

Furthermore, we have the satisfaction of knowing no-one has been exploited since fair trade means a fair wage has been exchanged under ethical working conditions. So what fair trade treasures are there beyond bananas?

5. Tealight Holders. If you are after something really quirky for someone with a sense of humour there are brilliant tealights ranging from hedgehogs to chickens and frogs. The ones I have seen are made by a family in Indonesia from scrap tin. Each tealight is painted in detail giving it a unique charm that could never be found in high street stores.

4. Moneyboxes. There are some really fun wooden animal moneyboxes around from giraffes to zebras and cows which would bring a smile to any child. They are well worth keeping your eyes open for.

3. Bags. With the demise of plastic bags, eco-friendly and fair trade bags are becoming increasingly common. From jute bags to recycled newspaper bags, these are worth exploring with some embellished with sequinned flowers dyed the most amazing colours.

2. Stationery. Fair trade stationery has found its way onto the market shelves at last. I’m so glad because everything is so beautifully made. There is a high quality range of colourful handcrafted cards, notebooks, albums, diaries and cards reflecting the authentic skills of embroidery and papermaking of fair trade craftspeople.

1. Jewellery. I love jewellery, what female doesn’t? Fair trade jewellery has become very diverse catering for the western world. There are wooden beads, glass beads, shells and seed beads. Long, short, wide and narrow. There are earrings, bracelets, necklaces, chains and pendants made from solid silver inlaid with semi precious gemstones like malachite, moonstone, zircon, lapis lazuli and turquoise. It surprises me they are not more expensive when you study the skill and workmanship. Definitely worth a look.

So next time you see the striking logo in a supermarket or on a bunch of bananas, I truly hope it serves to remind us of all the other treasures fair trade brings us and the people we are helping.

Fenton Art Glass Snowman Fairy Light w/ Free Battery Operated Tea Light