Christmas Decorations with a Purpose

Yesterday I shared an article that changed the way I looked at Christmas decorations.  Our family has decided from now on to only buy locally made or fair trade Christmas decor to make sure our Christmas joy isn't at the expense of someone else.  If you are envisioning ugly, creepy and cheap looking ornaments and decorations, you couldn't be more wrong!  I found some absolutely gorgeous pieces with wonderful stories you can feel great about purchasing and placing in your home or giving as gifts.
 
What is this Fair Trade thing anyway?
But first, I wanted to go back a little bit.  I've been buying fair trade coffee for over a year after hearing what the working conditions are like at may of the coffee plantations.  I'm privileged to work with a group that offers employment to artisans around the world and helps pull them out of poverty.  So to me, switching to fair trade Christmas ornaments isn't too surprising to those who know me well.  But I was sharing my new found knowledge with someone and they said "what is fair trade?  I still don't understand". 
 
Let me back up for a minute and explain what fair trade is.  Some of you reading this may be way more knowledgeable about this subject than I am, so feel free to scroll down to the fun stuff below, but for those thinking "I'm so glad someone asked!",  keep reading.  Noonday, the company I work with I mentioned above, has a great list of fair trade standards here .  The short version is this: when you buy a fair trade item, you know the person who made it was paid fairly and they work in a safe environment.  No child labor or slavery here!  You may be thinking, "is this seriously a problem still?  Slavery?  That's been over forever!"  This short article from UNICEF written last year shares a little about modern day child trafficking and slavery.
 
Ten Thousand Villages
On to the fun stuff!  My first fair trade ornament I ever purchased was from Ten Thousand Villages.  It is so beautiful I keep it up year round.  They have been selling fair trade items since 1946.  And I love every single thing they sell.  Here are a couple photos of some of the Christmas decorations they sell.

http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/sheltering-cave-nativity

 

http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/golden-star-ornament

 

NOVICA
Another great company I have purchased items from is NOVICA.  Besides ornaments, they have gorgeous stockings and tree skirts, candles, Nativity sets, wrapping paper and cards, and even Holiday table settings.  It is all amazing.  Here are a couple of my favorites:



http://www.novica.com/itemdetail/index.cfm?pid=168322
 
 



http://www.novica.com/itemdetail/index.cfm?pid=61308&rectype=2


SERRV
Another company I found and will soon be purchasing from is Serrv.  Wow.  Gorgeous!  They have beautiful Christmas decorations, some of which are now on my wish list.  Here are a couple of my new favorites:

 

http://www.serrv.org/product/applique-ornament-set/ornaments

 

http://www.serrv.org/product/small-hagnaya-cone-tree/holiday-decor

I will most more tomorrow, but in the meantime, happy shopping with a purpose!

A Fair Trade Christmas Tree

Christmas in our house is a magical time.  My children painstakingly select the perfect tree from a farm that gives a portion of the sale back to the African Children's Choir so we can make sure we are doing some good with our purchase.  We all love pulling out our tubs of ornaments and carefully placing each one on the tree.  We know when we received each ornament, and they all hold a special significance to us. 

I was forwarded an link today that changed the way I look at Christmas ornaments entirely.  It didn't make the front pages of the newspaper or even the headlines on the evening news.  A horrific, terrifying video and article about child slave labor and our beloved Christmas decorations.  Take a couple of minutes to watch the video and see why we must do better. 

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/newsmakers/enslaved-children-freed-after-being-forced-to-make-christmas-decorations-potentially-headed-for-us-194625049.html

Thinking that my beautiful ornaments may have been made by exploited children, by slave labor in horrific conditions, is just more than I can think about.  So what do you do?  Throw them all out and start over?  We can't change what we have done in the past.  But we can use our new knowledge to change what we do in the future.  And I will still love my beautiful ornaments.  Many of them were gifts and hold significance because of the gift giver.  Some of the gift givers aren't with us anymore, so these ornaments will continue to be special to me.  I will, however, never look at them the same.  And with my new knowledge, I will only add fair trade or locally handcrafted items to my Christmas decorations.   We have purchased several locally made and fair trade ornaments over the years because of their beauty and their stories, but they have now moved to my favorite list. 

Over the next few days I will share some fair trade websites where you can purchase gorgeous Christmas ornaments and Christmas decorations that you can know with confidence are made with fair trade practices by artisans that will be paid fairly for their work and make their crafts in good working conditions.  Next year, I am going to add a tree to my house that is exclusively decorated with fair trade ornaments.  If you were planning on purchasing ornaments or decorations for you home or as gifts, please consider buying them from companies that are making a stand against child labor and slavery.  Our purchases really do make a difference.  We can choose to ignore our new knowledge and keep buying the way we have, or we can buy from companies who are helping to end poverty one person at a time by using fair trade practices.  As a family, we are choosing to do more and buy smarter.