Christmas is coming. . .

[velvetpage]

So I'm starting to think about consumerism and the need to both give and receive, and how that meshes with the rest of my life. To that end, I'm starting to collect links for products that appeal to me as ways to spend my money.

First link: Freedom clothing company makes organic cotton shirts in economically sustainable ways. http://www.freedomclothingproject.com/

Next link: for the person who has everything, buy a heifer! http://www.heifer.org/

That's all for now. More to come in the coming months.

Comments

[dagoski.livejournal.com]

We've given Heifer International before. I like that project a lot as well. I need to dig through my links because someone put together a bank that does microloans using seed money from charitable gifts. They aim to break even rather than make a profit so they can grant that many more microloans in the third world. They sound great, but I need to vet them before I'd recommend them.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

I've heard of a few projects like that, and supported at least one through a charity auction. I love the idea of helping people become self-sufficient, especially if the service in question also provides things like medical insurance for co-op members, as some do. When you find and vet that link, I'd appreciate it if you could pass it on.

[neebs.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the heifer one, I might be looking into that for Christmas!

My fave fair trade links

[melstra.livejournal.com]

My favorite shopping site like that is http://www.thehungersite.com (or their companion sites -- www.therainforestsite.com, www.theliteracysite.com, etc ). Not only do I visit these sites as often as possible to take advantage of the premise (by visiting, their sponsors will donate 1 cup of food, or a free mammogram or whatnot), but by ordering from their sponsors (a click-through-link), even more is donated. AND (my favorite), you can click on "our store" for a really nifty fair trade store selling everything from fair trade coffee to charm bracelets to blank journals. I love their stuff-- the price is reasonable and so is the shipping. I have used them many times and had only positive results. In particular, they have some cool recycled silk yarn and alpaca that might appeal to your crocheting friends (or to you!)!

The other site I can mention is www.serrv.org . I have not ordered online through them, but when I was in graduate school, my church had a "Serrv Sale" every year instead of a traditional church bazaar. They ordered from this company, and gave them the profits. I loved their items too, which often were more religion related, like nativity sets from the holy land.

Great idea to share the sites. I need to start contemplating gifts myself, though I plan to make a lot this year.

P.S.

[melstra.livejournal.com]

P.S. I was just searching them again, and was reminded that SERRV in particular has tons of cool gifts for children, school-related items, and a scad of musical instruments (bongos, tinwhistles and the like). So much fun!