The another jennifer blog recently posted an inspiring editorial from Canadian fair trade activist Ingrid Heinrich Pauls. It’s a concise and well-put summary of our goals, so we wanted to share it with you!

Jennifer also added our Ethical Holiday Gift Ideas post to her Gifts That Give Back guide on SkinnyScoop. Check out her list for some new ethical shopping ideas!

The holiday shopping season is upon us, and if you’re not already in the full swing of it, I’m betting you will be soon. To help you shop according to your values, we have listed some gift suggestions from the stores in our guide. These gifts will brighten the season for your friends or family, as well as for the artisans who produced them in safe conditions for a fair wage. You’ll also find that ethically-made gifts are often comparable in price to conventionally-produced items, so you can give gifts that support your values without breaking the bank!

This basket made fairly in Thailand is perfect for storing throw blankets on chilly winter nights. $24.95 from 7 Loaves.

Cards from Africa has a wide variety of Christmas and holiday cards handcrafted in Rwanda by young people who have been orphaned by genocide or disease. I have a special fondness for the impossibly cute Holiday Hedgehog card. $4.99 from Cards from Africa.

This lavender silk scarf is hand woven in India and colored with natural vegetable dyes. $48 from Dolma Fair Trade.

Made by women affected by human trafficking and poverty in Thailand, this classic black beaded necklace could be worn to the office or on a night out and comes in two lengths. $50 (short) or $70 (long) from Freedom Stones.

These freshwater pearl earrings are made fairly in Thailand and feature an etched silver bead as an accent. $22 from Made by Survivors.

This bold fabric tote is made ethically in Kenya by graduates of life skills programs run by Caring Partners Global. $28 from NationWares.

What are your ethical gift ideas? You may have noticed that all of the gifts above are geared toward women—how do you shop ethically for the men in your life? We’d love to hear from you!

I am giddy with excitement over this first news story. FairPhone, a company based in the Netherlands and Great Britain, is working to make the first fair trade smart phone. Long have I been tempted by the iPhone’s sleek look and beloved interface, but I have held off purchasing a smart phone because 1) I just don’t need it and 2) I know smart phones are produced with mined resources that contribute to conflict in Africa, not to mention they are assembled under questionable (at best) working conditions. FairPhone is working to address issues of raw materials sourcing, assembly, and e-waste, and plans to bring their product on the market in the next two years. Ethical Ocean has an interesting post where they suggest that the race to create a fair trade phone has officially begun, with Apple also working to improve the conditions in their supplier factories. (The link also includes a TED video about fair trade phones.) In today’s technology-driven society, this is a much-needed initiative. I’m excited for the day when the best technology is also partnered with the best ethical practices.

Bubbs is a new cause-focused shopping site that directs consumers to products that support one of many various causes, from animal rights to the environment to human trafficking. There is no blanket guarantee that the listed products meet any specific ethical criteria, but under each product image they provide a brief description of the cause supported by that product. Clicking a product takes you to a separate retailer’s website, where you can further investigate their ethics and practices.

This month Fair Trade Towns USA ran the Go Bananas Campaign to promote the demand for fair trade certified bananas. Have you switched to fair trade bananas? You can find them at Whole Foods, Sam’s Club in some states, Ahold/Stop & Shop, and various independent grocery stores.

P.S. Halloween is this coming Wednesday! If you’re planning on giving out chocolate, don’t forget to investigate fair trade options. If you live in the northeast, it may not be too late to order fair trade dark chocolate minis from Equal Exchange. Otherwise, check your local fair trade or natural food store to see what they offer!

You know that here at the Fair for All guide, we’re all about making ethical consumerism easier for the average Joe and Joanna. Amazon had the same idea. They recently launched a new website full of green and natural products, Vine.com. (Don’t look for the Amazon smile; Vine.com is run by Quidsi, a separate family of brands owned by Amazon.) Vine.com investigates the claims of each product it carries to verify that they are in fact organic, energy-saving, etc. While the site focuses heavily on eco-friendly products over ethically-made ones, it does have a Fair Trade boutique that currently lists various Fair Trade Certified teas, coffees, sugars, and a few other products.

Obviously Vine.com would be more beneficial if it included a human rights dimension as one of its main requirements for products. However, with such a huge retail giant getting into the ethical shopping realm, hopefully more consumers are introduced to the idea and begin to think more about the consequences of their purchases. Plus, it’s a super-convenient way to order Fair Trade sugar (so hard to find in stores!), and they offer free shipping on orders over $49.

Have you shopped at Vine.com? Let us know what you thought about it!