Welcome our guide to fair trade gifts, designed to provide you with ethically-made, fair trade gift ideas for the holidays. Holiday gift giving feels even more joyful when you present your loved ones with gifts made in the spirit of fair trade practices. Mindfully made and handcrafted, a fair trade gift is truly the gift that keeps on giving.
Fair trade gifts for Christmas–or any time!
As a fair trade shop, Saffron Marigold commits itself to fair trade principles, and we celebrate other businesses that do the same. When possible, we’ve sourced sustainable gift ideas and items from fair trade stores that support artisans. We know you’ll find some great sustainable gifts and meaningful present ideas in this guide. Happy fair trade shopping!
1. Fair trade goods with meaning
Made in Pennsylvania, this serving board bears the shape of the lotus flower, which symbol of renewal. It’s a perfect gift for anyone who’s turning over a new leaf. Pair it with our lotus-inspired linens for a beautiful and meaningful gift idea.
2. Fair trade bedding
This 100% cotton, quilted bedspread from Saffron Marigold is handcrafted in India using the age old technique of block printing. This is a welcome gift for anyone: the home decor enthusiast, the newlywed couple, or your world traveler friend.
3. Fair trade gifts for her
The African Fabric Shop, an independently-owned, mindful enterprise, offers this sustainable bracelet kit complete with materials and instructions on how to create a unique set of bracelets.
4. Handmade, fair trade catch-alls
Block-printed in India and embellished by the same woman artisan who creates the tassels for our tote bags, these toiletry bags are a stylish way to hold your cosmetics with good karma.
5. Fair trade Moroccan gifts
Handpainted in Morocco, these Moroccan glasses would make a great gift for someone who loves to travel, enjoys sipping tea, or just appreciates beautiful, handmade items. They’d look absolutely stunning with our Casablanca-inspired table linens, too, if you wanted to create a DIY gift set.
6. The gift of fair trade home decor
Our Moonlit Taj block print fabric shower curtain depicts imagery inspired by the impeccable inlaid gemstones of the Taj Mahal.
7. Natural self-care
This set of luxurious, triple-milled shea butter soaps come from a family-owned company in North Carolina who uses natural extracts, botanical butters, and essential oils. Each bar in the six-piece set takes you to a dreamy, faraway locale such as Tahiti, Paris, and Sicily. These are a fragrant, gentle way to soften the skin.
8. A more beautiful yoga practice
Manduka strives to minimize environmental waste just as much as they work to produce inspired, useful products for your home yoga practice. We like this recycled plastic bottle yoga mat towel with its interpretation Geija batik prints from China’s Guizhou Province. Pair with a linen from our Celestial Embrace collection for an ethereal, otherworldly room.
9. Fair trade gifts that brighten up the home
Our colorful candles are hand-painted by artisans in a small agricultural town in South Africa, close to the Western Cape. This studio employs women and provides them with steady, creative work that’s hard to obtain in a town like this. Many of them are the primary wage earners in their households, and every candle purchased by you equals more work opportunities for these incredible artisans.
10. Fair trade gifts that encourage learning
Made with organic tea leaves in assorted flavors, this tea box is as educational as it is tasty! It comes with ways to learn more about the people who grow the tea we consume. This is a great gift set for a co-worker, too–you know, the one who always reaches for tea during their break.
11. Fair trade block print cloth napkins
Block printed cloth napkins are an eco-friendly, elegant gift idea for the hostess, the entertainer, or anyone who prefers to use cloth napkins every day. The design on this set stems from the famed Gardens of Versailles in France.
12. Christmas socks with a purpose
If your family keeps up the tradition of giving each other socks at Christmas, then you might as well present stylish socks that make a difference! (And it’s the perfect fair trade gift for him–you know, your husband, brother, or friend who loves to shake up their sock game.) Fair trade and made of sustainable organic cotton, a percentage of the purchase goes towards protecting and restoring oceans. That’s definitely a sustainable gift for you!
13. A mission-oriented gift idea
Here’s a gift idea for someone who has everything: cleaning the earth. That’s right–this box of bracelets funds and represents the removal of 12 pounds of trash retrieved from our waterways and coastlines. Bonus: you can reuse the cloth pouches for gift-giving.
14. Beautiful fair trade gifts for home
Artisans from our fair trade studio created this batik block print with the ancient technique of Dabu printing. A Starry Nights throw pillow looks stylish in any home and helps keep the craft alive.
15. A cuppa with a mission
Tree Hugger, the signature blend from fair trade coffee company Peace Coffee, honors their commitment to organic, ethical java.
16. Fair trade gifts that empower women
For these quilted sari bedspreads, we partnered with an organization that helps women achieve economic independence through skilled work such as kantha embroidery. Each purchase helps women in India, many of whom are former sex workers, pave a way forward. These kantha quilts are made from vintage cotton saris and hand-loomed cotton.
17. A green, eco-friendly gift for kids
Shopping for little children and looking for a fair trade option? You can’t go wrong with a green recycling toy truck! These are great for the sandbox, the beach, or just engaging in pretend play. This one in particular is made entirely from recycled plastic milk cartons.
18. Another sustainable gift idea for kids (or animal lovers)
Looking to model sustainability and environmental values to kids? Instead of gifting them yet another single-use plastic toy, adopt a honeybee in their name through World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The adoption kit includes these adorable bee plushes, a certificate, and a photo print.
19. Handmade stationery for someone who expresses love through words
Want to show your appreciation for someone who isn’t really into typical material gifts? These handmade note cards are sure to please. We partnered with a small, family-owned printshop in Mumbai to bring you these exquisite Indian note cards and envelope sets featuring traditional and contemporary Indian designs. Choose from 12 note card designs.
20. A small, but meaningful fair trade gift
Our collection of wooden tea light holders are hand-carved by the same family of artisans who create the wooden blocks for our textile collections. When we approached them with this idea, they were curious and delighted to partner with us to create 12 unique designs. Each one comes packaged in a gift-ready box filled with compostable paper shred—it’s sure to impress even the impossible-to-shop-for people on your list this year.
21. The gift of choice
Present your friends and family with a gift card from Saffron Marigold and let them choose the block print collection whose story speaks to them.
