Top 10 Fairtrade Christmas Gifts

If any of those situations in the poll fit you (or even if they don't) check out these recommendations for unusual fairtrade gifts. Our goal was to go beyond run-of-the-mill candle holders, grocery bags, or coffee. We wanted to find ethical gifts that are truly distinctive and actually useful. And what's even better: you'll be helping support artisans and cooperatives around the world with your purchase. It's a win-win situation—so start shopping!

1. Recycled Sari Products

A Trade For A Trade

Here you can find beautiful throw blankets, scarves, and bed covers made from recycled saris, quilted using traditional kantha embroidery. Since each sari used in the process is different, every item is one-of-a-kind and reversible. Whether you want to wrap yourself in a cozy blanket or a warm scarf, they're the perfect item for winter.

In addition, purchases help support young women from Indian slums, who are part of a program that provides training and job opportunities in tailoring and paper crafts. In addition, the women are taught English, skills for business, and life values. You can't get better than that.

2. Angora Products

The Spiral Foundation

Whomever you give this gift to (even if it's to yourself) will love how chic and warm it is. All of these Angora products are knitted from the softest 100% angora rabbit hair wool from Shertung, a remote village on the Ghanesh Himalayan Mountains in Nepal. It's the perfect winter gift for a loved one.

Purchasing these products is also a meaningful way to sustain The Angora Rabbit Farming Project, which generates needed work for the Shertung community. Furthermore, all net proceeds from the sale of these items return to Nepal to fund medical and educational projects via Himalayan HealthCare, a not-for-profit organization that has been helping the rural poor in Nepal since 1992.

3. Happy Feet Boxed Set

Global Exchange

Treat yourself or a loved one with this unique gift box. Includes a pumice foot (hand carved from Balinese pumice stone), a wooden nail brush, and hand-carved jasmine soap. All of this is presented on top of a bed of vetiver root, a deep growing and naturally aromatic root that is used to protect de-forested land from erosion. These items are packaged in a beautiful fabric box with Buddha's feet in a lotus flower graphic. Box is assorted colors.

This is gift is created by Zen Zen, a business that works with communities in Bali, Indonesia educating local villagers in conservation, sustainable development, and organic farming. Your purchase helps support these and other conservation and community development projects in Bali.

4. Sports Balls

Greenheart Shop

For the sports-lover in your family, choose from a variety of fairtrade sports balls, including basketsballs, footballs, soccer balls, and mini soccer balls. These balls use eco-certified rubber, synthetic leather, and latex bladders. They are also classified as vegan. (However, please don't eat them, as we're pretty sure that's not what is meant by the word "vegan" in this instance.)

These items are made by adult workers in Pakistan, where they are paid a fair wage for their work by the fair trade company Fair Trade Sports. They are ensured healthy working conditions and the organization donates its after-tax profits to children's charities.

5. Mouse Cheese Knife

Ten Thousand Villages

This whimsical mouse always finds the cheese. This stainless steel cheese knife is 7 inches long by 1 inch high, and is dishwasher safe. Truly a gift for someone who has everything. (Unless you happen to know someone who already has a mouse-shaped cheese cutter, in which case you should check out the other 9 gifts on this page.)

This item is made by metal workers of Noah's Ark, a fair trade organization in Moradabad, India. Most of the artisans of Noah's Ark are women, who benefit from the fact that they can work from home and maintain their responsibilities for children and household.

6. Handmade Stationery Sets

A Trade For A Trade

These stationery sets are perfect for a friend or family member who loves writing. Or pick up a set for your Christmas thank-you cards. Nepali artisans hand-make every sheet of paper, and block print each card individually. Each stationery set (8 cards and 8 envelopes) is packaged in a colorful handmade envelope to hold everything neatly together.

The paper is made of local lokta bark, a sustainable Nepali resource. Lokta grows very quickly, and harvesting the bark using traditional methods does not endanger the eco-balance of the surrounding forest. Support your stationery habit without worrying someone's chopping all the trees in the Himalayas.

7. Fairtrade Underwear

Pants to Poverty

Did your children cut up their underwear as part of a "fun game"? Is your spouse still wearing the same pair of underwear you bought for them in 1998? Carrying Men's, Women's, and Children's underwear in a variety of styles, Pants to Poverty began as part of the global Make Poverty History campaign. They see themselves as a new type of underwear brand. They not only make comfortable and stylish underwear, but they also work with thousands of farmers and factory workers in India to celebrate fashion as a beautiful tool to change the world.

The cotton for their underwear comes from the farmer organisation called Zameen Organic, based in Hyderabad and owned by over 5000 farmers across both Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. (Zameen means earth or land in Sanskrit.) None of the farmers use pesticides and all of them conduct their farming on rain-fed land, meaning that rivers are protected and people are not poisoned.

8. Recycled Lunch Bag

Trade as One

If your kids need something to pump up their lunchtime coolness, or your significant other really wants to impress at the next lunch meeting, these bags should do the trick. They are both handmade and fairtrade, creatively designed from recycled plastic packages. The bags are insulated, washable, and have a zipper flap, as well as a flat base so they sit upright and a closure snap connector to hook onto any backpack or bag.

This item is made in Indonesia by XSProject, a cooperative that creates handmade, unique, and environmentally-friendly products out of non-recyclable plastics bought from the trash picking communities in Jakarta.

9. Exercise Balls

Pure Habitat

Although not fairtrade-certified, these exercise balls are one of the few eco-conscious ones, made from phthalate-free material. They range in size from 45cm - 75cm in diameter, are burst resistant to over 300 lbs., and include a workout DVD and exercise instruction chart. The balls come in a variety of colors depending on the size, including purple, green, blue, orange, and black.

These products are made in China in socially responsible factories. They are also part of a Zero Impact Program, where a tree is planted for each item sold.

10. Recycled Plastic Napkin Holder With 6 Napkins

The Spiral Foundation

This recycled plastic silver napkin set has been handcrafted in Nepal in the remote mountain villages of Lapa, Tipling, and Shertung. The box and napkin rings are made with recycled plastic wrappers from popular manufactured food products. The napkins come in 6 different assorted bright colors, while the box and rings are a sleek silver.

Since 2002, the sale of gift items produced at The Spiral Foundation Workshop in Kathmandu has helped fund the construction and running costs of Ilam Clinic in Ilam, Nepal. Check out Himalayan HealthCare for more information.

Those are just a few of the great ethical and fairtrade gifts out there for Christmas. Let us know if you find any other distinctive and useful gifts in the comments below. Happy shopping!