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Fair Trade jewelry
Fair Trade jewelry will make you shine even more that you normally do!
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| a poster. Photo by C. Guthier |
If you are reading this, chances are that you like natural, not synthetic items; authentic indigenous designs instead of commercial fashion; carefully hand-crafted jewels and not mass-produced stuff. Well, if you are that kind of woman you will enjoy Fairly Traded jewellery because if joins all of those good qualities plus, of course... your support for a change in the world.
There are plenty of pieces available and most World Shops can offer you a nice selection of jewelry made of silver, glass beads, stones, seeds, fine woods or bone. May I remind that this items do not display the fairtrade label; probably they only carry the trading ATO logo. You may know that those jewelry pieces have been fairly traded because you trust the World Shop in which you buy, and you may trust the shop because it is run by a Fair Trade organization.
Contrary to other jewelry items which come from poor countries, Fair Trade ones have been made by persons who have earned a decent wage, enough to make a living and even think of community development projects. That is the beauty of Fair Trade: getting nice things for yourself and contributing to change the world at the same time.
If you are planning to buy any jewelry item, please have a look at these shopping hints; if you really can't find any good World Shop near you, have a look at the Ten Thousand Villages website: they offer a large display of Fair Trade rings, bracelets, etc. from all over the world and you probaly will see lots of interesting jewels for yourself.
OK, enough for the theory, let's move to the practice and see some examples... I have tried to show here a small selection of different types of jewelry pieces from less known producers or traders around the world. Have a look and have fun.
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braceletsThis modern designs have been crafted in glass by artisans in Chile; the supporting wristband is made of silver and rubber; if you like them, you can get them at WearFair, a UK trader which sells them and also tells the story behind each artisan |
broochesHave a look at this fine item from Fundación Maquita Cushunchic, in Ecuador. They have specialized themselves in pre-Columbian designs as well as in recovering their ancient jewellery techniques; a tradition that started there about 600 B.C. and which produced delicate funerary masks, earrings and many other ancient treasures. These old-ages-like items are now a fine Fair Trade jewelry for you. |
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earringsThese elegant ones are made of silver and shellfish, handcrafted by artisans from Apikri, in Indonesia. I am sure that you could look great with them! ... as someone has said: "Guilt free beauty". On the other side of the world, in Argentina, Arte y Esperanza also creates beautiful Fair Trade jewelry using vegetal seeds and silver. |
hair barrettesThe one shown here come from Artesanas Campesinas, in Mexico, an association of rural women whose jewelry crafting tradition comes from some generations ago. They produce typical mexican ethnic designs in silver and abalone shell, natural dried flowers or motherpearl. This fine piece carries natural dried flowers inside... Nature in your hair... |
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necklacesWell, sometimes contemporary western design is used by artisans on the South, as in the case of this fine necklace crafted in sterling silver by people of Ananse Village, an African association who trades items from several countries in that continent. |
ringsSee this one? nice and artistic, isn't it? Well, it is part of the beautiful collection of Fair Trade jewelry that Third World Craft manufactures; they are a group of some 500 artisans who live and work in Katmandu, Nepal. In that same country (which seems to be the home of Fair Trade rings), Manushi also displays a handsome array of pieces. Usually traders are more abundant than producers; if you are thinking of purchasing something, ZHW (i.e., Zen, Health and Wellbeing) has managed to join on its classy and trendy website. |
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wristbandsSometimes you can even find matching items, like this wristband from Paraguay which you can wear along with its corresponding earrings. It has been beautifully designed and crafted by Estación A, a young organization which uses an old railway station as their headquarters, some 30 km outside the capital city of Asunción. |
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