Ten Thousand Villages (TTV) gets our stamp of approval because it sells globally inspired merchandise like jewelry, bags, or pottery. Better yet, each item at TTV, as its website point out, has a story of hope, joy, and dignity behind it.

With Christmas right around the corner, here a couple of fair trade gifts you can purchase for your family and friends at TTV. (You can purchase these gifts and others online at www.tenthousandvillages.com).

For your dad: Goldfish Paper weight, $7. This beautiful lacquered stone from Vietnam will help keep papers on your dad’s desk at bay.

For your mom: 8-strand glass bead necklace, $16. Your mom will love this beautiful necklace, made by Creaciones Chonita, an artisan group of Guatemalan women.

For your friend, the poet: Waru Leaf Journal, $16. Your friend who adores Maya Angelou or Emily Dickinson can test her poetic prowess in this handmade journal created by Indonesian artisans.

For your younger sister: Stretch Bead Bracelet, $8. (Made in India) 

For your environmentally conscious friend: Recycled Silk Scarf, $18. This gift is great for your friend who always reminds you to put your water bottles in the recycling. This scarf from Nepal is made completely from recycled looms of silk.

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More about TTV

TTV is a Fair Trade Organization (FTO), making it a part of a global initiative to push honest trading practices.

For instance, those beautiful beaded necklaces hanging from the jewelry display will help educate children in Guatemala. The scented soap you bought for your best friend’s birthday helped provide a source of steady income for artisans in India. The great thing about TTV is that every purchase you make, creates a positive difference in someone else’s life. How is all this possible?

Fair trade is about creating trading partnerships based on integrity, helping disadvantaged laborers, equal pay for men and women, labor rights, and environmental consciousness. TTV buys the goods they sell from artisans whose employers pay them fair wages for their labor. While TTV sells some pricey items, it does have merchandise at reasonable prices.

TTV has been in the fair trade game since 1946, when Edna Ruth Byler, a volunteer with the Mennonite Central Committee, started selling crafts made by Puerto Rican women to her friends and family in Pennsylvania. Now there are over 160 stores on the North American continent, making it possible for the average Jane to impact the world positively with a simple trip to the mall.

Visit www.tenthousandvillages.com, the official website of the International Fair Trade Association (www.ifat.org), or the website of the Fair Trade Federation (www.fairtradefederation.org).