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Feature Photo and Photo Above by Lola Akinmade
Fair trade companies make a wealth of goods that are practical for travel while sustaining communities through much-needed income and safe workplaces. Make sure your items are fair trade certified by checking the shopping database at Fair Trade Federation or grab one of the great products below.
Trashy Bags
Having a spare shopping bag to fold up and stick in your pack is always handy. These bags are made from plastic bags retrieved from the streets of Ghana and sewn into totes, market bags, messengers, and toiletry kits.
Hemp and Leather Camera Case
Your camera is as important on your trip as your toothbrush. Sturdy and made from “natural hemp and cruelty-free leather,” this padded case is a good-looking and ethically produced protector for your point-and-shoot.
Equal Exchange Snacks
Snacks are vital on the road, so why not make a trail mix from almonds and berries harvested by workers that are paid a fair wage? Their teas, coffees and chocolates are a less practical but oh-so-tasty alternative for on-the-road noshing.
Ten Thousand Villages Scarves and Shawls
Whether it’s keeping warm in the chill of a too-cold plane or using a scarf to cover your head in a place of worship, a long wrap is never out of style. Ten Thousand Villages has a variety of weights and colors that utilize materials from alpaca fiber to silk and are good for any temperature.
Fair Trade Winds Travel Journal
Travel writers know not to leave home without a notebook. These attractive options utilize recycled products, cruelty-free leather, and are handmade in Africa and Asia.
They’re more environment-friendly and much nicer-looking than your basic spiral-bound notebook.
Deanna Niles McConnell
Deanna Niles McConnell is a freelance writer living and raising a baby traveler in Hawaii. You can follow the semi-interesting suburban escapades at travelingmonkeys.blogspot.com
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Yum, those chocolates look great…
Picked up a sweet recycled bag (made from old milk sachets) at a random cornerstore in Bolivia. I think the kids working the counter just made them for fun. Best bag ever.
Go fair trade!
i always buy recycled products to reduce the waste materials on this planet.’-,