Funky ecofriendly placemats made by crocheting a yarn made from recycled plastic supermarket bags. These ecofriendly placemats are brilliant for outdoor entertaining, durable and easily washed. An innovative way of dealing with waste while at the same time providing dignified employment .
Some of the cutest recycled jewellery are these dancing girl earrings, made of recycled wire and scraps of tin. Made by the young women from Afrika Pamoja a Kenyan social enterprise where the girls learn to make handicrafts so as to earn a living. Many of the young women come from the Obunga slums, the most destitute area of Kisumu in Kenya and they carry on a long tradition of making items from recycled materials, a source of income for many men and women in Africa.
In developing countries, where garbage collection services are minimal and environmental awareness takes second place to basic survival, plastic bags are everywhere: clogging drains, choking animals, and blighting already difficult lives. So Funky Junk decided to do something about it.
Funky Junk Recycled is an innovative social enterprise – making beautiful, functional, long-lasting items in Cambodia from used plastic bags reclaimed from streets and fields. Supporting Funky Junk means contributing to a cleaner environment and providing fair trade income, training and community benefits for its local producers.
Made in South Africa these superb hand crafted telephone wire baskets, woven from copper telephone wire, are a contemporary art form involving incredible levels of skill and colour. Zulu weavers have taken the intricate designs and incredible craftsmanship of their natural fibre baskets, and turned them into brightly-coloured art made from plastic-coated wire. Made in a variety of intricate and unique designs, vibrant colours are a hallmark of this functional art
Telephone wire weaving began with the night watchmen in the mines of South Africa weaving as a creative way of dealing with the boredom . With limited resources at hand the Zulu men finding discarded brightly coloured wire utilized it to decorate objects. Today this craft has developed hugely and a worldwide market now exists for a diverse range of products and designs that are not only commercially desirable, but that are also supplying dignified and fairly paid work for hundreds of weavers throughout South Africa.
Kenana Knitters works with 250 knitters who hand-knit each item with special care. Every item is a unique piece that bears the signature of the woman who created it. Many of the knitters have received only very basic education and have an insufficient understanding of math and numbers, so patterns are learned, and knitted, with great dexterity from memory. Kenana Knitters provides dignified work that allows women to take charge of their lives without hard physical labour. By purchasing a Kenana Knitters product, you are contributing to the pride and advancement of the individual woman and her family, as well as impacting her overall community. Kenana Knitters is changing lives stitch by stitch
Fair-trade and handmade childrens toys - cant get better than that!
FunkyJunk is an innovative social enterprise – making beautiful, functional, long-lasting eco gifts from used plastic bags reclaimed from streets and fields in Cambodia. Funky Junk products contribute to a cleaner environment and provides fair-trade income, training and community benefits for local producers. All of Funky Junk products are 100% recycled made from discarded plastic bags, collected by rubbish pickers. They are washed, disinfected and dried in the sun before being sorted by colour. The recycled plastic bags are cut and made into yarn, which is then crocheted into Funky Junks fabulouseco-bags
African recycled crafts are made out of ‘nothing’, discarded junk, cans, wire and plastics –the things people throw away and abandon. Ethical Gifts is proud to sell the work of these artists, people with hardly any resources – they pick up the junk around them and fashion waste into exquisite sculptures, passionate representations of African culture and life.
These recycled crafts help us to see our world from a different perspective, that through creativity we can tackle some of our world problems – we have left them with nothing and from nothing they produce bright beautiful art alive with invention and love.
Making ethical shopping choices shows that you are a thinking individual that you are well informed about the social and environmental impact of your choices as a consumer
Ignorance of the unjust and destructive practices that are used in the production of many of the things we buy allows business to continue to cause serious damage to the planet and exploit those who are vulnerable because of poverty By refusing to buy products made in an unethical manner you are applying market pressure that will not be ignored if enough people behave as you do. Ethical consumerism shows you are someone who is engaged and interested in global issues The impact of your shopping choices on the environment and on the lives of those less fortunate than you matters to you and you are someone who won't contribute to the exploitation of our world.
Being an ethical consumer shows others that you have are kind. That the humiliation and suffering of those who live in third world countries is of concern to you and you do what you can to help Being an ethical shopper means you are a leader. By choosing fair-trade and eco-friendly products you make your own choices rather than bending easily to social pressure
By taking the lead you also prompt those who have yet to consider this issue to start to reassess their own choices as a consumer. If you are one of the ever growing number of people who will no longer play a part in degrading the environment or others who we share this world with we should all be grateful to you Its the actions, no matter how small, of strong individuals that will make the earth a fairer and cleaner place for all.
Posted by: ethical gifts AT 04:22 am
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Kenana Knitters knitted jungle fun puppets are created from all natural home spun wool. They are handmade, Fair-trade toys and adorable each with a distinct individual style. The beautifully knitted hand-puppets are eco-friendly, the colour for the wool made with plants. Each cute animal puppet is signed by its maker - signatures which represent the pride and newfound independence that has grown among these women.
At Ethical Gifts we offer you something special. If you are looking for eco toys, eco gifts for children, green gift , recycled gifts, environmentally friendly gifts, eco bags,eco gifts for women, ethical gifts for Christmas, or just a unique gift idea you will find it at Ethical Gifts. Ethical Gifts only stocks gifts which have a positive impact on the people who make them and do no harm to the planet. We have a great range of fairtrade, handmade and eco-friendly gifts, jewellery,environmentally friendly bags, handmade toys, fairtrade cards, home-ware and more which you can buy safe in the knowledge that you are doing your bit for our world and for the people we share it with.
