Fair trade gifts the recycled way

Article Written By: Gecko

Consumers are encouraged to recycle just about anything possible including the packaging by-products of our weekly food shop such as tins, bottles, plastic containers and foil. Local councils provide some of us with a confusing range of coloured bins for an array of household refuse and most supermarkets have recycling centres for glass, foil and paper to cloths, plastic bottles, tin cans and cardboard.

My own understanding is quite a simplistic one. There has now become such a massive drive for recycling and does seem to make perfect sense to re-use materials, reforming them to make more bottles, tins, paper and plastic. My washing up ritual now involves religiously washing out all the various packaging items because I have a sense of duty to make a contribution to preserving our planet s natural resources.

Following in the same vein, there are a number of recycled substrates used across the fair trade giftware sector too. At the heart of fair trade lies the use of sustainable materials like wood and jute as well as recycled materials such as tin, paper or even shells! So fair trade products can sit comfortably within the eco-friendly realm.

In addition to this, the main point of the fair trade movement is to produce its goods within the ethical framework of fair wages and working conditions. Both aspects encompass the fair trade ethos helping to make the movement synonymous with eco-friendly and ethically produced products from consumables to wood carvings, jute rugs, bags, picture frames to paper and tin.

The first example I would like to share with you is the special range of mussel shell picture frames. I was blown away by their beauty, innovation and craftsmanship. A little fishing village in Bali have found an ingenious way to re-use the discarded mussel shells. The first thing is they have not just glued an arrangement of grey mussel shells to a wooden picture frame. Instead, they have carefully cut away the grey outer layer of the shell to reveal a stunning opalescent bluey green shell underneath. They have then carefully created a contrasting symmetrical pattern of engraved ridges which are shown off when the light catches the various angles.

This kind of craft technique with shells is also used to inlay plates and bowls giving a montage of green and blue tones like fish scales, creating objects of great beauty and skill. The delicate calming green colour of these beautiful shells resonates with the serenity and tranquillity of Indonesia made by its native people.

Mussel shells have also been used to make an almost ethereal cubed tealight holder by breaking them up and setting in an opaque resin. When the tealight is lit, the shapes and colours of the shell pieces become transparent against the glow of the flame.

While on the subject of fair trade tealight holders, there are some fantastic holders carefully handcrafted from recycled tin collected from factories within the village vicinity. The scraps certainly have been put to good use in creating something functional for the consumer. The designs are quirky and are predominantly aimed to appeal to the western and commercial markets rather than their own.

Examples include tin tealight holders that are brightly hand painted to depict roosters, flowers, butterflies, fish, hedgehogs, frogs, chickens and even Christmas trees. So something for everyone!

As well as being made from recycled materials, fair trade gifts are also made from sustainable materials such as jute prolific in India. Jute provides a plentiful resource of natural material for a wide range of products. The material can be brought cheaply and weaved into mats, rugs, bags and belts then sold on to make a healthy profit margin.

Since jute is a natural fibre it is 100% biodegradable enhancing further the advantage of buying this kind of natural product. By using this kind of material, we are helping to cut down on wastage otherwise accumulated by the notorious plastic or man-made materials.

So if you stumble across a range of fair trade gifts you have found something rather special. You have peace of mind knowing its products are made from sustainable and natural materials and have been produced entirely through ethical means.

About the Author

Hand made fair trade gifts by Belinda Bryant. Fair trade gifts for everyone can be found at Indigo Ocean Trading.

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