Give Good, Feel Good: 5 Ethically Sourced Gift Ideas

If you're looking to spend ethically this holiday season (but know your friends and family will be disappointed if you donate a calf to a village in their name), there's a range of nonprofit organizations that are creating unique, highly affordable merchandise around the world.

From children's gifts to table linens, bedding, pillows and blankets to jewelry for your significant other (or mom), here are just a few of the options that let you "shop well while doing good."

With pieces created in India, Pakistan and Africa, as well as North America, many of the organizations featured in this article have e-commerce sites that sell directly to consumers. For wholesalers, we've included information on websites/vendors and boutiques that carry their merchandise.

Project Have Hope

For chunky jewelry fans, some of the bright, affordable, chunky jewelry available through Maiden, Massachusetts-based Project Have Hope might be the perfect gift or stocking stuffer.

"We were founded 11 years ago, our mission is to provide educational and business initiatives to families in Uganda's Acholi Quarter through the sale of their handmade crafts," says Director Karen Sparacio. "We work with each woman as an individual to offer the resources and support she needs to create a financially secure life. For example, one woman, Adibo Christine has had no schooling. However, she is extremely hard-working. She requested a loan to raise pigs."

Project Have Hope also has some affordable holiday ornaments. Priced at $6.25 each, and measuring 3-to-5 inches, the African kitenge fabric is stuffed with cotton to form various wild animals found in Ugandan's national parks. Each has a raffia loop sewn in. For kids, a great offering is an animal mobile. Just $22, it features four stuffed, plush animals-an elephant, giraffe, zebra and rhino hanging from natural fibers.

Sustainable Threads

Though they don't have a consumer website just yet, pieces created by New Jersey-based Sustainable Threads are available at museum gift shops, boutiques, fair-trade stores, fabric and design stores in major cities, including a number of locations in Brooklyn, New York, including the Brooklyn Museum.

"We currently work with over 10 artisan groups in India, with the goal of long-term, deep partnerships," says Harish Hahiramani, co-founder of the fair trade wholesaler. "Our focus is on the people, not just the product. This model requires a significant investment in design and product development, factoring in the skill sets of each community."

In shades of mulberry, orange and other autumnal colors, their "Fall and Winter Table Collection" is a great addition to holiday tables. A thoughtful gift for kids or even Amy Sedaris-style crafty adults, Sustainable Threads DIY kits feature paint, fabric and traditional woodblocks of horses, chickens and rabbits.

Fibres of Life

Nova Scotia-based Fibres of Life emphasizes fair trade and quality design. "While we create fair trade products, I believe we need to create products that are not bought charitably," says founder Jenn Pullin. She takes Portlandia's "Put a bird on it" motif (along with bees, bicycles and butterflies) to a more sophisticated level with bags, totes, computer bags and mini-organizers in offbeat color combinations including olive/lime and midnight/teal.

For the kids in your circle, Fibres of Life includes felted wool balls and hand puppets. They're all available at Fibres of Life Halifax home (2082 Gottingen Street Halifax, Nova Scotia) as well as online.

Messenger bags: Pure Art: The Art of Shopping with a Purpose
Various products: Pocket Change

Natural Habitat

Made in India, but often inspired by the works of Joan Miro, Paul Klee, Piet Mondrian, Georgia O'Keefe, Gustav Klimt, the Prairie School and the Bauhaus, Mass-based Natural Habitat is a wholesaler that sells to brick and mortar as well as online retailers.

They produce ecologically friendly goods in regions with cottage industries where traditional production techniques are used, using natural fibers for all of its textile products. A range of Natural Habitat pillows can be found online at ArtQuest Gallery.

Indus Heritage Trust

The Indus Heritage Trust preserves and promotes the rich traditional arts and crafts of Pakistan. Hand-embroidered pillows and especially throws with a restrained sophistication, at just $60 for two, their multi-colored embroidery "horse" throw is unusual enough to please the pickiest shopper on your list.