This post is in collaboration with Made Trade.
I decided to pass on the traditional gift guides this year. I’m not really sure how valuable they were to you all last year (and they are a TON of work, to be honest), and I thought it might be more fun and authentic to highlight a much smaller selection of my favorite brands and my gifting picks specifically from them.
If you are missing those larger, round-up style posts, you can always check out my Shop Wholeheartedly page for the things I currently love (or have hanging out in my shopping cart, ha!). I update it seasonally.
So to kick off the holiday season, I want to talk a little more about Made Trade (which I last featured here) and why I love shopping with them for gifts.
Cozying up in my Chilote Feet slippers from Made Trade. My sweatpants are from Mate, and my tee is from Pact.
Made Trade is an ethical fashion marketplace committed to transparency. Founders Cayley and Andy have been committed to the fair trade movement since 2005 – Cayley’s passion for fair trade brought her to Europe, the Middle East and South Asia, working on women’s and girls’ empowerment initiatives, and Andy has spent his entire career in product development and marketing for fair trade brands. They founded Made Trade to make exceptionally made, ethically sourced products more accessible.
Made Trade is a great resource for holiday shopping because you can search products based on the gift recipient’s values. So, if you have a friend who is vegan, or a friend who you know tries to purchase mostly Fair Trade products, you can search right by those values on the Made Trade website. This is so helpful when shopping for a loved one who may be a bit harder to shop for, or who feels strongly about specific values that you may not know much about. For example, I know it can be difficult to shop for vegan friends if you don’t know much about veganism…speaking as someone who is very specific about what animal-derived products I will and will not use or wear.
You can shop on seven different dimensions with Made Trade:
- Fair Trade;
- Heritage + Artisan Techniques;
- People of Color (POC)-Owned;
- Sustainable;
- USA-Made;
- Vegan; and
- Women-Owned.
And this holiday season, Made Trade has made shopping ethically even easier, by curating tons of gift guides for every category imaginable! They’ve put together lists of Cozy Gifts, Gifts Under $50, Gifts for the Host and Hostess, Stocking Stuffers and more.
Now, all that being said – I bet you’re pretty busy this holiday season. So, I took the liberty of going through all of Made Trade’s guides for you, to highlight the products that I think are the absolute best of the bunch when it comes to gift giving.
When I’m shopping for gifts, I of course try to think about what the recipient likes, but the other criteria I like to follow is, “What is something this person would love, but wouldn’t necessarily buy for themselves?” That means I tend to gravitate toward things that are pretty, unique, or are an ethical version of something I know the person already has, but may be ready to upgrade. I wouldn’t say I’m much of a practical gift giver, but where’s the fun in that, anyway?
1. Chilote Feet // So soft and cozy – perfect for the homebody! I opt for the leather-free version.
2. Hozen Mini Bucket Bag in Roseate // This vegan bag is the prettiest shade of pink, and 10% of profits are donated to Mercy for Animals. I’m really just hoping someone in my life will see this guide and buy it for me – ha!
3. Seek and Swoon Adobe Throw // This bold throw will go with any room, plus it is vegan and sustainably-made in the USA. Seek and Swoon is also a women-owned company.
4. Ettitude Bamboo Bathrobe // I love the waffle knit, and Ettitude makes such comfortable products! (I know, because I have an eye mask from them that I love!)
5. Alchemy Goods Brooklyn Backpack // This waxed canvas backpack is effortlessly cool.
6. L. Greenwalt Geometric Necklace // Not only is this necklace unique, but you can choose from sterling silver or 14k gold fill and various chain lengths. The gold and silver are ethically mined or recycled.
7. KAZI Peach Penelope Pom Pom Box // Woven by artisans in Uganda, this box is perfect for any friends who love “tidying up.”
8. Studio Variously Linen Charcoal Linen Scarf // Linen is the perfect year-round fabric. This scarf is fairly made in Nepal.
9. L. Greenwalt Organic Hoop Earrings // I love the flowing, natural shape of these hoops. They are available in rose gold fill, yellow gold fill or sterling silver.
10. Katie Mudd Brushstroke Hanging Planter // Perfect for the plant-lover in your life, but a little more special than your standard planter. Katie Mudd is also a POC, women-owned brand.
11. Katie Mudd Blush Ceramic Mug // There’s just something so sweet about this blush and polka-dot mug.
12. Sertodo Copper Martini Set // For the person who has everything. If martinis aren’t their drink of choice, Sertodo has an array of other sets.
I’ve really been enjoying my Chilote Feet, which are handmade in Patagonia. I think they are an absolutely lovely gift for someone who loves to cozy-up at home with a cup of tea and a good book. That’s why they are number one on my Made Trade guide! They’re also a more affordable ethical gift, at $53.
(Always looking at our cats.)
Instead of a sale, Made Trade will be celebrating Black Friday with a Black Friday Fund – starting Thursday, November 28 at 6 pm, 10% of every order will be donated to preserving 368,000 acres of virgin Amazon rainforest in Pará, Brazil. You can learn more here.
I hope you liked this first installment of my holiday content! Which one of Made Trade’s seven values most resonates with you this holiday season?
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