Eco-friendly gift ideas

Looking for some ethical, fair-trade, eco-friendly and stupendous gift ideas? We have a few for you to check out.

Heartbeats, a ministry of the Sisters of Humility of Mary, offers a sizable catalog of fair-trade religious gifts. Many items are handmade in third world countries, though some domestic items are offered as well. Each purchase helps create dignified work that gives a fair wage to women worldwide. Go to www.heartbeatscatalog.org.

Green America’s (formerly Co-op America) Green Pages is a great resource to find dozens of fair-trade and eco-friendly gift ideas. Browse featured vendors or use a search engine to look for a specific item. Go to www.greenpages.org.

Heifer International is dedicated to providing indigenous people with animals that can be used for milk, fiber, meat, eggs or labor. Animal donations help indigent communities become more self-sustaining by meeting their own nutritional needs as well as making a small income. Partial or full shares are available and make wonderful gifts. Go to www.heifer.org.

The following companies have some great coffee and chocolate gift sets if you’re pressed for time and don’t want to assemble your own: www.equalexchange.com, www.dagobachocolate.com, and www.ancoracoffee.com.

Eco-friendly gift ideas

It's hard to believe Christmas is only three weeks away! Fortunately, the staff has pulled together a list of some favorite earth-friendly gift ideas to help us all avoid getting caught up in the commercialism of the holidays. Many of the suggestions can be found online. Click on the title of this blog to go to the Web page listing.

Towards the end of the Web page there is a list of items that can be purchased at White Violet Center. Maybe adopting an alpaca or beehive would make a loved one smile this Christmas.

If you're in the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind. area we have some great stocking-stuffers: organic fair-trade coffees and teas, delicious fair-trade chocolate bars, hot cocoa and baking cocoa, handmade lip balm made with wax from our own bees, alpaca fiber Christmas ornaments, socks, gloves and more.

Enjoy time with family and friends this month!