Salt of the Earth: December 1999

Salt shakers
December 1999

This month's Salt shaker is you, the would-be ethical consumer. In the Christmas/Hanukkah consumer frenzy we are all painstakingly trained to endure, we suspect that you still want to do the right thing—that is have a joyous and holy holiday season, have some good times with family and friends, and buy your holiday presents from ethically sound retail shops and producers. An effort to explore your consumer options through the alternative world of fair trade networks often allows you to build the kind of connections between producer and consumer the anonymous world of free trade actively discourages. Learn about the people behind the products as you shop.

Your first stop might be your local church and synagogue to see if they're planning to hold a fair trade sale day or better yet run their own fair trade shop year round. (If not, why not?) But you can find an increasing number of fair trade outlets online. The list below is by no means comprehensive, nor does a listing here indicate any sort of endorsement from Claretian Publications. Do a little homework yourself and decide whom you're comfortable giving your dollars to, then shop well, not often. Good luck!

Ethical shopping resources on the Internet

AFL-CIO Do buy and Don't buy page

Ethicalshopper.com

Fair Trade Federation's online catalog list
Many internet options.

Fair Trade Federation's retail store list
Shops near you.

The Shopping Mall for green and ethical goods—Not-for-profit organizations across Europe.

Ten Thousand Villages

Commodities (Coffee)

Cafe Mam

Equal Exchange

Find out more about Fair Trade

Ethical Consumer magazine (from England)

Fair Trade Federation

Global Exchange

Tell us about a link you want included in the sections above.

Ethical shopping resources from U.S. Catholic and Salt of the Earth

Shop till they stop: A confused consumer's guide to shopping for a better world

Hang your stockings with care

How U.S. Catholic readers celebrate Christmas

Do you take your values shopping?

Claretian Publications: Catholic Wisdom on Consumerism
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