This Father’s Day, show your Dad that he raised a smart kid with a good heart by giving him a Fair Trade gift! Shop online at the Global Exchange Online Store for everything from recycled bike chain coat hooks to recycled inner tube wallets to heavy-duty steel and brass scissors. Or, come into the Global Exchange Fair Trade Store in San Francisco (map) for these gifts and more – like our huge selection of handmade picture frames! Today through Father’s Day, Sunday, June 19, buy one frame, get the second 50% OFF!

Recycled magazine frames are a great gift for every eco-conscious dad. Made in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, our recycled magazine products are part of a program aimed at helping street children, poor women, and people of ethnic minorities. The 3″x3″ and 4″x6″ frames are made of tightly coiled recycled magazines and candy wrappers; the paper is cut, folded into long strips, and then soaked in glue (pictured above).

Handcrafted in India, these tree of life picture frames can hold 3″x3″, 4″x6″, or 5″x7″ photos and. They are truly unique, each with slight color variations of hand-carved mango wood. Make it a complete set with a matching box!

These striking frames are hand-woven by women of the indigenous Bodo tribe of Assam, India. The artisan cooperative uses 100% cotton scrap fabric, woven on bamboo looms, to create stylish pieces that incorporate traditional Bodo design elements. The 5″x7″ recycled fabric frames come in a variety colors, in both single and double frames.

What better way to show off your treasured memories with Dad than with a one-of-a-kind frame? Stop by San Francisco’s Global Exchange Store to see even more handcrafted frames, and other great fair trade Father’s Day gift items! Remember – this week only – buy one frame, get the second 50% off!

Graduation season is upon us! Whether you’re celebrating a graduate completing high school or university, you’re probably looking for a gift that is both meaningful and practical. Giving a Fair Trade gift means you’re not only encouraging these newly independent young people to be conscious consumers, you’re also providing a fair income to the artisan who crafted the product. Stop by Global Exchange’s Fair Trade Store in San Francisco (map) and check our wide selection of graduation gifts – with everything from jewelry to hammocks to picture frames to dorm essentials!

Here are a few ideas to get you started…

1. Semi-precious gemstone jewelry. Crafted in small villages in Bali, our earrings and necklaces feature radiant gemstones placed in delicately shaped sterling silver. The gemstones range from birthstones like Garnet and Peridot to the more unusual Jadite and Iolite. As each piece is entirely hand-fabricated, no two are exactly identical; each is an individual work of art.

2. Hammocks made from t-shirt production waste in El Salvador. Give the gift of relaxation with these 100% cotton hammocks. Using cotton trim pieces from a T-shirt factory that would normally be thrown away, the cotton is ground and re-spun into these beautiful striped hammocks. Recycled candle wax, gathered from local churches, is also used to lubricate the cotton for weaving. Even the machinery used to spin and weave these hammocks was purchased used!

3. Recycled Innertube Nature Bag. The ideal student bag: it’s sturdy enough to hold a laptop, textbooks, notepads, cell phones… and it’s fashionable! The Nature Bag is giving old truck tires a whole new life, with cut out green fabric leaf shapes to add color and decorative black on black stitching on the front pockets giving texture and style. The El Salvadorian artisans making these bags are collecting inner-tubes that have been accumulated and would be thrown into landfills that pollute the Earth.

4. Steel and Brass Handmade Scissors. The perfect gift for anyone crafty! These highly functional scissors work very well cutting everything from fabric to posterboard, and are comfortable to use with strong blades and large finger rings. They were made in India by a family that has been making scissors for generations. The blades are hand-forged carbonized steel, and the handles are cast brass.  Display box in photo is not included with scissors.

5. Mother of Pearl Inlay Picture Frames. Don’t let your grad forget you! These exquisite picture frames are made in the alleys of the Khan al Khalili market of Egypt, where craftspeople with extraordinary talent and patience inlay the mother-of-pearl onto metal or wood. The mother-of-pearl is cut into different shapes and then individually applied to form the finished design, usually a geometric or floral motif. Each piece may take several days to complete, resulting in a uniquely-patterned frame that is a work of art to be cherished.

Be sure to check out all of these gifts and more grad gift ideas online at the Global Exchange Online Store!

Have a great time celebrating, and conGRADulations to all those graduates!!

Recyled Tire Messenger Bag

Join us at the Global Exchange Fair Trade stores in San Francisco and Berkeley where we will be featuring the most creative designs in Fair Trade gifts made from trash!  Purses, pouches, and a wide selection of accessories made from discarded truck and bike tires in El Salvador ; tableware made from recycled magazine in Vietnam; doormats made from recycled flip flop byproduct in the Philippines; and designer jewelry and accessories made from recycled pull tabs from Brazil.

Come learn about the production and impact on the local community!

SAN FRANCISCO STORE
4018 24th Street (near Noe)
San Francisco CA 94114
415-648-8068
map

BERKELEY STORE
2840 College Avenue (at Russell)
Berkeley CA 94705
510-548-0370
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