Eco-Friendly Choices: Ten Thousand Villages
Ten Thousand Villages is a non-profit fair-trade organization that sells hand-crafted works of art from over 38 countries in stores across the globe, and of course on their website. Fair Trade is a market-based approach that intends to help producers, artisans and the economy in developing countries and promote sustainability. Ten Thousand Villages represents artists from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Buying furniture or gifts from fair trade organizations is a great way to support artisans and eco-friendly building processes as well as vitalizing economies and infrastructures in developing countries. Next time you’re thinking of buying an accent piece, or giving a gift for a niece or nephew’s wedding, think about a personalized, environmentally-friendly piece from Ten Thousand Villages.
Some of my favorite accent pieces:
Batik Decorative Fan: $34.00
Made in Indonesia out of cotton and bamboo, the fan includes a bamboo piece to help hanging it on the wall. It comes in a beautiful painted box with the same cotton design as the fan.
Black Cut Metal Tree of Life: $54.00
Made of recycled 55 gallon metal drums, the Haitian artisans who created this beautiful wall hanging preserve their own heritage through the tradition of cut metal work and share it with a universal symbol of peace and prosperity.
Handmade Bamboo CD Holder: $94.00
Made in the Phillipines, this CD holder can hold up to 48 CDs or DVDs.
Find at Smarter.com: Shop for more cd holders and decorative fans.
