A Fair Trade Easter

Easter goodies are just plain fun: novelties in all the colors of spring, smiling Easter basket faces. Unfortunately, the toys and novelties are just that -- novelties. They're things children play with for a few moments, that tend to break and be forgotten. The photos go in the album; the plastic goes in the trash. They only cost a few bucks, but they may have cost someone else quite a bit of labor -- someone who's struggling hard to put the basics on the table.

Looking for something different? Got an extra buck? Ten? Twenty? There are a lot of natural and fair trade Easter-friendly products, if you search. In Seattle, I spy them at Whole Foods and the food co-op. Chocolate -- that's a biggie, for a lot of reasons. Oh, and there's baskets and bunnies... I went on a search for things that weren't necessarily marketed for Easter, but have that Easter look about them. Here they are -- along with a list of vendors and resources and a few pictures to inspire.

There are lots of fair trade baskets for sale by global artisans. Most are the traditional woven style. I like the style of this gourd basket from Peru. (Don't the flowers have spring festivity?)

Note the "Fair Trade Certified" sticker.

More durable than PEZ, and so much more cuddly! This arctic hare puppet was made by a fair trade artisan group in Nepal. It's about six inches tall -- much longer than your finger -- and is made from wool and colored with environmentally safe dyes. The maker notes that the little bunny can also be an ornament -- too cute!

You can also opt for a brown rabbit or a sheep, among others.

Image by the author

Critters are distributed by Kenana USA, but lovingly made in Kenya. You can read the story of the women who make them... and, yes, you can order one of your own, be it a bunny or some other cudddly critter.

Like those Easter eggs that you put goodies inside? It's like opening the gift a second time when you look inside. How about a papier mache bunny box instead?

The boxes are made by Indian artisans and come through Asha Handicrafts Association. The product description notes that ASHA means "hope" in sanskrit. Their wares provide hope for these artisans.

There are a number of vendors who you can turn to for fair trade chocolate in cute little Easter shapes. Fair trade chocolate can be as close as your local drug store. Here in Washington, Bartell's sells chocolate bars that aren't exactly Easter-themed, but some come in pastel wrappers with animals. The flavors/ add-ins in this particular line may be a bit adult. If you're not finding what you like locally, try an online vendor. Here are some that have lavish Easter designs.

This tree of life wall decoration is made in Haiti from a recycled oil drum. There are other designs available as well -- distributed by Beyond Borders.

A lot of chain stores like Trader Joe's sell fair trade chocolate. In many cases, it's in big bars instead of little spring time shapes. It's easy to melt down those bars, though, and re-mold them yourself using Wilton's candy molds.