Fair trade advocates reasonable wages for workers as well as healthy social and environmental practices during the production of goods. This system of trading promotes a more equitable global trade.

When referring to fair trade in developing countries, the practice encompasses dealing with producers in ways that are just and less exploitative, especially to sellers and producers in poorer areas. General principles include minimum prices, credit availability, sustainable agricultural methods, and dealing directly with producers rather than third parties.

While the term Fair Trade typically refers to trade with developing countries, products produced in the USA are fair trade, too. Just wages for honest work is basically what the term means.

Twelve Rivers is proud to carry several bags produced under Fair Trade standards.

Courtesy of World Vision

Wanting to help the children in Haiti? Here’s yet another way that will excite the youth in this ravaged country.

NFL apparel, including slews of hats, t-shirts, hoodies, was printed for both Super Bowl teams ready for either a Colts or Saints win. Now, the Colts apparel will not be wasted.  With your help, the children in Haiti will receive the Super Bowl game-day apparel bearing the Indianapolis Colts championship logo.

This apparel has been donated to World Vision to serve children in Haiti. “For years, World Vision has helped us to ensure that no NFL apparel goes to waste,” said David Krichavsky, NFL director of community relations. “With the enormous needs in Haiti and World Vision’s long-term presence there, we know that these goods will go to very good use.”

World Vision will send Super Bowl game-day clothing to Haiti, but your help is needed. Your monetary gift will help ship and deliver this Super Bowl clothing to the people who need it most, with more apparel to be delivered in the following months. Because corporate partners donate the clothing, your gift will multiply 15 times in value to deliver new pants, sturdy shoes, protective jackets, and more to children and families in Haiti.

Other corporate sponsors will be donating upwards of $72 million dollars worth of clothing to World Vision to be dispersed not only to Haiti but to another 31 countries.

Your gift will help in shipping these items!

Unsure about World Vision? World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. They have received an excellent efficiency rating of 4 stars out of 4 stars on Charity Navigator Rating with fundraising and administrative expenses at less than 14% of all expenses.

World Vision is a charity making a real difference in our world.

I’ve always admired those individuals, though, who do use the new year as the impetus for a desired change in their life.  I’ve just never done it.  I am more about periodically taking stock of my life, evaluating where I’m at and where I want to be.  But I don’t necessarily do that at the beginning of a calendar year.  It’s more of a very slow climb with many setbacks throughout time.

So how does one make changes in their life successfully?  I could talk about goal setting, breaking the goals down into specific steps, and evaluating solutions that work for you personally.  I could discuss analyzing each goal so you know what is looks like for you and you alone. Or finding a friend to hold you accountable. I could share many suggestions pulled from pundits and personal experience, but I’m sure you, like me, have heard them all.

Bottom line, here’s what I’ve learned.  Goals can’t be achieved unless they are heartfelt.  Many goals sound good in theory but unless you can wrap both your heart and mind around them… really internalizing them, the goals will never be reached.

So, where does that leave us?  Let me just close by passing on a challenge that was recently posed to a group of us.  I view this as the essential foundation for all goal setting.  It is this:

It bears repeating. Don’t waste your life by being mediocre. You want your life to matter.  Never underestimate the impact and power of your life alone.

Mull on that for a bit, as I have. Then…. start setting your goals for 2010.

I remember someone once telling me her goal while in high school was to have enough clothes to be able go at least a month without repeating an outfit. Granted each outfit was probably composed of separates that mixed and matched. Still, one has to wonder if an outfit was really worn only nine times during the school year!

Contrast this to The Uniform Project by Sheena Matheiken, so named for her days of school uniforms where students found inventive ways to convey individuality with additions or slight changes to the assigned outfit. In The Uniform Project – 1 Dress. 365 Days, Sheena has vowed to wear the same dress every day for one year. A friend designed a basic black dress to be worn flipped either to the front or the back for versatility.

Sheena has taken layering and accessorizing to another level giving the same dress a whole new look each and every day. Numerous accessories have been donated or designed for her, many from materials typically thrown away. She is currently on day 230 of 365.

Any funds Sheena raises from this project go to the Akanksha Foundation for the education of underprivileged children in India.

Take time to scroll through the weeks of variation on the little black dress. Sheena is extremely creative while utilizing unusual accessories. Think what you could do with some of the basics in your closet with just a little ingenuity!

Enticing names such as Tango, Java Flow, and Onyx Moon suggest moods all their own. Choose one or choose a collection.

Each bag comes with a tag telling you the number of plastic bottles recycled to create the amount of fabric used in the bag. EDEN uses the ubiquitous 16-ounce plastic water bottle as their reference point. So cool! (You ARE recycling those water bottles, aren’t you!)

EDEN eco-friendly reusable bags simply are quite wonderful!

Photo courtesy of Wheatware

Yesterday while waiting for my son’s guitar lesson, we browsed the music store and came across a new product – guitar picks made from wheat!  Who knew?!  They’re made in Nebraska by a company called Wheatware. And no, unfortunately for you hungry musicians out there, you can NOT eat them although they will biodegrade in the garden within three months!

My son, of course, bought one to use during his lesson… liked the way the raised logo made it easy to hold.

Wheatware’s primary focus is in replacing wooden products to save the destruction of over 30 million forest trees per year. Check out what other items they’re making from wheat: golf tees, hangers, bowls & plates, and lots more.

Accolades all around for Wheatware!

Sadly, the U.S. is far behind the rest of the world in embracing the reusable bag lifestyle. We’d like to see people choosing to make the change simply because they realize that collectively, each of us CAN make a difference in our world!

Wondering what to do with Grandma’s dishes?

Here’s an interesting use… antique dishes and plates inserted into a window flower box. We found this outside a charming shop along Main Street in Milford, Michigan. The long box displays a unique mix between natural ferns and floral china.

Is this the newest way to recycle what’s left of Grandma’s good dishes? Tell us what you think!

Three Cups of Tea is a compelling account of the difference one person can make in the world. What started as a failed mountain expedition in Pakistan for American Greg Mortenson kicks off a monumental life journey. Mortenson vowed to repay the generosity of the village leader and his people who saved his life by building them a school.

Mortenson struggles to fulfill that promise and then commits to fundraising and building many more schools for both boys and girls in this Muslim country . There are obstacles that would discourage the best of us as well as unexpected twists of fortune that rescue his efforts from oblivion.

Although I won’t likely venture to the high mountains of Pakistan, Mortenson inspired me to find ways to make a difference in my world, be it my neighborhood, community or our country at large.

It’s a must read for all!

We’ve all been in this situation. You weren’t planning on any shopping but, at the last minute, decide to stop by the store on the way home to just pick up something quick. Well, the best solution to this ever-present situation is by following the Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared!

Get yourself a compact reusable bag designated for your purse alone. Several styles fold up smaller than your cell phone and weigh a whole lot less.

This way, when you’re in line thinking of the bags in your car, you can smile to yourself, pull out your tiny pouch and magically unfold a shopping bag. You’ll get plenty of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the clerks, trust me!