Holiday Marketplace

2010 Holiday Marketplace

ECS isn't your typical school, so it's only natural that its holiday gift market isn't your typical school fair, either. Guided by the school's mission, the Holiday Marketplace aims to provide a selection of fair trade, sustainable, affordable gifts for students, staff and parents who want to do some holiday gift giving.

Why fair trade?
Fair trade organizations offer a wide variety of unique, often handmade products at affordable prices. Through fair trade, artisans and farmers in low-income communities are able to earn an honest living, to provide for their children and to be gainfully employed in a job that brings dignity and joy. Fair trade organizations cultivate partnerships with their suppliers and contribute to the development of communities through educational, nutritional, environmental, and health programs.

How did it come to ECS?
Many schools have some sort of holiday shopping event during which students can pick out gifts for their parents, siblings, friends, or other loved ones. The PCO wanted to offer an event more in line with the school's environmental mission than the typical school gift shop. The Holiday Marketplace Committee sought out products from a variety of vendors (see sidebar) who were willing to work directly with us to offer affordable prices.  Many of them even provided their products on consignment, allowing for a greater selection of items.

When can I shop?
Students have the opportunity to shop with their classes during the school day.  Families and staff are welcome to shop before the Winter Concert (December 8 and 9). We also hope to have a selection of items available at the Gingerbread House event on December 17.

With its attention to environmentalism and equality, fair trade shopping demonstrates not only true ECS school spirit, but also holiday spirit--no matter which winter holiday you're celebrating!

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2010 Holiday Marketplace Vendors

Building New Hope is a volunteer-driven non-profit organization based in Pittsburgh, PA and Granada, Nicaragua that has been supporting grassroots development projects in Central America since 1992. They sell the fairly traded organic coffee that has been sold as a fundraiser at ECS.

Education and More is a fair trade charitable organization providing assistance to artisans and their families through educational opportunities and fair trade. Their mission is to further the education of the children in the Lake Atitlan area of Guatemala and to reduce the poverty of their families and communities through implementation of Fair Trade practices with artisan groups. They make jewelry, key chains, baskets, purses, and more.

Equal Exchange's founders envisioned a food system that empowers farmers and consumers, supports small farmer co-ops, and uses sustainable farming methods. They started with fairly traded coffee from Nicaragua and now partner with co-operatives of farmers who provide high-quality organic coffees, teas, chocolates, bananas and snacks from all over the world. Equal Exchange sets an example as a world leader in fairness, ethical commerce, and economic democracy.

HandCrafting Justice is a fair trade partnership working with women struggling for economic justice and independence in developing countries. They promote human dignity and justice by creating opportunities for economic and social transformation in part by marketing items the women make, such as candle holders, finger puppets, jewelry, coin purses, and much more. They also produce ECS's hand-embroidered polo shirts.

INTO is a fair trade organization working directly with families in three communities in the country of Ecuador. Due to their underprivileged situations our goal is to give our partner artisans the opportunity to establish sustainable living through their skilled work, therefore creating their own niche in the market. We are offering their hats and scarves.

Mad Gab's Wildly Natural Bodycare is a U.S.-based company with a unique, creative line of lip and body balms. They sell simple, natural products with minimal packaging.

Mr. Ellie Pooh is an eco-friendly, innovative company that sells 100% handmade journals, stationery, crafts, scrapbook/photo albums and various grades of paper made of 75% elephant dung from Sri Lanka and 25% post-consumer paper.

Project Have Hope works with a group of 100 women in the Acholi Quarter of Uganda and helps them transform their lives and the lives of their families. Through the sale of their beautiful, handmade paper bead jewelry, the women can feed their families, send their children to school, and look forward to a richer future.

SERRV is a nonprofit organization with a mission to eradicate poverty wherever it resides by providing opportunity and support to artisans and farmers worldwide. Through their work with community-based organizations in 36 countries, they create economic opportunity so these artisans and farmers can support their families and themselves. Their fair trade products include jewelry, ornaments, baskets, candles, and other food and gift items.

Sustainable Threads is a fair trade, eco-focused company promoting handcrafted lifestyle products. They currently work with over ten artisan groups in India, with the goal of long term, deep partnerships.  They offer notepads, ornaments, cloth napkins, letter openers and more.

Wanderlust Handcrafted Jewelry is a collaboration between about 20 Peruvian artisans and Studio Hart to produce a line of hand painted jewelry. They have maintained a standard policy of fair wages for the artisans in Peru for almost thirty years.

Women of the Cloud Forest, founded in 2001, produces beautiful jewelry in a never-ending range of colors, styles and patterns using sustainably harvested seeds from the dry tropical and wet cloud forests of Costa Rica. The women also sew bags, hand embroidered with colorful, accurate reproductions of North and Central American plants, birds, butterflies, and other animals.

Women's Bean Project has been helping women break the cycle of poverty and unemployment since 1989. They are a nonprofit organization that teaches job readiness and life skills for entry-level jobs through employment in their gourmet food production businesses. They offer bean soup mixes, salsa, dips and more.

The Zambian Soap Company is part of a new generation of African businesses giving pride and dignity to the most vulnerable communities in Africa. They are dedicated to producing a unique and wonderful soap using top quality natural, ethically wild harvested and organically grown ingredients.