New for September

As the seasons evolve, so does Shopping For A Change®. New fair trade gifts, handmade accessories and jewelry items are arriving every week and will be added to our site. Below are a few of our newest hits...

The Miracle of Marula: for centuries, African women have revered the restorative benefits of Marula oil, yielding readiant, glowing skin.

Wild harvested by women in East Africa, this rare “miracle” oil is cold pressed from individually selected wild Marula nuts to produce an omega-rich oil with exceptional moisturizing and healing properties. 

Touted as a miracle oil for healing radiation damaged skin, it's been recently featured in Vogue, The New York Times, People Magazines in addition to many others.
Better absorption and longer-lasting hydration assists in providing superior antioxidant protection against signs of aging. Light and powerful, this highly prized oil leaves skin soft and supple with increased elasticity and firmness for healthy, beautiful and age defying radiance. 

Zulugrass seen in Watamu

Choose fair-trade jewelry by The Leakey Collection, consisting of handmade bracelets and necklaces of single or multi-strand Zulugrass to off-set this season's hottest fashions.  Keep mother earth close to your heart when wearing these natural grasses and fallen acacia wood. The necklace may be adjusted to compliment any neckline, and the elasticized bracelet accommodates any wrist.

Shopping for a Change®   was just featured on Trendhunter.com and  The Leakey Collections' Marula Oil blog as part of their "Look Good-Feel Good-Do Good" Philosophy.



Shopping for a Change® (SFAC) empowering others, transforming lives® is a web-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization where artisans (predominantly women) from developing countries, sell their handmade creations enabling them to earn a sustainable income and lift themselves from poverty. The net proceeds subsidize community improvement projects abroad as well as help fund select U.S.-based non-profit organizations of the web shopper’s choosing from SFAC’s partner list.

End of summer fashion

As the summer draws to an end and everyone prepares for cooler temperatures and new school semesters, there is still time to savor some of the warm weather’s best trends.  The end of summer brings with it your last chances to show off beautiful handmade summer style, embrace the light and airy fabrics and colors, and relax in fair trade fashions that keep your look from wilting in the last of summer’s heat. To complete your end of summer look, add some color to the mix with statement accessories that pull together your outfit with effortless grace.

Handcrafted fair trade jewelry exemplifies summer style is at it's best with this can’t miss layered look from The Andean Collection:

Handmade jewelry from Shopping For A Change® speaks to the casual style of late summer, and adds a trendy, urban flair when paired with a classic dress.  Handcrafted by artisans, their attention to detail and line compliment the look of easy summer dresses and skirts, and easily flatter every look when wearing any of these unique pieces.

If you’re already looking ahead to cooler weather and warmer fashions, start your fall clothing collection off with a touch of sophisticated style that brings out all of the best the cooler weather has to offer.  Accent your darker fall apparel and transition into autumn with a hint of summer’s lightness wearing this great cotton sweater from Pure Handknits:
Fair trade apparel, handcrafted in Thailand, this beautiful piece breathes new life into the standby fall coverup, instead using delicate handmade details to create an intricate, modern look.  Reinvent your style this fall or add an unexpected touch to your summer wardrobe with these eye catching items meant to capture your eye and have you looking your best.


Shopping for a Change® (SFAC) empowering others, transforming lives® is a web-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization where artisans (predominantly women) from developing countries, sell their handmade creations enabling them to earn a sustainable income and lift themselves from poverty. The net proceeds subsidize community improvement projects abroad as well as help fund select U.S.-based non-profit organizations of the web shopper’s choosing from SFAC’s partner list.

Relief Beads for Darfur

The United Nations has recognized the situation in Darfur as "the world's worst humanitarian crisis." Since the conflict began in 2003, millions of people have been forced to leave their homes. 
 

Relief Beads is a grassroots-campaign selling handmade African bracelets to raise awareness and money for Relief International's humanitarian efforts to help malnourished children in Darfur. Every year Relief International, a non-profit organization, supports tens of thousands of refugees in Darfur and donates millions of dollars to crises worldwide. Relief International's humanitarian programs are essential for Darfur: they provide life-saving therapeutic care for thousands of malnourished children, administer medical care at many clinics, educate young students and the community, and support the only Women's Development Center in Darfur. Read more...

The situation in Darfur is a global, humanitarian crisis that should concern each and every one of us. Without the support of people in countries with greater freedoms and resources, the victims of this tragedy cannot find peace.  Shopping for a Change® is continuing our ongoing mission to support boots-on-the-ground efforts to make real changes in the lives of the children and families being devastated by continued fighting. Every relief bead bracelet is handmade from sand by tribes in Africa and are currently being handcrafted by refugees in Darfur. Each and every fair trade bracelet is one-of-a-kind, as are the hearts and souls of the women and children you are aiding by purchasing this handmade fair trade jewelry.

See our handcrafted, fair trade relief jewelry here!

Learn more about the conflict in Darfur here.

Visit Amnesty International's Eyes on Darfur.

Learn more from Darfurian Voices.


Shopping for a Change® (SFAC) empowering others, transforming lives® is a web-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization where artisans (predominantly women) from developing countries, sell their handmade creations enabling them to earn a sustainable income and lift themselves from poverty. The net proceeds subsidize community improvement projects abroad as well as help fund select U.S.-based non-profit organizations of the web shopper’s choosing from SFAC’s partner list.

Go For the Gold

Nothing brings together the country quite like the Olympics. In a surge of national and international pride, sports fans and even those without much interest in sports the rest of the time gather to be awed and amazed by some of the world's best examples of athletic prowess and physical perfection.

But the Olympics, held in London this year, are about more than that. They are about a particular spirit, about bringing together people from nearly every country in the world to celebrate the human spirit and potential. It's about vastly different cultures coming together in the singular pursuit of an ideal.

So what does that have to do with the handmade products at Shopping for a Change®? We believe that our mission isn't so different. It may not involve feats of athletic skill, but it's still about the human spirit. It's about bringing together the local artisans and craftsmen who are producing unique and beautiful jewelry and clothing, accessories and home goods, and the shoppers who might otherwise never see these culturally infused fair trade gifts. Our site supports growth and opportunity for the artists and workers who create each handcrafted piece, and we hope those handmade products bring a smile to the face of every shopper. Support craftsmen in countries all over the world including Columbia, Ecuador, Vietnam, and Rwanda.

So go for the gold in style this year by supporting our fair trade artisans and collectives. Start with a handmade Accented Tagua Necklace in a deep gold, adding a spark of olympic-inspired colored and helping to benefit socially conscious fashion collectives like the Andean Collection. The Andean Collection’s striking jewelry designs are created from natural fair trade materials, indigenous to some of lower elevations and rainforests of South America. Handcrafted by Ecuadorian artisans following fair trade principles, this jewelry provides a sustainable economic alternative to the selling of their land, thereby protecting their way of life and the world’s magnificent forests. No trees are harmed in the harvesting of any materials used in this handmade fair trade jewelry.


Shopping for a Change® (SFAC) empowering others, transforming lives® is a web-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization where artisans (predominantly women) from developing countries, sell their handmade creations enabling them to earn a sustainable income and lift themselves from poverty. The net proceeds subsidize community improvement projects abroad as well as help fund select U.S.-based non-profit organizations of the web shopper’s choosing from SFAC’s partner list.