Fair Trade Holiday Market

Market offers fairly traded arts and crafts from local and international artisans that make unique holiday gifts while also helping artisans in need.

(Lawrence, KS)— Lawrence’s annual Fair Trade Holiday Market has been a favorite place for local residents to find unique holiday gifts for loved ones that also help support disadvantaged artisans here and around the world.

The Fair Trade Holiday Market will feature fairly traded handcrafts, apparel, chocolate, dry goods and much more.

Vendors at the sale this year include Equal Exchange, A Greater Gift, Ten Thousand Villages, Women’s Bean Project and local businesses such as Two Hands Worldshop, First Weavers and Silver Condor Jewelry. The market will also feature crafts from Lawrence’s sister city El Pappaturro in El Salvador. Donations can be given in a person’s name as an alternative gift to organizations such as UNICEF, Habitat for Humanity and Heifer Project, who will be selling holiday cards.

The high quality crafts, textiles and clothing sold at the sale are handmade by artisans from 35 countries around the world, including underprivileged parts of the U.S. Fair Trade is an alternative to conventional trade that takes measures to ensure products are produced in safe and healthy working conditions and that artisans maintain control of their businesses through cooperatives. Artisan cooperatives often choose to devote a large percentage of their profits to community development projects including schools, hospitals and other important infrastructure. Fair Trade also takes steps to establish sustainable methods of production. This innovative triple bottom line approach respects People, Planet and Profit as opposed to conventional trade where profit alone rules but often fails to provide incentive to respect the people producing goods and the planet providing the resources.

This year Lawrence Fair Trade will be hosting several fun events and educational activities in conjunction with the market.

On Friday and Saturday November 27^th and 28^th from 10am to 4pm on the main level of the ECM visitors to the market will find chair massages and freshly baked chapatti and crepes which can be had for small donations to benefit Comfort the Children International.

Also on Friday and Saturday, November 27^th and 28^th from 10am to 4pm Lawrence Fair Trade will be sponsoring a Kids Corner on the main level of the ECM. The Kids Corner will be staffed with several responsible adults who will guide kids through fun arts and crafts activities. Parents are then free to shop at the market upstairs.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, December 1^st and 2^nd from 5:15 to 7:00 pm Lawrence Fair Trade will be hosting a screening of films about international trade and the Fair Trade movement.

For more information please contact Alicia Erickson, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ,

785-969-3482.