Katie Halper
February 8, 2008 |
11:38 pm EST
Public Alpha: have suggestions or feedback?
If you love someone, you probably don’t want to give them a gift made under hateful conditions. Sadly, most common valentines day gifts– flowers, chocolate, and jewelry– are likely to involve child labor, child slavery, violence, human rights abuses and environmental degradation. But don’t worry. You don’t have to swear off of gift-giving. Nor do you have to give your valentine a handmade dream catcher, a hemp hacky sack or a recycled nalgene to say I love you guilt-free. Instead, say I love you– and children, and the earth, and workers– by buying fair trade chocolates, flowers, and jewelry. Buy something your valentine can really love you for. And come back next week for my valentine gifts with heart top 10 list.
by joining Chris Martin and other activists in calling on world leaders to make trade fair!Join TakePart's community today!
Filed under:
Ethics • Global Health • Human Rights • Peace
Related Links:
Top 10 Ways To Find LAST MINUTE Guilt Free Gifts For Ur Valentine
Top 10 Valentine’s Day Guilt-Free Jewelry Gifts: Show Ur Valentine U Have Heart
Top 10 Mothers Day Gifts: Guilt Free Gifts Let U Be Good To Your Mother And Mother Earth
TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup!
Happy Easter Chocolates: Top 10 Last Minute Guilt Free Easter Gifts
Tagged as:blood diamonds • Brilliant Earth • child labor • child slavery • child slaves • Children • chocolates • Chris Martin • Coldplay • conflict-free • diamonds • dream catcher • environmental degredation • Fair Trade • fair trade chocolate • fair trade chocolates • fair trade gifts • fair trade presents • fair trade valentines • flowers • Global Exchange • gold • gold jewelry • Green Carat • hackey sack • have heart • Heart • human rights abuses • I love you • jewelryconflict-free diamonds • Love • Make Trade Fair Campaign • Organic Styles • Oxfam • Oxfam's Make Trade Fair Campaign • recycled gold • recycled nalgene • saint valentine • Say I love you • st valentine • the earth • valentine • valentine's day • valentines • valentines gifts with heart • violence • workers
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10 posts in the last 24 hours
Explain to your valentine why diamonds are no longer a girl’s best friend!
Diamonds are No Longer a Girls Best Friend
Inspired by Workers of the World Relax by Conrad Schmidt
I have read Chomsky and Suzuki and want to start a commotion.
Give back my diamond ring, with respect and loving emotion.
To Mr. Mandela and all his people. Let’s put in plan a motion.
Make restitution for lives taken. Many know the truth, I have a notion.
The cost of precious baubles and the resources we devour,
Has put in the mouths of the rest of the world a taste that is so sour.
They wonder how white man with forked tongue managed to gain such power.
They do not judge any man’s worth by the height of his ivory tower.
We must chart a cleaner path, teach our children simple math.
The more you take the less you have. Lookout for righteous wrath,
As we follow consumerism down a brutal garden path.
Our drive to build the biggest, could cause a bad blood bath.
The sounds of laughter are sweet to hear. Why did we divide,
Families into such small groups, hear how a culture cried.
Big spacious homes but all alone. Oh how the media lied.
Big families, small homes and lots of love, live on the other side.
The quest for more has revealed much less.
Less health, less love, less homemade mess
More abuse, more murder, more lies to confess.
We will destroy ourselves, if we all get too careless.
In days around World War II, many lost a life.
Mans’ hatred for those different, caused innocent lives such strife.
Why do men abuse the kids and some do it to their wife?
Many children are lying now under a killing knife.
Let’s live by a Prime Directive. Make sure it’s fair, not like the First
Where the nature of man was judged by a greater god thirst.
Has knowledge of one god brought out man kinds’ worst?
Why did the holy ones treat woman as if we were cursed?
It is time to trade love and nature for man made toxic things.
Live with less, love with less, share the work; we can all be kings.
We can live without a lot of things, even those expensive rings.
I will gladly trade my diamond ring for a world where harmony sings.
Lora Bruncke
lora brunckeThere is a jewelry designer who uses raw diamonds and recycled gold. He ONLY uses conflict-free diamonds an his rose cut diamonds are all recycled from vintage/antique pieces. His work is really beautiful, and I think artists like him are what we need more of. His name is Todd Reed, you can see his stuff at alteredspacegallery.com
Jessica