Some Last Minute Christmas Ideas
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A FEW COOL CHRISTMAS IDEAS
Put together by Lia Gudaitis
A Lump of Coal to Walmart
www.sendcoaltowalmart.com/sendcoal.htm
If you don't get anything else out of all the work I've put into this, please check out this website.
Adopt a Dolphin
www.adoptadolphin.org
For 3 quid a month, you can “adopt” a dolphin in someone else's name, though they don't really tell you how it works. Basically, it's a research and protection project in Australia, and I'm assuming that's part of the cost it takes to maintain the surveillance of the dolphins. You can pick which dolphin you want to adopt, and get a video and magazine of the project. Maybe that's what the 3 quid is for?
FAIR TRADE STORES AND LABELS: NOT JUST COFFEE ANYMORE
As for labels, look for “Union Made” which is the best guarantee that your clothes were not made by underpaid workers, as “Made in the USA” is no guarantee.
Canadian Labour Congress
www.clc-ctc.ca
They have a national directory of Union goods and services as well as an international directory of global unions. The Quebec directory is at
www.clc-ctc.ca/web/menu/english/en_index.htm
American Apparel
www.americanapparel.net, telephone 514.286.0091
These guys not only have an on-line website, but one of their three stores is apparently in Montreal, at 3523 St. Laurant.
No Sweat Apparel
http://www.nosweatapparel.com
Another one based in the States, though they do ship to Canada. Lots of different stuff to choose from, not just T-shirts.
Sweat X
www.sweatx.com
Based in the States, these guys deliver to Canada and you receive a free polar fleece scarf with every purchase.
The UNICEF Store, 4474 Saint-Denis, Montreal, QC
Telephone 514.288.6932
50% of the amount of the purchase goes directly to UNICEF's humanitarian programs. Their cards are also available at Jean Coutu, Archambault, Pier 1, Quebec Loisirs, IKEA Canada, and a whole list of other places listed on the UNICEF website.
Global Exchange
www.globalexchange.org/store
Unless you happen to be in San Fran or Portland, you'll have to visit them on line. They have gift baskets, gift packs, for her, for him, for kids, for weddings and gift certificate sections available, as well as the usual crafts, coffee and chocolates. More crafts and accessories than clothing though. They also have a very decent “Books, Films, and Audio recordings” section. It takes awhile before there is any appearance of security technology on their website, which is always a welcome relief when ordering on-line, but eventually it looks pretty secure and you can do orders by phone at 1.800.505.4410 if you prefer. They seem to deliver all over the world.
Unite!
www.uniteunion.org
They have an online catalogue of clothing which seems to be intended more for the self than as a gift – mostly specialising in gear which can be worn while protesting, but these can pose as gifts for all your activist friends. I couldn't find anything that stated if they delivered to Canada, but they're based in New York and didn't say they don't ship across the border. They also have an excellent resource page for stores and companies which offer union made products, at www.uniteunion.org/unionlabel/promo.cfm
Diamond Cut Jeans
www.diamondcutjeans.com
Though you wouldn't guess it from the hunting links on their website, they are “The last union made jeans company in the United States”
Maggie's Organics
www.organicclothes.com
Lots to choose from, and not only is it fair trade, it's 100% organic too. Socks, camisoles, shirts, bedding, other, fabrics, and even a discount section. They do ship to Canada.
Oxfam
www.oxfam.ca
Just so you don't waste too much time here, you should know that Oxfam only delivers within the UK, though they do have all sorts of products including house and home, stationary, wine, dining and kitchen, and children's gifts. The Canadian website only refers you to Maquilasolidarity.com which I'll talk about later.
Ethical Threads
www.ethicalthreads.co.uk
As they are based in the UK, there is no need to talk much about this store.
Try one of the ones that do deliver to Canada instead, though this is a decent alternative to shipping costs from Canada if you have people in Britain to send gifts to.
National Mobilization Against Sweatshops
www.nmass.org
Not really a store, but they do have “Sweatshops Suck” T-shirts available for US$15. Sweatshop Watch also has a similar gig, but more pricey and higher shipping charges.
Transfair
www.transfair.ca, www.transfair.org
Mostly just coffee, but they do have a decent Canada-wide directory of Fair Trade providers. Their Montreal list included over 30 providers of Fair Trade products.
Equiterre
www.equiterre.qc.ca
Equiterre's list contains over 100 Fair Trade providers though.
SUPPLIERS OF UNION-MADE PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS IN CANADA
Canadian First Mfg.
Unit 106, 5570 268th Street, Langley, BC V4W3X4 Canada
604-607-1477 (phone) 604-607-1479 (fax)
msamuell@axionet.com (e-mail)
MWG Apparel Corp.
1147 Notre Dame Ave., Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E 3G1 Canada
204-774-2561 (phone) 204-774-6220 (fax)
www.mwgapparel.com (website)
Union Made
25 Carondale Crescent, Scarborough, ontario M1W2A9 Canada
416-291-9995 (phone) leafsan024@hotmail.com (e-mail)
ORGANISATIONS
There are so many to list and each one has links to other interesting ones, so I've just included a few which I enjoyed and you can peruse through their links.
Maquila Solidarity www.maquilasolidarity.org
This is one of the few Canadia-based ones. They have excellent and comprehensive resources which are actually useable for Canadians, as well as Canadian-relevant campaigns and countless international links.
Corporate Watch www.corpwatch.org
An excellent website for resources on how to do your own research into companies, etc. Most useful of all the resource ones I found, though it is California based and it does not list the Canadian equivalents to the state-run services provided to aid in doing corporate research. Don't miss “WTO Bingo” where you can find insights, however vague, on all your favourite big-shots and the “Greenwash Awards” where the philosophy is: “Fun. Everyone should spend a little time each month poking fun at and unmasking the pretentions of corporate polluters. It's good for the spirit.”
Sweatshop Watch www.sweatshopwatch.org
Wish I'd found this one a few weeks ago.
Includes a 'We Do Not Patronize' List according to the California Labor Federation, though none of which apply to non-Californians. Do we have anything like this though? They also have Santa's 'Naughty and Nice' list including more suggestions of where to buy this holiday season.
Fair Labor Association www.fairlabor.org
Despite not being able to spell “labour” properly, this organisation offers a monitoring system which “holds its participating companies accountable for the conditions under which their products are produced” where licenses are granted to companies which hold certain labour standards. The list is viewable on the website and curiously contains names such as Nike and Adidas, two companies which I've consistently found on various boycott lists. But I think it's a good test of truth – decide for yourself. Also check out http://nikebiz.com if you're interested in Nike's response to criticisms of their labour abuses.
Labour Start www.labourstart.org
This lists daily labour-related news in many countries all over the world. Highlights top stories of the week, special reports, as well as hundreds of daily reports about labour issues around the world. Today's Canada section alone had 15 stories.
@ December 21, 2003