January 50% Off Sale!

UntitledHappy New Year to you!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season spent with loved ones! I opened a few fair trade goodies from under the Christmas tree this year and they were truly my favorite gifts. The ethical movement and fair trade industry saw fantastic growth in 2014—I’m excited to watch that trend continue in 2015!

So how about a fun sale to kick off the new year? If you have some holiday cash burning a hole in your pocket, I know a great place to spend it. :) Some of our most popular items are 50% off right now and would be wonderful for freshening up your home for the new year! Check out some of my faves below:

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1. Aqua Fish Placemats
2. Jaali Table Runner
3. Small Sea Stripe Capiz Bowls
4. Cocoki Yoga Bags
5. Brown Dots Oven Mitt
6. Cocoki Market Tote Bags

For the rest of our sale items, click here!

Happy New Year and Happy Shopping!

XO,

Casey

 

Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts that Give Back!

A happy December Friday to you!

Chances are, you’ve been seeing quite a few holiday gift guides pop up on your favorite Web sites and blogs recently. How about one more? I’m sure I’m not the only one who doesn’t have my Christmas shopping done (right? Help me out here!)

This gift guide is a little bit different—it highlights some of our favorite ethical, fair trade, and charitable organizations. What’s better than giving a gift that gives twice, especially at Christmastime?

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For Him:

1. Apolis. Apolis means “global citizen.” This socially motivated lifestyle brand empowers communities worldwide. With everything from ties to hats to beautiful Alpaca travel kits and chambray swim trunks, this brand  guarantees a great high-quality gift for your guy!

2. LSTN headphones. Not only are these headphones stunning, but for every pair sold, LSTN helps restore hearing to a person in need through the Starkey Hearing Foundation. Starkey helps kids and adults in countries around the world, from India to Rwanda to the U.S. Bonus: you can buy these at Nordstrom!

For Her:

1. Rose & Fitzgerald. Based in Kampala, Uganda, Rose & Fitzgerald collaborates with local artisans to create a line of high-quality accessories. Beautiful handmade products with a contemporary design provide local local economic development in Kampala, Uganda. Stunning serving trays, jewelry and more make up the collection.

2. Della. If she loves fashion and accessories, this one’s for her! Their products are hand-crafted in Ghana, West Africa, and sold in Los Angeles. Through jobs, education and job training, the women who make these lovely pieces are given an opportunity for a better life. Check out this gorgeous iPad case!

For Littles:

1. Help Ink. This company describes their product as “inspirational art that gives to those in need” and their beautiful prints are perfect for a nursery or child’s room. They donate proceeds to a variety of worthy charities, including The Children’s Hunger Fund and Thirst Relief International.

For Families:

I think this is a fun category! If you know a family that you’d like to buy a “together” present for, for example, a family with several small children, how about something the whole group can love instead of individual gifts?

1. Love With Food. This unique company is a monthly subscription box for organic, all-natural snacks. For every box sent, they donate a meal to a food bank in America. What a great concept! And it’s a gift that keeps on giving—you can choose the number of boxes you want sent to the recipient, and they can always renew when their subscription runs out.

Stocking Stuffers:

1. Bombas Socks. These soft, comfortable socks come in fun, bright patterns and are high quality through and through. The company follows the one for one model—for each pair purchased, one pair is donated to a person in need.

2. Greenola Style. This company’s empowerment model is implemented holistically, providing the artisans with access to quality healthcare, design education, business training, and community building. They offer jewelry, gloves, hats and headbands, and more—at very affordable prices!

Have you heard of any of these companies before? If you have any others you’d like to share, I’d love for you to link them up in the comments! And don’t forget—free shipping on our site through Dec 19! Just enter the code FREESHIP14 at checkout!

XO,

Casey

3 Days to Save on Fair Trade!

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Happy Black Friday!

I hope you had a very happy Thanksgiving and if you’re fighting the crowds at 5am today, I’ll say a little prayer for you. :) And how about a fun incentive for the online portion of your Christmas shopping today (and Monday and Tuesday too!)?

Black Friday is followed by Cyber Monday, and then Fair Tuesday! And we want our customers to be able to enjoy 20% off your entire purchase on all three days at Seven Hopes United. Just use this code at checkout all three days: SHOPFAIR2014.

We wish you nothing but joy and love this holiday season. Be sure to spread the word to your besties who shop online about Fair Tuesday—a fun day to cross some fair trade items off of your shopping list for your loved ones!

XO,

Casey

Shop Customer Favorites for the Holidays!

Is it too early to say Happy Holidays?

I say no—after all, Thanksgiving is next week! And around here we like starting our shopping early. :) What better time, after all, than when free shipping is available? If you order from our site anytime from now through Dec 19, you’ll receive free standard shipping! Especially convenient if you’re just not one of those seasoned “Black Friday” shoppers. If it’s shopping from your couch, you can still call it Black Friday shopping, right?

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This season, I’m making an effort to “purchase with purpose”—care to join me? I already have a list going of all the fair trade gifts I want to order for my family! While we’re making the season merry for our loved ones, let’s try to make them equally merry for other families across the globe by doing our part to ensure fair wages and safe working conditions for all!

XO,

Casey

Christmas Tree Ornaments! {Product Spotlight}

Merry
When it comes to decorating your Christmas tree, does your household adhere to the “theme” method or the “throw it all up in a random display of merriment” way of doing things? I grew up embracing the latter, but I can definitely appreciate the wonder of a glowing, all-silver tree or one exclusively covered in deep reds and golds.

Whatever your preference for the holidays, our beautiful, lively new Christmas tree ornaments will add plenty of wintery flair to your usual merry tree. They would be perfect for an animal or outdoor winter wonderland theme, or would add a fun compliment to whatever special ornaments you already own! Here are a few of my favorites from the collection:

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Aren’t they the cutest? These hand-made, fair trade ornaments come to us from our partners in both Nepal and Kyrgyzstan.

About Kyrgystan:
After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kyrgyzstan became an independent country – and was reeling from economic hardship. Many women were unemployed, and making ends meet was a daily challenge. Our fair trade partners work with women who started small craft businesses to help them further expand their markets, grow, and support their communities. We work with inspiring women who are determined to save their traditional art of felting – passed down from mother to daughter across the generations.

About Nepal:
Our felt felt Christmas ornaments are handmade by a women’s cooperative in Kathmandu, Nepal. The project focuses on providing skills training and income opportunities to women in great economical need. Each felt ornament is made with 100% natural wool and non-toxic, azo-free dyes. The waste dye water is drained into a neighborhood garden for growing food, and wool scraps are recycled to create new products.

Which ones are your favorites? Click here to check out the whole collection!

XO,

Casey