This Christmas season, we can share the joy of the Incarnation by bringing hope to poor communities around the world and our neighbors right here at home by seeking out organizations and vendors who offer Fair Trade and handmade goods and home grown foodstuffs, products and services.

The ways to do so are many. Start by browsing the Internet for Fair Trade jewelry and art work or select a share in a Catholic Relief Services project as a gift for a loved one that contributes to a better life for others. Visit your local merchants to survey and select gifts that will warm hearths of loved ones and friends this Christmas and benefit the trades people, artists, farmers and fisherman of New Jersey.

These Fair Trade organizations and vendors are a good starting off point for “double gifting” this Christmas:

Catholic Relief Services offers a wide range of fair trade handcrafts and food items from around the globe. Visit  http://www.serrv.org/crs_handcraft?c=crs and check out the catalog where you’ll find a range of modestly priced handmade items from around the globe including the Peaceful Promise Gift Basket from the Holy Land containing couscous, dates and almonds from Palestinian farmers and organic olive oil from the Galilee; a lovely Tree of Life sculpture from Haiti; an African Breadbasket and Jam gift set or fill a gift basket for a friend with a lifetime share in a project that will bring education, agriculture, clean water or health care to those in need.

Holy Land Christian Art – Purchasing hand carved olive wood ornaments, manger sets, figurines, sculptures and rosaries from Holy Land Christian Art this Christmas season will benefit Christian Palestinians who struggle valiantly to maintain a Christian presence in the land of Jesus’ birth. Contact George Qassis at [email protected] for information on the artworks offered for sale. Holy Land Christian Art will have a show and sale in St. Stephen Parish, Pennsauken, before and after all Masses.

The Good Shepherd Sisters’ Handcrafting Justice markets more than 1,000 different items through its website –www.handcraftingjustice.cedris.org – wholesale partners and special events such as the one at St. Benedict, she said. Products include jewelry, accessories, handbags, pottery, home décor, toys and striking indigenous art. Visit the store at Collier Services in the Wickatunk section of Marlboro Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and also on weekends by appointment. Call 732-946-7877.

Call 732-987-2314 at Georgian Court University in Lakewood or email [email protected] for information about the lovely handcrafts produced by women at the CEO Betania Educational Center, Peru operated by the Sisters of Mercy. Beautiful handbags, overnight bags, totes, liturgical vestments and altar linens, embroidered clothing and household goods and Christmas ornaments are available and the proceeds go to the Misericordia Mission fund which is distributed to the women and also used to purchase educational materials for them.

Organic Style, located at 49 Main Street, Ocean Grove, offers a range of fair trade products including jewelry, accessories and household items as well as clothing for adults and babies made from organic materials. For more information call 732-775-1051 or visit www.organicstyleshop.com 

Snail’s Pace is a line of environmentally and socially responsible paper goods from the Monks at Abbey Press Printing in Indiana. The line includes note and greeting cards, gift wrap and bags, journals, notebooks and more, most printed locally in their own facility using Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified recycled paper, soy-based inks and eco-friendly processes. Every Snail’s Pace product celebrates the artistry of God’s Creation and invites the user to slow down and rediscover the written word. Visit thier gift shop here.