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Fathers Day the ethical way: 5 fair trade gift ideas

If you wanted to give your dad a gift a little more personal, a little more ethical or even quirky, then delving into the fair trade giftware range may give you some ideas for this year. The range is full of original little gems handmade by skilled people from India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

Here are some simple but very original ideas for ethical presents based on 5 category headings using different hobbies and passions your dad may have. Its just a bit of fun and may give you some inspiration!

1) Bird Lover Dad: For a dad that likes anything and everything bird related you can be sure to pick up functional presents such as bird feeders, tables, baths and other garden accessories from your local garden centre. Though thinking of something a bit more out of the ordinary, I have come up with the idea of a solid wood doorstop painted and carved in the shape of a cockerel. To me, this would be a great object to hold the garage or workshop door open as well as look pretty stunning. Though if your dad is not someone who works in the garage and perhaps spends most of his time in his office or study, there is another idea I have which is something a little more decorative in the shape of a tealight holder. There are many wonderfully quirky fair trade tealight holders available. Specifically for this category, I am thinking more along the lines of a cockerel tealight holder perhaps which is made from recycled tin. Although this is not functional, it does add a certain personal touch as well as reflecting someone's personality. Or if he is a keen gardener, there are some lovely watering cans in the shape of ducks, geese and cockerels. Cockerels seem to be quite common birds used in giftware ranges I have discovered! Tealight holders, door stops and watering cans!

2) Safari Dad: For the dad that has possibly been on safari and came home raving about the wonderful animals he saw, how about a giraffe moneybox or a zebra moneybox carved and painted in realistic colours? I love this idea. Its fun, humorous, relevant and different! Failing this, I can suggest a wonderful desktop storage box I have seen. It is a wooden crocodile head, painted bright green complete with  jaws that open to reveal a full set of teeth and a secret little hideaway for paper clips or staples, or something more exciting. If this is not appropriate, there is always a tealight holder with a frog prince made from tin painted in bright green with a gold crown.

3) Rainforest Dad: I have a couple of ideas from the fair trade gifts range for this category. The first idea is a percussion frog which is a solid wooden frog and a thin wooden baton. The way it works is that you run the baton up and down its spine to emit the sound of a frog gribbit! Again this is fun, quirky and original and will definitely bring a smile to his face. Still on the theme of frogs, there is another instrument called a frog drum. This is a small drum about 60mm in diameter with a measure of line affixed to the middle of the drum skin. Attached to this is a stick and how it works is that you pull the line taut and twist the stick to evoke a frog-like noise reminiscent of heady nights in the jungle or the rainforest.

4) Car Mad Dad: This category is a little more tricky in terms of fair trade gifts. Though I can suggest a carved wooden car, perhaps a VW for example, with moving wheels and opening doors. Considering these kinds of wooden gifts are hand made by people working with traditional skills rather than modern technology, the finish on these kinds of objects reflect the naturalness of the wood native to the countries of these craftsmen. Such items are normally just vanished rather than painted so the beauty of the wood is not hidden.

5)  Plane Spotter Dad: Again doesn't appear to be an abundance of gifts based on planes in the fair trade range of gifts. I have found something though!  A wooden bi-plane finished in natural wood

So conclude, I have tried to selected items which I believe would bring a smile to the face of any father. In addition, the beauty is that when we buy fair trade gifts we are helping to support communities of people that rely upon us to create a demand for their wonderful skills and products.

About the Author

Hand made fair trade gifts for Fathers Day by Belinda Bryant. Fair trade Fathers Day gifts can be found at Indigo Ocean Trading.

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