Whether you need to store away books, pillows, kids toys, or your dirty clothes, the right fair trade baskets can help you keep your place neat and tidy as you KonMari your space.
The ethically-made, eco-friendly baskets in this guide are made with natural and eco-minded materials — often sourced locally — such as raffia, palm leaves, sisal grass, and banana fibers.
Each handmade basket is also produced fairly in artisan co-operatives, fair trade workshops, or perhaps even out of the comfort of the weavers home! The handmade basket brands featured here pay living wages, ensure safe conditions, and even offer additional services such as training initiatives, health benefits, and more.
Note that this guide includes affiliate links which means we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, all brands meet high standards for ethics and sustainability and are brands we love (that we think you’ll love too).
1. Mbare
Intricately crafted from natural fibers and recycled materials using generations-old techniques, Mbare’s baskets are rich not only in color, but also in heritage and artistry. Each basket is made by Mbare’s artisan partners, most of which are fair trade certified, where all artisans earn living wages for their crafts.
Categories: storage baskets, hampers, wall baskets
Price Range: $24 – $209
2. The Citizenry
Stash away all of your clutter effortlessly and elegantly with The Citizenry’s fair trade baskets made from natural materials such as abaca bark and paja tetera fibers. All of the handmade baskets on The Citizenry are responsibly crafted by artisans working in fair trade conditions and earning wages that are 2x higher than the fair trade requirement.
Categories: storage baskets, hampers
Price Range: $99 – $519
3. Ten Thousand Villages
The original fair traders, Ten Thousand Villages is an incredible resource for finding ethical artisan handmade baskets. By following fair wage practices, paying 50% upfront to their artisans so they can buy raw materials, and providing full payment before the goods are shipped, Ten Thousand Villages embodies an equitable trade model that allows artisan communities to truly thrive.
Categories: storage baskets, hampers, wall baskets, bicycle baskets
Price Range: $7 – $150
4. Baba Tree
The museum-caliber baskets from Baba Tree are part storage, part statement piece. Baba Tree’s baskets are all handmade in Bolgatanga, Ghana by artisans who are fairly compensated. The artisans’ vibrant, striking baskets are more than just aesthetically pleasing too — they symbolize Ghana’s creativity, inspiration, and hope. These baskets are available at Black-owned retailer GOODEE.
Categories: storage baskets, bicycle baskets, decorative baskets
Price Range: $55 – $299 (plus made-to-order artistic baskets upwards of $1000)
5. Swahili African Modern
Swahili African Modern is a Fair Trade Federation member partnering with women artisans in Senegal, Ghana, and Kenya using natural materials like cattails, sisal, elephant grass, and banana fiber and recycled materials like strips from used prayer mats to craft their functional fair trade baskets and hampers.
Categories: storage baskets, hampers, basket bins
Price Range: $72 – $492
6. Will & Atlas
Using natural dyes and earth-minded fibers like jute and palm leaves, Will & Atlas’ eco-friendly baskets are the perfect storage choice for ensuring a non-toxic home. The woman-owned company also ensures artisans are paid living wages and work in safe environments.
Categories: storage baskets, planter baskets
Price Range: $45 – $245
7. Kazi
With colorful hues and one-of-a-kind patterns, it’s easy to get swept away when browsing through Kazi’s baskets. Their beautiful baskets are much more than meets the eye, though. Each handmade basket is crafted using natural, locally-sourced materials by artisans across rural Africa who earn fair wages and have access to training initiatives among other benefits.
Categories: storage baskets, hampers, wall baskets, hanging baskets, planter baskets, food/serving baskets
Price Range: $18 – $150
8. Makaua
Makaua creates timeless fair trade baskets that have a story behind them you’ll feel proud to share. The family-owned and women-led company partners with 50 families— over 100 people — in Mexico who hand-weave contemporary palm leaf baskets. This basket weaving work is egalitarian too as the artisans are able to weave from the comfort of their homes while taking care of their families. Makaua is sold at GOODEE, a Black-owned marketplace.
Categories: storage baskets, hampers, food baskets
Price Range: $25 – $198
The post Fair Trade Baskets and Laundry Hampers to Store Anything & Everything appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
Fair Trade Baskets and Laundry Hampers to Store Anything & Everything
Curating a conscious home is a thoughtful process involving much consideration — who made my products, how they were made, and what are they made from — and this guide aims to support you on your journey towards finding ethical and sustainable home decor you truly love.
What is Sustainable Home Decor?
Sustainable home decor includes any home decor that is made in a way that takes into consideration both the makers and the planet. Sustainable home decor will be ethically made using eco-friendly and natural materials. Eco-friendly decor will also be produced using sustainable supply chain practices. This includes using renewable energy and recycled or compostable packaging.
While there are numerous sustainable home decor brands, some of which are featured below, first consider what’s already been made in order to prevent contributing to new waste. Secondhand, used, or DIY home decor options are typically more sustainable than buying new.
What is Ethical and Fair Trade Home Decor?
Ethical and Fair Trade home decor is produced in a way that adheres to Fair Trade standards and is, ideally, Fair Trade Certified. Fair Trade means paying artisans and makers a fair, living wage and providing ethical working conditions. Ethical home decor also includes supporting goods made by artisans using traditional heritage techniques and art forms. Many cultures around the world are at risk of losing their age-old artisanal crafts forever in the age of mass manufacturing.
It’s important to note that sometimes a major brand may use an “eco” fiber while still supporting irresponsible labor practices, and excessive production amounts that inevitably lead to a lot of waste. This is not true sustainability in my mind!
Most artisan-made home decor is ethically produced and directly supports the makers. However, it’s important to check if a brand or marketplace is transparent about their business practices to ensure they are ethical or Fair Trade.
Where Can You Find Sustainable Home Decor?
In terms of environmental sustainability, looking secondhand and vintage is always a great first place to look for sustainable home decor.
But if you’ve scoured those options and haven’t found what you’re looking for and/or if you’re looking to financially support artisans and traditional crafts around the globe, this shopping guide is designed for you. You’ll discover many brands with artfully designed and artisan handmade goods for furnishing any space among this list of decor brands.
All of the brands in this guide use natural and/or recycled fibers and avoid the use of virgin synthetics like polyester; however, some brands do use materials that are not the most environmentally-friendly option on the market, such as conventional cotton.
And of course, I wanted to choose brands that followed slow, thoughtful production practices, prioritizing artisan handmade over factory labor and quality over quantity.
So without further ado, here are my favorite small-batch, artisan-made, and ethical home decor brands.
Note that this guide includes affiliate links — as always, we only curate brands vetted for sustainability that we love (and that we think you’ll love too).
1. Urban Natural
Categories: Accent Pillows, Tabletop, Lighting, Wall Art & Mirrors, Blankets & Throws
Eco-friendly home retailer Urban Natural is on a mission to curate high-quality furniture (and other home goods) built with quality and free of toxic chemicals. Urban Natural carries several sustainable home decor brands, including artisan brands Ethnicraft and Jaipur Living as well as ethically USA-made brands Farmhouse Pottery and East Fork.
2. GOODEE
Categories: Pillows, Lighting, Wall Decor, Planters, Baskets, Blankets, Candles
GOODEE is an ethical marketplace featuring numerous sustainable artisan brands and designers. You’ll find a variety of beautifully crafted home decor goods to suit a wide range of styles. Goodee is a Climate Neutral and B Corp Certified company. They publish an annual impact report so you can easily ensure their business practices align with your values.
Our favorite brands on Goodee are Texidors, Baba Tree, Makaua, and Tensira.
3. Healthier Homes
Categories: Rugs, Lighting, Tabletop, Baskets, Wall Decor & Wallpaper
Founded after years running an award-winning healthy home building firm and publishing a book by the same name (Healthier Homes) this retailer is a go-to online destination for finding non-toxic home goods. The eco-friendly home decor on Healthier Homes is primarily made with natural materials like clay, cotton, seagrass, mango wood, and bamboo,
4. Will & Atlas
Categories: Baskets, Tabletop
Will & Atlas is a women-owned small business making most of their homewares from plant materials like jute, palm leaf, and hogla grass. Their natural fiber baskets are flexile but sturdy built to hold blankets, pillows, laundry, magazines, toys, or just to stand alone as a decor piece. You’ll also find jute coasters and placemats in their tabletop collection.
The brand is committed to ethical practices, partnering with nonprofit fair trade artisan groups in Bangladesh and craftspeople in the U.S. to build long-lasting production relationships.
5. Ten Thousand Villages
Categories: Baskets, Pillows, Throws, Candles, Wall Art, Planters & Vases
Founded 80 years ago, Ten Thousand Villages is the original fair trade store. Throughout the decades, the nonprofit business has continued their commitment to fair wages, safe working conditions, as well as sustainability.
As a founding member of the World Fair Trade Organization, with artisans around the world from under-resourced communities. Most of the products they carry are made from recycled, upcycled, and natural materials.
6. MagicLinen
Categories: Curtains, Kitchen Linens
Linen is an exceptional material for home decor — there’s a reason we say “kitchen linens!” It’s natural, beautiful, and is often high quality.
I purchased a set of linen curtains from Magic Linen one year ago and they remain one of my favorite home decor pieces. The fabric they use meets the OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100, meaning its been tested for harmful substances.
7. Passion Lilie
Categories: Pillow Covers, Table Linens
Passion Lilie is a fair trade fashion and lifestyle brand with ethically made home decor, too. The Fair Trade Verified brand has handwoven cotton blankets, organic cotton kitchen linens, unique ornaments, and hand-dyed throw pillow covers.
Each piece is made by Passion Lilie’s partners in India who pay living wages and ensure a safe working environment. Beyond this, the brand supports efforts to enable artisans to continually develop their skills and creates opportunities for community development.
8. 54kibo
Categories: Throw Pillows, Wall Hangings & Artwork, Mirrors, Baskets, Rugs, Lighting
A destination for modern African artisanal decor, 54kibo curates a stunning selection of ethically made home decor. The pieces on 54kibo are made with time-honored techniques using locally sourced materials with rich histories. The designs are exceptional, but the stories behind them make the pieces beautiful additions to your home beyond the surface.
9. The Citizenry
Categories: Baskets, Planters & Vases, Tabletop, Wall Decor, Mirrors
The Citizenry partners with artisans around the world, ensuring safe conditions, fair wages, and offering grants to their artisan partners so that they can expand their businesses.
Their online collection features small-batch artisan-made home goods made from locally-sourced and natural materials like palm leaves and indigo dyes.
More Sustainable Home Guides:
Sustainable Furniture Brands to Furnish a Conscious Home
Best Eco-Friendly and Zero Waste Kitchen Products
Easy Swaps for a Low Waste, Sustainable Bathroom
The post 9 Beautiful Places to Source Ethical and Eco-Friendly Home Decor appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
9 Beautiful Places to Source Ethical and Eco-Friendly Home Decor
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