“Every time you spend money you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want.”
Anna Lappe
“Around the globe, Oxfam works to find practical, innovative ways for people to lift themselves out of poverty and thrive. We save lives and help revive livelihoods when crisis strikes. And we campaign so that the voices of the poor influence the local and global decisions that affect them.”
Did you know that in the world today one out of every three people live in poverty?
It is inspiring to read that in the last two decades 660 million people have been lifted out of poverty. Through Humanitarian Appeals and successful Campaigns, Oxfam played their part by:
- Providing individual households and whole communities with the skills and resources to help them create their own solutions to poverty.
- Working with global partners responding to emergencies by providing aid as well as support by educating communities on how to prepare for future crisis.
- Representing poor people through building relationships. These networks are motivated to influence governments, corporations, institutions and businesses by encouraging accountability and fair balance within policies and practices to help raise people out of poverty.
Another way Oxfam build a profile, educate the public and raise program funds is through their retail shops – they stock a pretty impressive range of Fair-trade labels!
How Shopping at Oxfam Can Help Eradicate Poverty
It is heartwarming to know that by making the decision to spend our hard-earned money wisely we are taking action to bring about positive change. By shopping conscientiously from this ethical, fair-trade company we support small-scale producers in underprivileged countries. This is how it works:
- 66% of your donation goes to program and advocacy work
- 22% fundraising and promotion
- 12% administration
The cards you see displayed in this image are examples from the Oxfam Unwrapped campaign which proves ‘The Best Gifts Can’t Be Wrapped’. By choosing to send someone a personalised card or even an e-card (there’s also a home printable option), you will help transform someone’s life. Through buying a ‘chicken’ you provide the opportunity for a family to earn an income, ‘water for a Family or school’ prevents deadly diseases and ‘farmer education’ provides a life-long skill.
Last year, during discussions of how to help people less fortunate than us, our Little Man chose an UnWrapped Gift of ‘Swimming Lessons for Children’- important survival skills and a ‘Goat’ which provides manure to grow crops, can breed Kids and then go on to provide an income by being sold.
This year’s choice is still pending…
Oxfam Help Make Your Christmas an Ethical Christmas
In last week’s post ‘Real or Fake – It’s Time to Talk Christmas Trees’ you read about the tradition we have in our network of Family and Friends of buying Christmas decorations which are reused and treasured year after year. These images above and the Feature Image at the top of the post are Oxfam gifts I have both received and also gifted to others. They are a collection from past years and, although not all of them are still available, there are plenty of new and just as quirky replacement ideas. How patient are the artisans who have folded recycled misprinted magazines into flat strips for the Upcycled Paper Trivet (we use them as placemats).
Interested?
Follow this link to the Christmas Catalogue to have a little mooch – there are plenty of original ideas to love!
Pin For Later
This year CWMS has personally tried, tested and written about a whole range of eco-friendly items, introduced you to companies which are making a difference in the world, linked independantly owned business’ in weekly posts as well as any local markets explored.
These and any handmade quirky items which have been discovered so far are all listed under the category Hunting & Gathering in the blog.
I will keep you updated via the CWMS social media pages of any other inspiring finds and am so keen to see what you discover as well. Please join the conversation:
Comment Section Below || Facebook || Instagram || Pinterest
I hope you have enjoyed reading about these as much as I have enjoyed sharing the discovery…
X Shea
Previous conversations
Last week…Real or Fake – Time to Talk Trees
CWMS Saves Hundreds of Lives
Latest find at Biome – Sustainable, natural, ethically sourced materials. Perfect stocking filler…
The Great Divide – 6 Ways to Sort and Conquer Recycling
Next week… Merry Christmas – 2014
