Oxfam Make-up Bags and Wash Bags
We have long been supporters of fairtrade projects. (Jo's Green & Black's chocolate brand, which she launched with husband Craig Sams in 1991, launched the very first Fairtrade-certified product in the UK, Maya Gold, in 1994.)
When Jo advises fledgling social enterprises (as she often does), a key piece of advice is that whatever they're offering has to be as delicious or as stylish as what people are already buying – or the project won't get off the ground, however noble. But in our time, we've tasted some 'meh' fairtrade foods. And our hearts have sunk, being shown fairtrade goods – jewellery, fashion, accessories – which just don't cut the mustard, design-wise.
This, though, from Oxfam, is just GREAT - as stylish as anything you'll find out there. And no surprise: the bag is created from fabric designed by the boundlessly talented Kaffe Fassett. It's made by hand by artisans who work within a Fair Trade Group in Vietnam – young women like Lien, who's showcased on the product page.
With a polyester lining and an internal compartment – and that added feel-good factor, in every stitch - it's just one of several very eye-catching bags and cases, on their site.
For fairtrade, a jolt of style – to give their products the widest possible appeal – has got to be the path to a future as bright as this bag itself.
£14.99 - buy here
