Excellent gift giving is a skill that too few of us possess. How many hours do you spend agonizing over what to get the people on your holiday and birthday lists? For most of us, the answer is “way too many.” For the socially conscious, gift shopping becomes a series of small agonies. We wonder who made what we’re contemplating, and how long it will take before it ends up in the landfill, where it will sit for—5? 250?—years until it finally decomposes.

The reason gift giving is so difficult is because just about everything seems the same, whether you’re shopping online or in stores. Clothes, jewelry, home décor—it’s all pretty generic, and your recipient likely already has it or doesn’t want it.

When Sitara Collections was launched, it was with a vision of not only promoting fair trade and sustainable employment for talented artisans, but of offering customers something truly unique that they simply can’t get anywhere else, another words, promoting socially conscious shopping. You can grab a candle everywhere from dollar stores to high-end boutiques, but where else can you get a soapstone candle holder that looks like something out of a sultan’s palace?  And then there are luggage tags made of cruelty-free leather and embossed with designs and colors that put your old plastic tags to shame.

The people in your life deserve something special, and Sitara has put together collections featuring items that will delight and surprise loved ones. You no longer have to settle for a ho-hum trinket at a chain store when real gemstone jewelry, cruelty-free leather goods, standout home décor, and much more are just a click away.  

Sitara Collections promotes socially conscious shopping by offering inspiring handmade jewelry and gifts that are ethically sourced from talented third world Artisans. We donate a portion of our net sales back to the Sitara Foundation, the non-profit arm of Sitara Collections, and we’re currently supporting the SVV School that the founders husband, Vinay Singh, started in his ancestral village of Chanchli, India. 

When you help spread the word about great socially responsible companies, you help do your part. Discovering socially responsible shopping retailers that sell amazing products benefits humanitarian causes.  An artisan in a third world country will be silently giving thanks.  So start shopping with a conscious, and feel great about your purchases.

We hope you can help by sharing this article with your friends and family.