2010 Pig Lovers Gift Guide

Do YOU know someone (besides me) who loves pigs? There are more of us than you might think. If you do and you haven’t gotten them a holiday gift yet, then terrific, you’ve come to the right place.

I guess since I created the first Pig Gift Guide last year, I can call this the 2nd Annual Pig Lovers Gift Guide. (Sounds so official, right?!)

Like last year, this guide focuses on presents with purpose…green gifts, handmade treasures, fair trade piggies. That sort of thing. No mass-produced pig gifts made in China here. Finding those is like finding….hay in a hay stack. You don’t need a gift guide for that.

Instead of wasting your money on cheapo products made in China of unsustainable materials, here are 3 Shopping Tips to pig shop with heart:

• Grab an antique pig treasure from your local vintage shop.
• Search the Fair Trade Federation’s list of business members who sell all sorts of socially responsible crafts
• Visit Etsy and type in pig and pages upon pages of handmade, unique products pop up.

The bottom line: it’s not hard to shop with your conscience.

Oh, one more thing before we get to the Gift Guide. Bernie Sanders makes the point that buying mass produced products made in China is harmful to our economy, and thus American families. The Independent from Vermont grabbed people’s attention with his comment about China being our 51st state, a revelation he came to while holiday shopping with his wife.

I wonder what Bernie would say about uncommongoods.com, the Online Store whose tagline boasts “find anything but ordinary.” I visited their site while researching for this gift guide. When I entered “pig” a bunch of items that turned up were made, you guessed it, IN CHINA! Uncommon? I don’t think so. And a bit ironic given their tagline.

But I don’t mean to single them out. They do offer many responsibly-made products as well, including the pig weather vane below created by Pennsylvania artists Ben and Kate Gatski. And I’ll credit them this: at least they have the decency to list where most of their products are made. Now that IS uncommon.

So without further adieu….

Your 2010 Pig Lovers Gift Guide!

(Click on product picture to get to Where to Buy. If you get an error message, it is probably SOLD OUT. Or it just changed links.)

Piggy Potholders. Fair Trade + Practical = Perfect! http://www.globalexchangestore.org $9.95

Pig Weather Vane. Give someone more direction in their life. http://www.uncommongoods.com $160

Donate to Pigs Peace Sanctuary. In your pig lover's name. http://www.pigspeace.org Price: You choose

Terra Cotta Pig Dish. Fair Trade and made to serve. http://www.tenthousandvillages.com $16

3 Little Pigs Finger Puppet Set. Act the story out with kids. Or without kids. Whatever. http://www.lucuma.com $19.50

Piggy Bank. Saving can be fun. I swear! http://www.worldofgood.ebay.com $18.75

Pig Paper Clips. Keep it together folks. http://www.goodgiftsnaturally.com $17

Three Pigs Recycled Record Comb. It used to rock. Now it accessorizes. http://www.etsy.com/shop/Tresijas $20

Humane Farming Association Greeting Cards. HFA rulz and so do their cards. http://www.hfa.org $10

Flying Pig Art Piece. I guess you could call it an extremely large paper weight. http://www.etsy.com/shop/Middleburg $58