Make a difference in two lives this Mother's Day with gifts that give back! We've picked out some of our favorite new spring pieces that are perfect for all kinds of moms. Take a look below at some fair trade, artisan made gifts that your mom will love!

1. Smoky Glass Teardrop Earrings from Kenya

Each pair of these gorgeously crafted earrings is handmade by deaf women artisans in Kenya. The deaf unemployment rate in Kenya runs as high as 85%, and is especially high for women. Every purchase from Sasa Designs, a group that includes a large number of single mothers, helps created a sustainable living wage in an impoverished community.

2. Embroidered Cotton Pillow from Peru

Does Mom love fancy patterns and bright colors? These pillows are hand-embroidered using traditional indigenous Peruvian techniquea, and bring economic empowerment to displaced women in Peru. Take a look at these fun and comfy accessories in Coral, Blue, and Grey!

3. Chevron Dyed Silk Scarf from Cambodia

Treat your mama to this luxurious silk scarf, handmade by women in Cambodia! Artisans Association of Cambodia (AAC) works with 32 member organizations to aid disadvantaged populations, including formerly trafficked women and landmine survivors.

4. Beaded Tassel Necklace from Guatemala

Is your mom trendy? This Beaded Tassel Necklace is exactly what she needs to rock the spring tassel jewelry trend. Each one is strung with a beautiful mix of metal bicone, bone, and faceted glass beads by women fighting poverty in Guatemala.

5. Hammered Copper Candle from India

Send Mom a gift that shines as bright as she does with this Handmade Copper Candle! Each vessel is handmade in India, and is reusable once it burns out. Available in large or small, this candle will be a unique accent piece in any home!

6. Bolga Basket Tote from Ghana

Treat your mom to a picnic or a day at the beach using this stylish and sustainable accessory! This Bolga Basket Tote perfectly combines modern African design with functionality, and provides support to women entrepreneurs.

7. Lapis Lazuli Jewelry from Afghanistan

Does your mom have a simple, elegant style? These delicate and unique pieces are handmade by women breaking ground in Afghanistan by learning the traditionally male art of metalsmithing. The Afghan Gold Star Lapis Necklace is available here, and the Oval Afghan Lapis Ring can be found here!

8. Handmade Wax Luminary from Swaziland

Does your mom love unique home decor? These Wax Luminaries are crafted using the age-old technique of “millfiore” or "thousand flowers". This technique first surfaced in the great glassmaking cities of Murano and Venice, but soon made its way to the Kingdom of Swaziland. Instead of glass, Swazi artisans employ the same technique with wax to skillfully craft these creative pieces!

9. Textile Pouch from Peru

If your mom loves to travel this Textile Pouch would make the perfect gift! Big enough to fit her iPad or everything she needs for her beauty regimen, this gorgeous gift will make sure Mom thinks of you wherever she goes!

10. Handwoven Baskets from Rwanda

If your mom loves color these Handwoven Baskets would make a great addition to your home! Each one is handmade by women artisans in Rwanda. Mom can use them to hold her keys and change, or get creative and hang them on the wall!

Are you giving #giftsthatgiveback this Mother's Day? Tag or tweet us at @GlobalGoods and let us know!

This is the second of three dispatches from GGP’s in-house designer, Jenn Wong, who visited our artisan partners in Thailand and Cambodia earlier this year.

In this post, Jenn recounts her visit to Siem Reap, Cambodia.

After a few days of artisan visits in Northern Thailand, I made my way to Cambodia. A short plane ride from Bangkok and I was in Siem Reap. Located 320 km northwest of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap’s proximity to the remarkable temples in Angkor make it a popular tourist destination. My goal was to visit groups working with the Artisans Association of Cambodia (AAC). I caught up with AAC’s director, Sinoeun, who along with other supporters started AAC to provide a platform and network for artisan groups who share the mission of promoting new approaches to improving socio-economic conditions of Cambodian artisans and their families. AAC today comprises over 45 organizations and social enterprises, and through these groups GGP is able to work with a network of 4,000 artisans. I was excited to meet the artisans who have produced beautiful products for GGP for almost 10 years.

Sinoeun and Jenn’s first stop at an artisan showroom to talk about some of the processes of silk weaving, a specialty of this particular artisan group.

My visit coincided with preparations for a regional artisan fair. It was a busy week for all the AAC groups exhibiting but, fortunately, I was able to sit down with each of them to learn about the techniques they use and the steps – from beginning to end – involved in producing their beautiful handmade items. The Siem Reap fair was the perfect entry point to Cambodian handicraft, as well as a convenient rendezvous for many AAC groups. From silk weavers to dye masters, metalsmiths to designers and tailors, the fair was a great opportunity to see a full array of techniques and products originating in Cambodia.

Example of raw silk thread before and after the dye process.

These pieces are traditional designs woven to make “Sampots,” Cambodian style sarongs or skirts. The threads here are ikat dyed with master precision in order to show the floral, animal and stripe patterns when loomed and hand woven.

A glimpse of samples of GGP’s new Chevron Dyed Silk Scarves for Spring ’16.

More beautiful ikat spotted scarves. Inspiration for Fall ‘16.

This tie-dyed silk product made by a group of artisans with disabilities. The artisan group is led by a female land-mine victim, Chim Kong. Kong employs many land-mine victims who all earn a stable income. To see more of their product please click here.

Shopping for Fall ‘16. Fun upcycled totes handmade by a woman-led group, Lotus Silk. The social enterprise not only offers Cambodians stable jobs, but focuses on the diversifying methods of environmentally sustainable and ethical handicraft.

Shibori is an ancient Japanese tie-dying technique where the fabric is binded, sewn, folded, or twisted in order to achieve its pattern. Today, the technique is practiced around the world, including here in Cambodia. Stay tuned for more Shibori Fall ‘16!

Jenn and Sitha, owner of Craft Village, after a very productive meeting. Sitha and her talented artisans produce GGP’s amazing Featherweight Silk Scarves.

While traveling with Sinoeun around Siem Reap, he talked about his country’s history, the Khmer people, and shared stories of the many families in Cambodia that have endured a harsh and brutal past. In recent history, the Khmer Rouge and the Civil War took more than 2 million Cambodian lives. Today many Cambodians struggle daily, facing poverty and limited access to healthcare, sanitary facilities, and education. Although poverty rates are falling in Cambodia, with 3 million poor people and over 8.1 million near poor Cambodia’s poverty rate has not dropped significantly from 17.7% (2012, worldbank.org).

As I toured the markets of Siem Reap, the high demand for beautiful handmade Cambodian product was evident, with markets tailoring their products to tourists and visitors from abroad. The silks, batiks, and tie-dye are all the end result of technique and skill passed on from generations of artisan families. Artisans young and old continue to rely on craft as a form of income and a mechanism for empowering women and strengthening communities. The potential for growth in the artisan sector in Cambodia is promising, and is exactly the kind of growth the Khmer people need to support job and income stability, as well as poverty reduction.

I left Siem Reap feeling content with the knowledge I gained of Cambodian culture, food, history, and of course handicraft. What a great kickoff to my visit to Cambodia. It’s not over!   Stay tuned for Part 3 to learn more about further developments for Fall Winter 2016!

Global Goods Partners continues to be a leader in providing market access for groups in Cambodia and in other parts of the world. Please visit our site to learn more about our Cambodian artisan groups or AAC.

We're very excited to announce a Spring Instagram Giveaway! We are raffling off three exclusively designed beaded wrap bracelets from Guatemala to our Instagram followers. These bracelets are not available on our site so this is a one-time opportunity to win this original design! To enter just follow us on Instagram at @GlobalGoods and tag a friend in the comments of one of the bracelet photos. Scroll down for contest rules and regulations.

Rules

1. This competition is open to anyone with a Instagram account who is at least 16 years of age. Employees of Global Goods Partners and family members of such employees are not eligible to enter.

2. The competition give away will begin at 2:00pm EST on Friday, April 8, 2016 and finish at 2:00pm EST on Friday, April 22, 2016.

3. Contestants must be following @GlobalGoods and comment on one of the bracelet photos tagging a friend. One Instagram comment equals one entry. Three winning comments (not Instagram accounts) will be randomly selected. The winners will be announced no later than 6:00pm on Friday, August 6th, 2015.

4. The prize itself is one bracelet from Global Goods Partners that will be awarded to three different people.

5. We will choose winners randomly from all the entries within a particular four hours of 2:00pm EST on Friday, April 22, 2016. We will then announce the winner from our Instagram account (@globalgoods) and our Facebook page so keep checking in to see if you've won. The random winner will be determined by a computer generation.

6. Global Goods Partners will contact the winner through a direct message on Instagram to obtain further contact and shipping information. This information will remain private.

7.Global Goods Partners shall not have any liability for (i) any technical failures of any kind, including but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (ii) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the competition; (iii) any malfunction of or damage to the prizes; or (iv) any restrictions or delays imposed by any customs authorities or any import or other taxes of any kind imposed by any taxation authority in respect of the prizes.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to email mthiel@globalgoodspartners.org. Best of luck to our participants!

By Lee Heh Margolies

"If you educate a woman, you educate a whole society".  Those are the words

that propelled 23 year-old Winsome Toroitich to venture from her home country

of Kenya to attend university in the U.S. She is currently a junior majoring in

economics and statistics at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. Armed

with that education, she hopes to one day run her own business and help

improve the opportunities of women not just in her own country but globally.

Since January, Toroitich has traded student life in upstate New York for the work

world of New York City. As an intern with Global Goods Partners through early

April, Toroitich is gaining experience in all aspects of the organization’s

operations from product development to inventory to financial analysis to meeting

with GGP’s artisan partners.

Toroitich admits that, "having been brought up by a strong, independent mother

and observing other hardworking village women, I knew that women were a good

group to focus on." Winsome is saddened by the large number of school

dropouts especially among girls in Kenya and "the fact that many villagers

depend on their relatives in the big cities for income."  Toroitich hopes to help

change that by focusing on social entrepreneurship, education, and women.  Her

long term goal? To run a business that links together both her worlds in Kenya

and the United States.

Today marks the world-wide celebration of International Women's Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. International Women's Day is all about celebration, reflection, advocacy, and action.

At GGP we are fortunate to work with powerful women making a change across forty countries, who inspire others in their daily work towards economic empowerment and equality. While we celebrate these women and their accomplishments everyday, today we would like to bring special attention to the difficulties these women have overcome.

 According to the UN Women organization, women across the globe still face daily inequalities, including:

• Sexual Violence - "One in three women and girls are impacted by physical or sexual violence in their lifetimes. A gross human rights violation, this pandemic fractures families and communities and hampers development, also costing billions of dollars annually in health care costs and lost productivity."

• Unequal Pay - "While 139 constitutions guarantee gender equality and 117 have equal pay laws, women are still paid 10-30 per cent less than men, on average. Countries with greater gender equality have economies that grow faster, as shown through a comparative analysis of 134 countries. When women are empowered and have an income, they invest back into their families and communities, driving down hunger, poverty and malnutrition, and improving health, education and well-being."

• Poverty - "Women remain disproportionately affected by poverty, discrimination and exploitation, with more than half (50.4%) of working women in vulnerable employment. If women’s paid employment rates were raised to the same level as men’s, gross domestic product would be between 9 and 16 per cent higher in major developed economies while in developing economies, per capita income could rise by 14 per cent by 2020."

• Lack of Representation - "Thirty per cent is considered the “critical mass” mark for women’s representation. Worldwide low representation of women in parliaments continues, with only one in five legislators being women. Women’s representation in governments makes a difference. In India in areas with female-led local councils the number of drinking water projects was 62 per cent higher than in those with male-led councils, while in Norway, evidence shows a direct relationship between the number of women in municipal councils and childcare coverage they enacted.

To get involved in International Women's Day, take a look at their website here. You can search for local events to participate in and make a #PledgeforParity, supporting gender equality.

Are you planning on taking action today? Tag or tweet us at @GlobalGoods and let us know!

Thanks to International Women's Day and UN Women for the facts provided in this post.