Feel good about buying stuff

The holiday season is here—again. It’s time to take out those credit cards and wander around town like a stupefied zombie buying stuff your friends and family don’t really need. Pretty soon, you’ll have spent so many hours in the mall you’ll start to consider the food-court cuisine edible. But it doesn’t have to be this way, and it may actually be possible to avoid the soulless feeling that mass-produced consumer culture can induce. For gift-giving season, Decider found retailers around town that can actually make you feel good about yourself while still satisfying the instant gratification that only shopping can accomplish.

Fair Indigo (570 N. Midvale Blvd., 661-7662)
Some of the clothing here might retain the senior-citizen look of a Lands’ End catalogue, but there are plenty of unusual gift ideas on hand, too. Practically every item comes with a backstory about the worker who made it and how you’re actually helping end poverty or save the planet with your purchase. Hard to beat that kind of holier-than-thou ethic.
Most altruistic buy: Jewelry made by artisans with disabilities in San Luis, Peru, like a mother of pearl ring.
Good for the planet: The recycled fleece jackets are made from 50 percent post-consumer recycled plastic soda bottles. Perfect for people who’ve always longed to wear their garbage.
Most over-indulgent purchase: Forget black, brown, or neutral-toned bags and go for a large satchel purse in a bright, jewel-toned green ($245), individually made from fine aniline leather and fully lined. Aniline leather means the leather retains its color from the dye, which makes it more natural-looking and buttery-soft. The small, family-run factory in Colombia that makes these bags employs a group of about 12 women, and this is the first time they’ll be exporting to the U.S.
Other charity opportunities: If you buy a piece of jewelry made by women in the slums west of New Delhi, the non-profit jewelry company they work for makes a donation to an educational trust for the women’s children. It’ll make you sound selfless, but the truth is the freshwater pearl bracelet set and pink flower brooch really just look cool.
Too good to resist: Baby hoodies that’ll make you go “awwww,” especially when paired with their matching teddy bear-like creatures. Called “Joobles,” these too-cute-for-words items are made from organic cotton and eco-friendly dyes. Plus, they’re made in Lima, Peru at a family-run facility. It’s the perfect gift for scoring points with single moms or making up with your cousin for that awkward comment you made about her pregnancy last summer.

Absolutely Art
Supporting local artists—by buying their knick-knack-style output—stirs up a warm, fuzzy sensation that The Gap just can’t provide. Don’t worry, this store’s all about scarves, purses, jewelry, crafty little things like magnets and buttons, and framed artwork and photography.
Most altruistic buy: Apparently, if shoppers give semi-rural, economically disadvantaged women in Mexico an opportunity to better themselves, those women can make cool things with materials that would otherwise end up in the gutters. Folk art by Manos Unidas por la Mujer includes mini-picture frames and baskets made from recycled newspaper, plastic bags, non-toxic glue, and aluminum. It’s a no-brainer for that aunt who likes to vacation in Acapulco but has never bothered to learn Spanish.
Other charity opportunities: Lorna Aaronson, who makes beautiful silk-covered boxes and journals, is donating a portion of her sales to Community Coordinated Child Care of Madison (4-C), a non-profit child-care resource and advocacy organization that lost its building in a fire last summer. Or, if you buy an Absolutely Art T-shirt, the store’s Shirts That Supply program donates proceeds to local schools.
Too good to resist: Remember Capri Sun and Kool-Aid? Those were the carefree days of childhood. Reclaim them by getting a purse or wallet made from the juice boxes ($18-$35). Oh, ’80s nostalgia, here we come.

Little Luxuries (214 State St., 255-7372)
This store doesn’t have an all-fair-trade or all-organic concept, but it’s a member of Dane Buy Local, as are many independent shops on State Street. And it’s chock full of unique/quirky items that are perfect for the gift-giver who doesn’t want to seem lame and cliché. There are colorful geometric ties for men, sparkly earrings, bracelets made from old buttons, lots of hair accessories, fun books like Porn For Women (featuring shirtless, toned men doing housework), magnets with sayings on them like, “I don’t have time to have the nervous breakdown I deserve,” hats, purses, scarves, and novelty notebooks.
Most altruistic buy: For $72, you can give the gift of a striped Alpaca scarf, hand-knit by fair-trade artisans around the world. A portion of profits supports environmental and community charities.
Good for the planet: Sets of five cute, reusable shopping bags, made by Envirosax, all rolled up into one package ($39). These lightweight polyester bags come in four different styles: Amazonia (boldly colored patterns), Flora (solid colors with floral, spring-like patterns), Botanica (leafy greens and blues), and Mikado (whites, blacks, and reds in Asia-inspired patterns).
Most over-indulgent purchase: If the women on your list don’t get Porn For Women’s sense of humor, try Hobo International leather wallets in gorgeous, rich colors.
Other charity opportunities: Kristin’s Creations are bookmarks made by an autistic girl, and a part of the proceeds goes to her foundation, Untangling The World. The hand-knotted hemp tassels are kind of weird-looking and hippie-ish, but hey, it’s for a good cause.
Too good to resist: InsidersNY messenger bag with New York City scenes on it ($112), made in Brooklyn. For the person who wants to be a scrappy twentysomething forever.

Anthology (218 State St., 204-2644)
Shopping here is like taking a tour of a crafty person’s mind. There’s nothing mass-produced about the selection of second-hand sweaters reinvented with vintage pins and sewn embellishments. Plus, you can find gifts for those people in your life whose pride in Madison greatly outweighs the justification for it, like Madison photos framed in reclaimed wood, or a colorful collage of Union Terrace chairs.
Good for the planet: Pretty much everything here is recycled in one way or another: Go arty-retro with blank journals made from old books such as Green Eggs And Ham, or choose from wallets made of laminated newspaper, a purse made from laminated magazine pages ($45), mosaic frames made from a thrift-store plate ($25), necklaces made from old bottle caps ($10), vintage fabric purses, and juice-pouch wallets.
Most over-indulgent purchase: A small wall-hanging quilt with tiny squares of rich forest greens, blues, purples, and other jewel tones, made in Madison ($430). It’ll suit grandmas with good taste.
Too good to resist: Bring in your own color photocopies of reduced photos of your friends and family to be made into 1-inch-wide buttons. Then fit 20 of them around a 4-inch by 6-inch frame, or 24 around a 7-inch by 7-inch frame. It’s made right in the store with a button-maker, and you can pick it up the next day after the glue dries.

Recreative Crafts (Sold at Absolutely Art, Dane County Farmers’ Market, and various craft and trunk shows.)
Rosy Carl of Recreative Crafts specializes in recycled thrift-shop shirts with little cherries or butterflies stitched into the collar to give them that DIY look. Or try a one-of-a-kind fabric tote bag with embroidery, fun patterns, or the words “I’m Awesome” stenciled across it.

Bernie’s Girl (Sold at the Farmers’ Market, Absolutely Art, and Anthology, as well as the requisite craft shows.)
These customized, hand-stamped T-shirts emblazon that special someone’s torso with cool sayings like “With the band” or “Band geek,” “Radical militant librarian,” or the ever-popular “All effed up on soy lattes.” They come hand-dyed in deep colors like avocado green, rust orange, bronze brown, and electric blue. For babies, choose from sayings like “Cutie patootie” and “Dude. Seriously.” Bernie’s Girl orders her dyes, fixatives, and blanks from Dharma Trading Company, which supports fair labor practices and environmentally responsible materials. She also offers reconstructed skirts made from salvaged fabrics, recycled sweaters, chopped-up and reassembled sweater dresses, and word-drop rings. Kind of a weird variation on the mood ring, a word-drop ring has a large glass stone on it, and underneath is a word, like “quirky” or “smart,” that looks colorful and distorted under the convex glass.

Whole Foods
After you stock up on vegan essentials (tough decision: Tofutti or Tofurky?), check out this store’s selection of accessories made by artisans around the world. If the gift is for a Republican, just don’t to tell them where you got it.
Most altruistic buy: Baskets sold by a non-profit organization that pays its Third World weavers living wages (The Blessing Blanket project) and hires adults with disabilities in the U.S. to put the tags on. Or, a whole bunch of World of Good products, such as teal candle holders ($9.95), a bracelet made from Tagua nuts from the rainforest floor ($13.95), a recycled glass necklace ($19.95), a cotton crepe pouch ($14.95), a silk handcrafted bag from Nepal ($49.95), or a bamboo bowl handcrafted through a 17-step process in Vietnam ($34.95).
Good for the planet: Gift an organic cotton scarf ($11.99) made by Maggie’s Organics.
Most over-indulgent purchase: A serving set that looks a bit like a miniature frog habitat: a light green ceramic plate that looks like a leaf, plus two small bowls ($24.95). The lids of the bowls have ceramic frogs on top of them. It’s not immediately obvious what this is for (dipping sauces?), but you can be pretty sure your gift recipients will be the only ones on their blocks with this item.
Other charity opportunities: The Whole Planet Foundation provides grants to microfinance institutions in Latin America, Africa, and Asia who offer loans to the self-employed poor. Give a gift in someone’s name, and get a tax deduction all in one.
Too good to resist: Recycled juice-box pouch, handcrafted in the Philippines ($19.95). Apparently these are all the rage this year, and you’ll get points for giving the unexpected. Whether the flimsy things can actually stand up to the pounds of junk most women stuff into their purses is another story.