Guilt-free gifts not made in a sweatshop

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Maybe last year was the year for gifts made in sweatshops in China and massive toy recalls. This year is the year for guilt-free gifts made from sustainable materials, if you listen to the folks at downtown L.A.’s Garment Worker Center, a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve working conditions for the region’s garment workers.

The Garment Worker Center last week opened a Fair Trade Pop-Up Store at 1250 S. Los Angeles Street in the Garment District that sells products from fair-trade cooperatives and local artisans.

‘We wanted to make a point of showing that even in the Garment District it is possible to get great gifts at affordable prices without exploiting workers,’ said LaTrice Dixon, a board member of the Garment Worker Center.

Always wanted to get your mother-in-law a passive-aggressive gift? How about some stationary made from elephant dung ($7 for a small notebook)? Want a relic of the quickly eroding newspaper industry? How about some earrings or bowls made from recycled newspapers in Vietnam ($12 and up)? Or perhaps you’ve always yearned for a non-toxic puzzle from India made with sustainable wood ($15-$25). Really, who hasn’t?

Proceeds will go to the Garment Worker Center. Better hurry though, the store is open only until Dec. 11.

-- Alana Semuels