
          A Holiday Shopper's Guide to Alternative Giving
          By Dowe, KellyKelly Dowe
          Vol. 10, No. 5, 1988, pp. 18-20
          
          When my mother was a little girl in Centreville, Alabama, she
received the gift of an apple--not a real apple, but a wooden one with
a tiny wooden tea set inside. The cups were no bigger than the tips of
her fingers.
          I loved hearing about that apple tea set as a child. For me it
represented pure romance as I knew it, and it somehow captured the
sweet mystery of my mother's life before me. When I was about ten, I
found in my Christmas stocking an apple tea set of my own. The apple
was a rich enamel red. It was the size of a real apple, at least the
big one in my Christmas stocking, and the dishes inside were no bigger
than my fingertips.
          Which was better, the apple tea set of my mother's stories or the
real thing? Who cares? I now tell my own daughters, aged five and
nine, about both apples and they berate me for not saving my apple for
them.
          As Christmas and Hannukah approach, all of this brings to mind the
choosing of gifts and the work we want our gifts to do. We want each
gift to complete ourselves or the recipient (preferably both); we want
to give joy, warmth, pleasure and romance. What we often do instead,
as depressing memories remind us, is the reverse. Succumbing to the
pressures of last-minute shopping, local supply and personal finances,
we present a child we love with another molded plastic toy. We regale
people we care about with boxes of powder. Uninspired shirts and ties,
best-selling trash in hardcover, and gift-wrapped, waxy candy...and
all after we have promised ourselves, "This year, I won't."
          Happy chance!
          A shopping helper has arrived in the form of "alternative" mail
order companies. These businesses have mushroomed in the last five to
ten years, and sell generally good quality, hard to find items, often
at modest prices. Such companies are "alternative" because they are
usually connected to a social cause organization, such as UNICEF, the
Fellowship of Reconciliation, or Koinonia Partners, into which they
pour excessive earnings. Most, though not all, are non-profit.
          Other, profit-making, businesses in the "alternative" category
dedicate themselves to a particular purpose or philosophy. The Earth
Care Paper Company of Madison, Wisconsin, for example, sells mostly
recycled paper products. A number of toy and book companies, such as
Hearth-Song: A Catalog for Families; Tryon Toymakers; Animal Town Game
Co.; and Chinaberry Book Service, are dedicated to the idea of
teaching kindness and good values to children through healthy
play. Each sells beautifully made toys and books in luscious, natural
materials. Customers shop by catalog, which are obtained by writing or
calling the company. (Even heavy users of mainstream catalogs are not
on many alternative catalog mailing riots.)
          Imagine these among your holiday gifts to loved
	       ones:
Beautiful, handmade quilts, in patterns such as Bear's Paw,
Coat of Many Colors, and Grandmother's Dream, made by the Freedom
Quilting Bee, a women's sewing 

cooperative, in Alberta, Ala. Quilts
cost from $395 for single bed size to $695 for king size. FQB also
makes butcher-style aprons for $9 and potholders for $3, among other
items (prices are approximate). For a catalog write: The Freedom
Quilting Bee, Route 1, Box 72, Alberta, AL 36720.A solar-powered re-charger for a car battery. Just set it on
the dashboard and plug its adapter into a car or RV cigarette
lighter. Cost: $39.95. Sold through the Renew America Catalog, which
supports renewable energy. Other solar powered products include a
calculator ($19.95), music box ($19.50), refrigerator ($1,560) and
child's construction kit ($14.95). The catalog offers many other
energy-saving products. Renew America Project, 1001 Connecticut Avenue
NW, Suite 638, Washington, DC 20036.A child-sized, handmade wooden carpenter's box, and a small
hammer, ax and saw to use with it. Tryon Toymakers of Campobello,
S.C. The carpenter's box is $12 and the tools $12 per set. Other toys,
all hand-crafted and painted, include: a Noah's Ark with animals ($35,
small, and $65, large), a magic wand ($4), puzzles ($6 to $30) and a
rocking horse ($80). Tryon Toymakers, Route 3, Box 148, Campobello, SC
29322.A delightful book for a child is Paper By Kids
by Arnold E. Grummer, a treatise on how to make paper at home by
recycling your junk mail. For fifth graders and up. $10.95. Earth Care
Paper Co., 100 S. Baldwin, Madison, WI 53703.To organize the sizable alternative holiday catalog offerings a
different way, one might look for:Food Items--Koinonia Partners, of Americus, Ga., a Christian
farm community which provides low-cost housing and other services to
its neighbors, sells gift-boxed fresh pecan products noted for their
high quality. They include: shelled and unshelled pecans, pecan dates,
pecan bark, fruitcake and granola. Koinonia Partners, Route 2,
Americus, GA 31709-9986.Music--Appalshop, Highlander Collections and Flying Fish sell
acclaimed music selections on records, tapes and compact discs:
               --An arts and education center in Kentucky, Appalshop has Lee
Sexton's bluegrass banjo "Whoa, Mule Whoa" on LP and cassette, and
"Blues For My Kentucky Home" by the Buzzard Rock String Band, cassette
only. Both are $8. Appalshop Sales, 306 Madison St., Whitesburg, KY
41858, or call 1-800-545-7467.--Highlander Center sells a selection of records and tapes
celebrating social activism through the years, including "Come All You
Coal Miners," produced by Guy Carawan, and "Sing for Freedom,"
featuring Bessie Jones and Doc 

Reese. Most are $7. Highlander Center,
Route 3, Box 370, New Market, TN 37820.--Flying Fish sells records, tapes and compact discs including
"Carry It On," an anthology of union songs sung by Pete Seeger, Jane
Sapp and Si Kahn. Flying Fish, 1 304 W. Schubert, Chicago, IL
60614.Clothing--Amish work pants, with button-drop and buttons for
suspenders if desired. $24. A favorite with customers of Co-op
America, a nonprofit association of businesses which share a
commitment to peace. Other offerings: Peace Fleece--Soviet and
American wools blended into knitting yarn, a range of craft items, and
home products. Coop America, 2100 M Street, N.W., Suite 310,
Washington, DC 20063.Another source of distinctive imported clothing is One World
Trading Co., which functions as a direct link between you and Mayan
producers living in Guatemala. By eliminating a middle agent, it
offers consumers good prices for high quality items, while insuring
the Mayans a fair return. Goods include blazers, belts, shirts and
other handmade garments of lovely, all-cotton fabric. Write to One
World Trading Co., c/o Plenty, P.O. Box 310, Summertown, TN
38483-0310.Cards, stationery and calendars--Although these are stock
items of many catalogs, special mention should go to:
--The National Wildlife Federation for its line of holiday cards
with wildlife artwork. From portraits of a dramatic snow owl to
impressions of a flock of Canadian geese, its offerings are rich and
captivating. Its cards cost from $12 to about $20 for most boxes.--UNICEF, which works to ease the high mortality rate among
children in the developing world, offers a wide range of note cards
and stationery in its catalog. These include no-occasion cards
illustrated with seventeenth century Ching Dynasty depictions of
spring flowers ($5.50 for ten cards and envelopes) and stationery with
delicate bird illustrations by Tran Phuc Dyen of Viet Nam ($9 for ten
note cards, fifteen writing sheets and twenty-five envelopes). Write
to UNICEF, One Children's Boulevard, Ridgely, MD 21685, or call
1-800-553-1200.--The Fellowship of Reconciliation, which helps finance work for
peace and social justice worldwide, offers a line of cards, posters
and calenders which are stark testimonials to the cause of
peace. A package of plain white stationery with the words "Practice
Nonviolence" in dark blue and cherry at the top costs $6 for thirty
sheets with plain envelopes. Greeting cards with "Peace" in both
Hebrew and Arabic on the cover and the message, "Peace is our hope"
inside, cost $5 for ten folded cards with envelopes. Fellowship of
Reconciliation, Box 271, Nyack, NY 10960.
          
            Writer and editor Kelly Dowe lives in Tuscaloosa,
Ala.
          
        