November 19th, 2009 · No Comments

Green Right Now Reports

Chicago’s Greenheart Shop is declaring that Black Friday will be Green Friday this year at their store, which sells Fair Trade, eco-friendly and socially conscious gifts, food, clothes and accessories.

Greenheart, a non-profit cultural exchange and storefront (at 1911 W. Division) will be serving free Fair Trade wine, cocoa and snacks to shoppers. Visitors can also see a make-your-own gift wrap demonstration. The event, on Friday, Nov. 27, when shoppers traditionally swarm the stores keeping retails in the black, will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Those who can’t attend can still buy Greenheart products online.

The goodies sold at Greenheart benefit disadvantaged workers, coops in developing nations and support ecologically sound growing methods, like shade-grown cocoa. They include:

• 

  Clutch made of recycled saris.

  Purses and clutches made from recycled saris, such as this one made by a family of artisans near New Delhi, India, through WorldFinds, a Chicago-based organization that partners with fair trade organizations, women’s self-help groups, and small families of artisans in India, Nepal, and Indonesia.

• Beeline Honey, an all natural raw honey produced by (bees and) Sweet Beginnings, LCC, a social enterprise and transitional job program of the North Lawndale employment network in Chicago. The program helps people who face barriers to employment, particularly those with histories of criminal conviction. The Beeline enterprise helps workers establish a work history and learn productive work habits.

• Eco-friendly gift wrap that is 100 percent tree-free. Made out of recycled cotton rags, each sheet of gift wrap
  

  Wrapping paper made of recycled rags.

  offers unique colors and patterns. Customers can specify a color preference for these 22 x 32-inch sheets of wrap made by Artisans at the Eco Friendly Papers workshop in Rajasthan, India, who collect cotton waste, such as rags, and turn it into a pulp.

The shop also sells soy candles, women’s dresses, baby accessories, reusable water bottles, Fair Trade cocoa and more.

To read more about Greenheart and its work around the world, see the history on their website.

The Greenheart storefront is open  M-F 11-7; Sat 11-6; Sun 12-5; products are available online.