Whether you’re hunting for a gorgeous update to your holiday decor, the perfect title to buy for your bookworm best friend, or an extra special gift for that person who has everything, we’ve got you covered with our round up of ethical holiday buys for this season! Our top picks support communities in desperate situations this year in Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, and Sudan, and your gift giving this year could support them too.
This year more than ever, it’s become painfully clear that it’s up to individuals like us to speak up for the things that are important to us, to condemn injustice wherever we see it, and to try to do good whenever we can. So this holiday season, please put your money where your morals are, and support the causes that really matter to you with one of our most important means of expression, our purchasing power! So deck the halls with lovingly handcrafted decorations from Palestine, put precious gifts from Sudan under the tree, and spread the joy these holidays!
This article does not feature any sponsored or affiliate links, just products we love.
Handmade Felt Nativity Set | Handmade Palestine
What could be more perfect than a nativity set straight from the little town of Bethlehem? Lovingly hand-felted from wool sourced from a local shepherdess, these beautiful Christmas decorations are the gift that keeps on giving. Each one is hand crafted at Ma’an Lil Hayyat, which empowers and supports people living with disabilities through their handicraft initiatives.
Forest of Noise | Mosab Abu Toha
The latest release from celebrated Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha, Forest of Noise follows his award-winning debut poetry collection, Things You May Find In My Ear. Interspersed with nostalgic glimpses of life in Gaza before his world came crashing down, Toha’s words take us with him through air strikes, darkness, and terror, lead us through his memories of his home and take us to meet some of the thirty one members of his family he has lost, in a powerful and vivid tribute to the Gaza that once was.
Yemeni Mokha Haraz Coffee | Darkwoods Coffee
Treat the caffeine-addict in your life this year with this multi-award-winning mokha grown high in the Haraz mountains of Yemen. The cooler temperatures of the mountains are perfect for growing coffee, and the region has been famed for its flavourful beans for hundreds of years. Proudly grown in the West Haraz by single grower Fawaz Ali Wahab, this coffee more than lives up to that legacy, winning a Great Taste Award thanks to its heady notes of chocolate, grape, and plum.
Feel great about each and every sip, knowing that Darkwoods supports small suppliers by pre-financing the coffee plants, and works with the Mokha not Mocha initiative to support coffee farmers through the harvest, drying and export process.
Hand-painted Palestinian Coffee Mug | Embrace the Middle East
Looking to put together a gift set for a coffee-lover? Add this gorgeous Palestinian mug for the perfect pairing!
Handmade and painted with a traditional lotus design, these gorgeous cups are made in Hebron in the Occupied West Bank by a family-run business, and would proudly grace any coffee table.
Kufiya & Sadu Jackets | KUVRD
They’ve already got a kufiya? Then help them wear their resistance loud and proud with one of KUVRD’s stunning denim jackets! Incorporating kufiya fabric and pieces of traditional Bedouin sadu weaving, KUVRD’s jackets are a celebration of Arab identity and culture.
Through their belief in providing sustainable employment, community empowerment and their partnership with Human Concern International, every purchase from KUVRD supports thousands of people across Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. With worldwide shipping and simple returns, the hardest part will be choosing between the kufiya and sadu jackets!
Palestinian Tatreez Embroidery E-Course | Tatreez & Tea
If one of your loved ones has discovered tatreez in the wake of the events since October 2023, why not treat them to a deep-dive into this beautiful aspect of Palestinian heritage. Taught by world-leading tatreez expert, researcher, historian and activist Wafa Ghnaim, an e-course from Tatreez & Tea is the best way imaginable to learn more about this fascinating textile art form and the histories it holds in each stitch. If you or the lucky recipient live in the US, you could also choose a Tatreez 101 Kit, which includes everything they’ll need to get started on their very own project.
Luxurious Beauty Products from Sudan | Dauzana
Looking for a gift for a skincare obsessive but hoping to avoid the long list of beauty brands which support apartheid, illegal settlements, and oppression? Take a peek at the gorgeous range from Sudanese beauty brand Dauzana, which melds age-old Sudanese traditions and fabulous scents ingredients with modern know-how to create the ultimate in pampering treatments and heavenly perfumes. We especially love their Delka scrub, a luxuriously scented skin treatment traditionally used across Sudan to pamper brides before their weddings.
Reunite a Family | Choose Love
If you’re looking for a gift that does good in the most direct way possible, take a look at the brilliant selection of charity gifts on offer at Choose Love. You can pick from a whole range of life-changing gifts, including providing legal support to reunite a family, warm winter clothing for a refugee, mental health care, or crucial support for displaced women. Your loved one will receive a customised e-card explaining their gift, to make sure that as much of your money as possible goes straight to the cause you’ve selected.
Silver Olive Leaf Jewellery | Handmade Palestine
Gift a beautiful, everlasting piece of Palestine with jewelry from Zaytouna’s Olive Leaf collection. Each earring, necklace or ring is made by creating a cast from a freshly picked olive leaf to fill in solid silver, creating one-of-a-kind pieces that are as beautiful as they are meaningful. Even better, the silver is recycled locally in Hebron, making your gift friendly to the planet too!
A Painting for Palestine | Artists for Palestine, in aid of Medical Aid for Palestinians
You’ve already bought them far too many scarves and pairs of socks? Why not go for something really memorable this year with a piece of art that looks good and does good! Through the Artists for Palestine initiative, hundreds of artists have come together and donated their work in aid of Medical Aid for Palestinians, who are currently providing life-saving aid on the ground in both Gaza and Lebanon. The initiative’s extensive catalogue offers something for everyone, from abstract art to urban sketches and fabulous works of sculpture, or how about a portrait of a beloved pet for the animal lover in your life?
More information about how to purchase a piece of art by donating to Medical Aid for Palestinians is available through the Artists for Palestine Instagram account or on their website.
Handcrafted Designer Handbags | Eilaf
Are you shopping for something extra special this year? Make someone very happy indeed with a handcrafted bag from Sudanese designer brand Eilaf. A favourite at Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks, Eilaf had to scramble to support their artisan weavers as they fled Sudan and to help them set up new lives in neighbouring Chad. The beautiful bags they create are a celebration of traditional weaving techniques and the natural materials of rural Sudan.
Our favourite Shamsia bag uses a weaving technique used by the Barno tribe from Darfur, and leaves from the doum tree (also known as the gingerbread tree!). Doum leaves are known for their pliability, durability and lovely pale colour, making them perfect for weaving bags and baskets like the Shamsia collection!
Olive Wood Kitchen Gift Set | Handmade Palestine
Add a touch of rustic luxury to a special someone’s kitchen this year with utensils, serving bowls or chopping boards made from gorgeous Palestinian olive wood. Always wondered why olive wood is so prized in the kitchen? In addition to its natural antibacterial properties, olive wood’s tight and dense structure makes it more resistant than other woods to stains, mould and absorbing any of those undesirable kitchen smells.
This set from Handmade Palestine isn’t just great in the kitchen, it’s also great for the environment – these products are made from prunings taken each year during the olive harvest, meaning that no trees were harmed during the making of these utensils!
Support Sudanese Artists | Mojo Gallery
Thanks to Mojo Gallery’s worldwide shipping, you can support Sudanese artists and this small gallery which works tirelessly to promote Sudanese art, even through civil war and one of the most devastating humanitarian situations on the planet. Mojo’s high quality prints are the perfect way to expand an art collection, while celebrating the work of Sudanese artists like Yasmeen Abdullah, Omar Kamal, Elamin Awad and many more.
Gaza Tote | Aya Mobaydeen for Amnesty International
You might recognise illustrator Aya Mobaydeen’s trademark bright and joyful work if you follow her Instagram account. This year, she’s collaborated with Amnesty International to create this cheerful and practical tote, a perfect present or stocking-stuffer this Christmas (although we won’t tell anyone if you keep it for yourself!) Proceeds from the tote and other items in Amnesty’s shop will go towards supporting their work campaigning for human rights and to end Israeli apartheid.
Wishing you and yours a lovely holiday season, and a peaceful and prosperous 2025. May the new year bring better and brighter times.
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