Why Buy Handmade?

Buying Handmade makes for better gift-giving.

The giver of a handmade gift has avoided the parking lots and long lines of the big chain stores in favor of something more meaningful. If the giver has purchased the gift, s/he feels the satisfaction of supporting an artist or crafter directly. The recipient of the handmade gift receives something that is one-of-a-kind, and made with care and attention that can
be seen and touched. It is the result of skill and craftsmanship that is absent in the world of large-scale manufacturing.

Buying handmade is better for people.

The ascendancy of chain store culture and global manufacturing has left us dressing, furnishing, and decorating alike. We are encouraged to be consumers, not producers, of our own culture. Our ties to the local and human sources of our goods have been lost. Buying handmade helps us reconnect.

Buying handmade is better for the environment.

The accumulating environmental effects of mass production are a major cause of global warming and the poisoning of our air, water and soil. Every item you make or purchase from a small-scale independent artist or crafter strikes a small blow to the forces of mass production

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The Handmade Pledge collected over ten thousand signatures in its 2 short months of existence this holiday season. That's ten thousand people who stayed out of the malls and gave meaningful, one-of-a-kind, handmade gifts to thier friends and families. And that's countless thousands more who were lucky enough to receive those gifts!

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Etsy's online magazine, The Storque, is making a video documentary in conjunction with the Handmade Pledge. Your videos are welcome! Read all about it here.