Holiday

BEST LIST EVER:
THE GOOD GIFT GUIDE

PURCHASE WITH PURPOSE

Get ready to cheer and spread good cheer – the season’s ultimate gift list is here! If you’re getting bombarded by holiday guides right about now, put them on pause and peruse our collection of presents with purpose.
Our edit is ethical, eclectic and eco-friendly, with something thoughtful for everyone – from homebody to wanderluster, babes to babies, rainbow bright to modern minimalist – and every wallet. Best of all, each item is a gift that gives twice, spreading the holiday spirit to your loved ones while sending love and support to artisans and their families in communities around the globe.

Skip the holiday sweater and give a festively-hued gift that will continue bringing joy all year round.

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When it comes to classic patterns, stripes are a super solid choice that will never go unappreciated or out of style.

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Start some new traditions this season by giving the little ones in your life the gifts of compassion, craftsmanship and imagination.

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These pale, wintry shades are pretty empowered – each pastel gift on our wish list makes a subtle yet bold statement.

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Go all-out glam with gilded gifts and shimmering silver – luxe looks with a modern conscience.

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Win over your wishlist with foolproof favorites handmade by artisans earning a fair wage.

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Indulge their sense of adventure with global gifts that bring home a strong sense of place, and compassion for other cultures.

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These chic, cheerful charms make super stocking stuffers and are thoughtful gestures for anyone in need of a smile this season.

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Wrap up good with fair trade finishing touches and ethical extras with a homey touch, from hand block-printed wrapping paper and cards to eco-friendly, handspun hemp twine.

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Spread a little sunshine with perfect beach presents for the winter vacationer.

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Exclusives

THE MODERN NOMAD COLLECTION

BLACK, WHITE & BOLD

Artisan meets avant garde in our first collection of exclusives. Boldly modern in a black and white palette, these accessories celebrate culture and craftwork with a decidedly contemporary vibe, honoring techniques passed down through generations while supporting their preservation.

These graphic goods – only available here at Accompany – are made in partnership with some of our favorite fair trade and non-profit artisan workshops around the world. Each one is unique, created by hand; each pair of hands is paid a living wage; and each wage makes a real impact, driving economic prosperity in marginalized regions.

CALLING ALL NOBLE NOMADS: TIME TO START YOUR NEXT JOURNEY.
ACCOMPANY US TO 8 COUNTRIES ACROSS THE WORLD.

Futuristic yet charmingly old-fashioned, these handcrafted leather slides are made by craftsmen in Morocco using age-old techniques, and emblazoned with space-age metallic lightening bolt and star details.

Ethical, eco-friendly and elegant, this minimalist style celebrates natural materials and uses chemical-free dyes that protect both artisans and buyers from potential health hazards.

We believe the industry can change its stripes. This chic striped style is handmade by indigenous women artisans for whom participation in the global marketplace means an opportunity to overcome poverty and become agents of change in their local communities.

The native crafts of Mexico are made modern in this urbane, updated version of the classic plastic tote, handwoven by artisans in Oaxaca.

Proceeds from this special piece, handmade in Phnom Penh by a team of fair trade Cambodian artisans, go to raise awareness about human trafficking, a particularly severe problem in this area.

Hand-beaded with modern LED vibes by female artisans in Rwanda, this bracelet helps provide over 85 women in the region with marketable skills and steady employment — two crucial factors in helping them move forward.

Sleek black leather meets traditional textures thanks to a graphic strap handwoven by the Wayuu Tribe in the country’s La Guajira region. For each bag sold, $5 goes to provide food, water, and basic needs to the communities and children of Colombia.

AWE-INSPIRING ADORNMENTS

MAKE IT COUNT

Soko is raising the bar on responsible design and rethinking the supply chain, increasing incomes 5x for marginalized artisans in the developing world. We’re thrilled to partner with this beautiful-inside-and-out jewelry brand to bring you four exclusive styles handmade in Nairobi, Kenya by female artisans in Soko’s socially conscious network. Each one adds major impact to your look while driving positive change to their makers’ livelihoods.

This unique pair is handmade from brass and set with upcycled horn by female artisans in Soko’s network, which now includes more than 1,300 women.

Stunning statement pieces like these help Soko’s artisans increase their incomes by an average of five times.

This luxe look makes a large impact, giving disenfranchised workers a path to equitable direct trade. The artisan craft sector is the 2nd largest employer in the developing world.

While it’s typical for industry workers to retain only 2-3% of revenue from their goods, Soko helps the artisans who make these modern hoops keep 25%-35% — a life-changing improvement.

Ethical Interiors

African Accents

The continent of Africa, comprised of 55 nations, boasts a wealth of talent, natural resources and artisans who are putting a modern spin on generations-old techniques. Increasingly, their goods are coming to the global market via improvements in infrastructure and the expanding reach of the internet – driving important socioeconomic growth in a region long afflicted by poverty and political instability, and introducing the rest of the world to Africa’s beautiful handiwork and diverse aesthetics.

We’ve curated our favorite high quality artisan-made goods from Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa and elsewhere, featuring naturally sourced materials imbued with the colors, textures and traditions of their native countries. From decorative accents to enliven your living space to stunning statement accessories to give your look a unique touch, these special pieces bring the colors and crafts of Africa home – all while supporting their makers and driving positive change in their communities.

Set the table with teak and olive wood
locally sourced in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa,
accented with pops of color.

Whatever you choose to put in them, these heirloom baskets –
handwoven by women artisans in Rwanda, Uganda, Ghana and Kenya
– are full of joy and meaning.

From sophisticated horn to mudcloth textiles,
make a modern ethnic statement.

From chic shapes in earthy neutrals to bold
beaded baubles, Africa has a jewelry genre
for everyone.

Fun and philanthropic, these handmade toys
make perfect presents for the little ones.

Featuring traditional textile art, masterful
weaving and enduring designs, these extras
are the real deal.

Worldly Wedding

Rather than rehashing registry clichés, gift the couple something that’s as unique as they are.
Our wedding gift list is full of thoughtfully handmade, high quality options for every kind of bride and groom, curated from communities around the globe. Every item is built to last and bring good memories for years to come – plus each gift comes with a printed card explaining where it’s from and how it helps support artisans in the developing world. Now that’s love.

Purposeful Presents

Brother Vellies

CFDA / Vogue Fashion Fund’s Ethical Favorite

Founded by rising style icon Aurora James, Brother Vellies is the new ethical fashion label you need to know 
this season. Named a winner of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund last year, this designer collection of handcrafted goods from South Africa, Kenya and Morocco is on every accessory lover’s lips thanks to a fierce fashion-forward aesthetic that evokes the African continent in locally sourced materials, wild textures and culturally inspired styling.

Artisanal & Aspirational

As seen everywhere from Vogue to The New York Times, the exquisite accessories from Brother Vellies merge an advanced designer aesthetic with earthy, elegant materials for a new signature look in ethical fashion.

While other brands might discard imperfect animal pelts, Brother Vellies takes a more thoughtful approach, making the most of every single piece according to traditional African practices.

By using wild, ethically sourced skins and hiding blemishes through careful positioning, Brother Vellies embraces a waste-not, want-not mentality and celebrates the occasional flaw as a unique memory of the animals' 
lives in the wild.

Each Brother Vellies item is entirely handmade by local artisans in the brand’s workshops in Africa, where makers receive fair wages and training from other skilled artisans – promoting the preservation of craft technique while facilitating economic development through job creation.

Goods are made to order, which eliminates excess inventory, reduces the number of energy-consuming machines on premises, and maximizes employment numbers and employee satisfaction. Plus, the fact 
that they are limited edition means you’ll be wearing something truly distinctive.

Originally launched as a footwear brand – its name is a reference to the velskoen, a traditional South African desert boot – Brother Vellies now offers a wide range of covetable shoes and sandals, including these attention-grabbing spring styles. Artisans in the brand’s Kenya workshop achieve brilliant color on the dimensional bows and strappy uppers by hand-dyeing leather with saffron and other natural elements, rather than a chemical dye. Other materials used in shoemaking, including organic cotton, are hand-dyed with natural tints like indigo.

Many of the brand’s shoes are assembled at its workshop in South Africa, a welcoming, diverse space that employs skilled artisans of all genders, backgrounds, tribes and sexual orientations and utilizes craft techniques honed over many generations. As each pair is entirely hand-made, using minimal machinery, they are able to produce a few dozen pairs per day.

Slow Fashion with Instant Appeal

Brother Vellies’ shoes are made exclusively from genuine, sustainable materials and carefully constructed to last for many years. Each pair is designed to be re-soled once the original soles are worn out – which is great news since you’ll want to keep these show-stoppers in your closet for as long as possible.

In the United States alone, an estimated 350 million pairs of shoes made from synthetic materials – including vegan leather – end up in landfills each year. By contrast, many Brother Vellies shoes are made from a base of repurposed Kudu leather, an animal byproduct stemming from the government’s mandate to reduce overpopulation. By making the most of these skins, the brand honors those animals, eliminates waste, and does away with the need to manufacture other unnecessary fabrics.

Made in Africa, Brought to Brooklyn

All Brother Vellies styles are sent from the workshops in Africa to the brand’s Brooklyn headquarters in bulk cargo shipments to ensure the minimum carbon footprint with maximum style impact.

Can’t get enough? Neither can we. We’re already craving these showstopping sustainable accessories from the Fall 2016 collection – a standout at New York Fashion Week.