Think outside the box...

Because I was born in Austin, I emerged from the womb with certain hippie-like tendencies. Although I think I rank in the low to moderate range on the hippie spectrum, I am still very interested in and amazed by the all of the eco-friendly businesses and blogs that have been extremely successful in our current energy conscious, resource-saving society. Phenomenal ideas developed by ordinary people. I'm a med student, I'm poor, but I think the best way to support their efforts is to buy their products and inspire others to think outside the box.

I just discovered WorldofGood.com and acid-base physiology and the kidney has taken a back seat to browsing their products online for over 36 hours now. Through this site, self-sustaining artisans world-wide are able to sell their products in the global market and earn a living for themselves and their families. World of Good, Inc. partnered with eBay a few years ago to foster the sale of goods produced under fair trade conditions (as in the consumer is not buying a good produced by an 8-year old in a factory for disgustingly little pay). So eBay is actually making a difference, and not in the form of reselling Coach handbags (although I quite like the occcasional Coach, call me selfish).

This is one of my favorites. What I love is that each product is accompanied by producer information, a short bio, and usually a picture so you can see exactly who made it and what region it originated from. Cool stuff :)


A carved coconut shell sculpture made in Indonesia. I want 3.

WorldofGood has some pretty awesome and unique gift ideas. Get ready friends, you are probably getting a woven basket from Bangladesh for your birthday.