If you love accessories– and who doesn’t?– then why not indulge your jones for shiny things while helping the planet and other people? While it’s usually once in a blue moon when we buy diamonds, if you’re in the market for a sparkler, then there is an ethical option to those “blood diamonds” harvested by unethical means in war-torn countries. The Web site BrilliantEarth.com offers consumers diamond jewelry that is certified conflict-free. If you’d like to help charities more directly, then there are many organizations that offer beautiful fair-trade jewelry. You can find many organizations that actually put poverty-stricken people in other countries to work making jewelry and other goods, paying them a fair wage and ensuring their quality of life increases. Globalexchangestore.org is such an organization, and you can even search goods by the country in which they’re made – the United States is even included. And many charities offer jewelry and other accessories for which a portion is donated to charity.

Theanimalrescuesite.com is such a place – it offers pretty gifts, apparel and accessories, whose profits benefit animals and animal shelters. Samesky.com employs women living with HIV in Rwanda to create stunning handmade jewelry and the means to get the lifesaving medication, plus proper nutrition and care for their families, that they need. Tenthousandvillages.com also employs people and helps them get their crafts to market in their own countries, online and even in a few stores across the U.S. The company’s mission says it best: “To create opportunities for artisans in developing countries to earn income by bringing their products and stories to our markets through long-term fair trading relationships.” It’s a win-win, so why not support a fair-trade company when you buy gifts or a little something for yourself?