Christmas shopping: where to buy gifts?

As Christmas approaches, should we only buy gifts made in France?

It was a joyful weekend. The shops opened their doors. We can do our shopping, prepare for Christmas - to make people happy while supporting traders and producers. This is good news and a breath of fresh air for the French and the economy. We can find small local shops while we prepare for Christmas.
As Christmas approaches, should we only buy gifts made in France?
To talk about it, I invited Yvonne, a colleague from Fondacio who works in the field of fair trade with Asia.

Francois: What do you think, Yvonne?

Yvonne: It is useful and necessary after this second lockdown to buy French products. It is a civic gesture. But it is also useful to take a step back. The problem is that even for items “made in France”, particularly in the textile sector, they may have been produced by exploited men, women or even children. It is difficult to know the impact of our purchases if we only buy them in fair trade stores. Vigilance and critical thinking are necessary to consume in an ecological and responsible way.

François: But what solidarity with the rest of the world? How can we refocus on ourselves, while remaining open to precarious situations that are sometimes even more glaring elsewhere?

Yvonne: I will give you an example that I know well and that I follow closely for Fondacio.
Julia Naw (a former student of our institute in Asia, IFF Asia) has chosen to get involved in helping young women escape from precariousness and an undesirable future. She created YounSone in Burma to produce contemporary items from local fabrics to promote ancestral know-how.

I follow these young women remotely and voluntarily help them sell the products in France. For them, knowing that the French buy and appreciate their products is a sign of pride. It strengthens their confidence and their own know-how. I add that our products are imported without unnecessary CO2 emissions during essential travel, by a small network of friends who support the initiative.

Purchasing an item like this to concretely help a few Burmese women allows us to make a gesture of solidarity.

François: Yes, and that doesn't stop us from shopping in small boutiques.
By purchasing a YouSone type product, you can be close to the foreigner and support it economically and ethically. It is not because we have marks of attention for our loved ones or our country that, however, we must forget the rest of the world.
Thank you Yvonne.

In fact, thinking of others, near or far, is the very essence of the Christmas spirit.

PS - YouSone - You can admire their know-how and consult the 2020 Christmas catalog.
https://www.helloasso.com/associations/fondacio/collectes/noel-en-douceur-et-couleur

To follow the news of these courageous women supported on site by young French volunteers.
https://www.facebook.com/myyounsone/