Global Groove Life (GGL) shares our personal fair trade favorites - the top 10 stocking stuffers to satisfy everyone’s unique needs on your list this year.

Conscious consumerism allows us to flex our spending power and shift humanity towards a more just and flourishing global society. Transform Black Friday and create a sustainable world with your gifts!

Yoga Mat Bag – Which way do you roll?

I’m no yogi. In fact I don’t necessarily even practice yoga or even know much about it. However, when it comes to groovy accessories, especially bags – I’m pretty hot on the fashion scene!

While adventuring in Bali, I was scoping out the local market when a distinctly unique pattern caught my eye. Though it was a super-cute bag, it was super-oddly shaped.

I had no idea what it was for, so feeling slightly on the stupid side, I inquired within. I felt even more stupid when the reply I received was simply:

“Yoga mat bag, want to buy?”

Rather than hanging my head down and sulking away in embarrassment, I simply stood there, trying to figure out what in the world I could use a yoga mat bag for. Because I certainly don’t own a mat to put inside of it.

I was seriously determined to find an excuse to buy it.

I considered how it would make a great fashion piece, coming up with a number of better and worse ideas. A beach bag, a travel bag, a tent bag, a laundry bag….wouldn’t a case of beer fit perfectly? Honestly, the possibilities were endless. And then it hit me.

I want to buy a yoga mat bag even though I don’t practice yoga.

To be honest, I even considered giving yoga one more go, for the 100th time.

Fashion Forward Fair Trade Yoga--It’s the way we roll

Basically, what I am trying to demonstrate, is that while the bags are extremely useful for yoga.. or tents - some of the designs out there are absolutely incredibly unique.   And here’s the way to get bonus points…..When you’re out & about searching for the perfect yoga mat bag to suit your unique personality, remember that you can vote with your dollars and make a difference.  Yes, it’s true.  Fair Trade yoga mat bags are plentiful.  And I’ll be the first to admit that I got carried away on a google search for the hippest bag (just in case), so naturally, I’m now an expert in just how hot fair trade is in the yoga mat bag scene. It’s easy to do your part and take advantage of connecting these factors:

Fashion, Fair Trade & Yoga

You can be a cool cat with fashion

You can be a cool cat with yoga

AND  you can be a cool cat with Fair Trade.

Did Some Cool Cat Say Accessorize?

I sure did.  Okay, I didn’t but I was thinking it, quite naturally!  Who wouldn’t want to accessorize their new yoga mat bag with a rainbow of pom poms and beads?  Zipper pulls (& keychains) are just one more way to personalize your already truly groovy and unique yoga mat bag.  So many colors and sizes to choose from here, and yes! they’re fair trade, too! 

While I may never be a yogi, I’m fair-trade fit, and an all-star fashion guru!  Shop cool and conscious, my friends!

- Read: 7 Reasons to Buy Fair Trade -

 

So you bought a yoga ball. Now what? The name seems to imply that there’s only one use for this magical rubber globe, but don’t worry - Global Groove Life is here to help you broaden your ball’s horizons!

 

The Obvious

1. Yoga:

Let’s get this one out of the way. A yoga ball is an essential tool for taking your yoga game to the next level. Check out some beginner, intermediate, and advanced moves you can do in the comfort (and style) of your own home!

2. Exercise:

The distinction between yoga and a “work-out” is not as subtle as it seems. Learn how to incorporate your exercise ball into a great core workout--Get your pilates on!

3. Stretch:

Professional athletes have a professional staff to keep them loose and limber. You have your yoga ball! Avoid muscle cramps by trying some helpful stretches with your yaga ball!

 

 Take a Seat

4. Desk Chair:

We’ve all heard about the benefits of incorporating a yoga ball into your seating options at work. Give it a try!

5. Table Chair:

Instead of eating so much you have to be rolled away from the dinner table, stay mindful and healthy by rolling up to the dinner table on your exercise ball!

6. Footrest:

Want to keep your feet up while working your core? Swap your ottoman out for your yoga ball and get your balance game going during a Netflix binge.

 
               

 The Home Stretch

7. Baby Bouncer:

Lots of trendy moms are turning to this fun alternative as a way of getting babies to sleep or even just to evoke that adorable giggle!

 

8. Physical Therapy:

Consult your doctor and/or physical therapist on this one, but yoga and/or bosu balls can be fantastic tools for getting back to your former glory.

9. Family Time:

Roll the dice and stretch your family game repertoire while stretching your muscles! Cozy & comfy or bouncy & crazy.......whichever way your family rolls, we've got the fun times covered! 

10. Style Piece:

If you think ideas 1-9 are great, and for the sake of that big rubber ball eyesore in your living room or office, elevate your style with one of our beautiful yoga ball covers!

 

 We know our yoga ball covers will liven up your room decor and make you smile when you see your favorite pattern! SHOP BALL COVERS HERE!

To boil yoga down to a simple catch-phrase is extremely difficult. There are so many different types of practices and flows, and it tends to mean something different to every yogi. But most of us would agree that a central tenet of any yoga practice is that mind, body and spirit are one, and that improving one aspect means improving all three.

It’s at this point that yoga and Fair Trade truly intersect.

Yoga practitioners crave yoga products that have been produced in fair, ethical and safe environments, because they already understand honouring the spirit in others that is a reflection of the spirit in you - a true expression of 'namaste'.

Yoga and Fair Trade beat with the same heart.

Travel is always such a whirlwind, isn’t it? There’s this manic scramble before you leave, packing, repacking and starting all over again, making sure you’ve got your cables and snacks and clothes and maps and lists and…. it just goes on and on.

 

But that’s the magic of it all, the unpredictable, unforeseeable beauty of gathering yourselves up  and just going. We’ve been doing it a while now, and that is the only constant.

On our most recent trip, hauling ourselves all the way to the UK, and then bustling down into Nepal, we had some time to reflect on the process our materials and products have gone through as we grew.

Here we’d like to share some musings on that growth from a little while ago, when we rebranded from Fair Trade by HOPE to Global Groove Life:

Back in '98, after our first pop-up store, we literally travelled the length of India for interesting products to bring back to our customers in California for the  following holiday season. Once we reached southern India, Mysore to be exact, we found ourselves not only high on the scent of sandalwood but intoxicated by the array of fine silks available.

 

Without a clue what we would do with it, we purchased yards of raw silk in just about every color imaginable.

This silk travelled on our backs via a third-class sleeper car from the southern tip of India back up and through the holy city of Varanasi. It travelled overland through a massive storm and leaky bus for three days from Varanasi to Kathmandu - over 1500 miles in total. And that's where we learned, after such a crazy journey, that Kathmandu was famous for embroidery!

 

Remember there was no Wifi in those days, Internet in that part of the world existed only in major cities and you could expect to wait up to three hours for your turn on the one computer. So we had no idea what we could expect to find anywhere in our travels.

So there we were with a pack full of silk surrounded on every street corner by the buzz of embroidering, and at Christmas 1998 we offered the most amazing silk cushion covers with intricate and  colorful celtic knots that you have ever seen!

And now, in full knowledge of what Kathmandu has to offer, we carried fabric from afar once again. It didn't experience the authentic traveler's rite-of-passage journey as did our first go, but it did travel, albeit by jet... 

From Chiang Mai to Bangkok to Delhi to London to Delhi to Kathmandu to Delhi to Bangkok and back to Chiang Mai.

Here in Chiang Mai the beautiful embroidered material is stitched into yoga mat bags, and then released out into the world to keep flowing to where it’s wanted. In keeping with Global Groove tradition, you can not get this in Kathmandu because the fabric doesn't exist there, nor can you get it in Chiang Mai, because this type of hand embroidery doesn't exist here.

It’s still amazing to us, after all these years, that travel and a small spark of inspiration led us to where we are today.

We started out with just a handful of artisans in the beginning, and now there are whole teams working to build this Global Groove Life together and to boost Fair Trade all around the world.

Our yoga mat bags are some of our most popular products, and we want to introduce you to the inspiring woman who creates them for us! Plus we've got a little competition for you...