I have been a volunteer with several organizations. Nowadays I do most of my volunteering for the DC chapter of the Sierra Club The following are some other organisations whose work I admire and like to work with:

• Association for India's Development (AID) based in College Park, MD.  
•  Washington Buddhist Peace Fellowship
•  Washington Peace Center
• Zero Population Growth (now Population Connection)
• Single Volunteers of DC
• National Arboretum
• Capital Area Community Foodbank

By purchasing items directly from the artist/worker you are providing an opportunity for them to sustain themselves in a dignified, equitable manner.

The Fair Trade Federation has a list of both retail and on-line stores.

 Mercado Global was founded by two young American women after a trip to Guatemala. They recently topped a Newsweek list of people who have done great service to humanity.

 Tilonia.com is a web-site inspired by students at the barefoot college in Rajasthan that sells fair-trade goods from people in that area.

 The Charity USA web-site  has a list of fair-trade shops as well as web-sites that donate part of their proceeds to specific causes.

 Fair Trade Coffee. 

 The Ultimate Green Shopping Guide  has resources to help you shop for products that are produced in a sustainable way.

If you are not satisfied with these web-sites then just google "fair trade shopping"! :-)
Updated 8/23/10 ; Checked 5/7/2015