Simple Is Best: United By Blue

Love these unisex bracelets. Can it get any better than leather and rope?

All of these bracelets are under $30 and made by local artisans, and for each one purchased, a pound of trash is cleaned up from the oceans and waterways. Learn more about United By Blue here. They sell other jewelry as well as Ts. Let's keep that ocean nice and blue!

peaceBOMB Jewelry - Bomb Shards Gone Good

peaceBOMB's silver bomb shard necklace, $400. 1 Necklace : 30 meters of bomb littered land

Oh, you know, that's just a Secret War bomb shard made into a necklace. This is as real as fashion can get. peaceBOMB's line of jewelry is all hand-cast from bomb shards discovered in Laos, then cast in sterling silver in NYC. The idea stemmed from a group of ten families who learned to reshape scrap metal into spoons to supplement their farming incomes. These families now also collaborate on peaceBOMB jewelry with Article 22 and the nonprofit RISE Project.

Peace Ribbon Bangle, $298 - 12 meters of land

For each piece of jewelry purchased, the socially conscious business Article 22 also makes a set donation equivalent to clearing a set amount of land in Laos of undetonated bombs and bomb materials (which is why the meters of land are listed). Because during the Secret War, between 1964 and 1973, 30 percent of the bombs did not detonate, and remain cast about the country, along with littered shards.

Tribal Spear Necklace, $190 - 16 meters of land

Tag Wrap Bracelet, $46 (interchangeable, differently colored wraps are also available for $12) - 6 meters

See the rest of the rest of the jewelry options or learn more about the peaceBOMB mission. It has a pretty impactful, visual website -- another study in how mission and design meeting for good and good looks.

Mercado Global: Fair and Blingin'

OK, Mercado Global isn't just blingin', it also sells great pillows and accessories. Check out some MG goodies below ("exclusive products [that] combine exceptional Mayan craftsmanship with modern design," all crafted by Guatemala highlands artisan cooperatives):

 Unity Bracelet, $24

Tres Soles earrings, $78

Ikat Clutch, $30

Triple Striped Brocade Clutch, $75

Dip Dye Pillow, $50

Zigzag Brocade Pillow, $44

Mercado Global is a nonprofit focused on fair trade that works with 31 indigenous women's cooperatives. Learn more here.

A Peace Treaty Bling

For the Thar jewelry collection, A Peace Treaty makes use of traditional metal-smithing skills of desert artisan families in Rajasthan, enabling the revival of centuries-old recycled materials and sustainable techniques including the use of discarded camel bone.

(Above image is from this collection, the Kokna necklace, though it's sold out on the website. Probably a good thing, because it was $225...) Other goodies from this collection:

Baiga bangle, $130

Parja ring, $90

Then there's the Sunari collection, inspired by the Kuchi nomadic tribes of Afghanistan and the Turkoman tribes of Central Asia and is made by Turkish artisans:

Talogan necklace, $168

Chiras ring set, $72

A Peace Treaty started off making stunning scarves. I'd go into them, but the backgrounds and options are just too awesome and I'd blab on and on. So learn about them all for yourself here. Or check out one fave below:

Ondo Sand scarf, $160 (from the Adire line)

While its a bit expensive, these are some of the most high fashion collections I've seen in my time blogging with an awesome concept, definitely worth checking out. The first paragraph of the company description: "Born as a personal pact between Farah Malik, a Pakistani Muslim, and Dana Arbib, a Libyan Jew, A Peace Treaty creates employment for skilled artisans working in places of socio-political strife, effectively supporting their craft while elevating their products to the level of high design for an exclusive, international audience." Read the rest, but right???

Oh, and they donate to Counterpart International -- this season's funds are going to reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.

You can find A Peace Treaty goodness at Urban Outfitters, Need Supply Co., Polyvore (which actually links to sites where you can make purchases), Shop Acrimony, and Cloak & Dagger, to start.