Keep the little ones in your life cozy and warm with a cuddle blanket from Mariposa Baby! This pink one ($45) is so soft that many of my friends wish it came in adult size. And there are lots more to choose from on the Mariposa Baby website.

We still have a few left, so if you’re looking for a gift for the little Oakland cutie in your life, consider our own Oakland Cutie t-shirts. Available in 12-18 mos, 2T and 4T for $20 on the Oakland Pride store. All proceeds support Oakland Unwrapped’s community development efforts.

Oakland Unwrapped! is very proud to sell the new EcoMetro Guide. It’s a special East Bay green coupon book, business directory, and source of inspiration. Topics and products include:

- Local, seasonal, organic food and restaurants
- Green home building and remodeling products
- Bikes, transit, hybrid cars and biofuels
- Eco fashion and Fair Trade gifts
- Recycling and buying recycled products

You’ll save hundreds of dollars while exploring local businesses with a community or environmental benefit. Find coupons for B Restaurant and Bar, the Food Mill, Chabot Space and Science Center, the Oakland Museum, Amtrak, California Canoe and Kayak, Montano Velo, the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Oakland, and many more!

Nomad Café (65th & Shattuck) is an Alameda County certified Green Business that serves Fair Trade coffees and teas as well as organic wines and beer. They are “zero waste over the counter,” divert 95% of their waste from landfills, and owner Christopher Waters is a local leader in sustainability policy. Nomad Café received the Greenie Award at the 2007 Oakland Indie Awards.

In addition to delicious drinks and food, Nomad is a happy community hub. They have trivia night on Mondays, tons of live performances, and are always hosting creative and thoughtful events. You definitely need to check this place out the next time you are in North Oakland. For more info, check out the (soon to be changing) Nomad website and their reviews on Yelp!

This adorable blanket is just one of many new items for sale on the Mariposa Baby website, part of the Oakland Unwrapped! Markeplace.

After having two sweet babies of her own to dress as well as shopping for countless baby showers of stylish friends and family members, Oakland’s Elizabeth Falkner decided that the market needed better options for truly special baby gifts. She knew there must be shoppers like her that did not want to give baby clothes that had boring, clichéd motifs like trains and ducks, or quirky graphics that were clever or cool, but unsuitable for a special gift. Fortunately for all us, she started Mariposa Baby.

Elizabeth designs all of the blankets, bibs, and outfits herself and has it all produced right here in the Bay Area. Gifts come in a free gift box that is made from 100% recycled materials and features a screen-printed butterfly on the top. Available on www.mariposababy.com

Gift Boxes of Sumptuous
Body Lotions and Potions
by The Joys of Life
$45 and up
Look younger, feel healthier, and soothe your soul with natural shea butter products hand made by Joy Shaffer at The Joys of Life. Everything about Joy and her business exudes beauty, health, and integrity. Joy’s natural ingredients are lovingly chosen, stringently tested, and help provide a good living to the women of Ghana and Uganda who process them by hand. Visit Joy at Jack London Square on Sundays and online at thejoysoflife.com.

Saturday, May 13
Fair Trade Day
Music, food samples, cooking lessons, film and more!
Alter Eco/ Justin Herman Plaza - San Francisco
8am - 4pm

Thursday, May 18, 2006
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights “Solutions Salon”
6pm - 9pm
James Irvine Conference Center
Solution Salons will bring together grassroots human rights activists, socially responsible business leaders, government officials, formerly incarcerated people and dyed-in-the-wool environmentalists to find solutions for our community. Includes speakers such as Paul Hawkins.

From a late night glass of wine to your morning mocha, the new Prism Cafe offers a cozy new spot in the Lake Merritt / Park Blvd. neighborhood (a few doors down from the Parkway Theatre).

Prism Cafe is what you get when you mix a former jazz club owner (Thomas Campbell) with a former cafe owner (Amy Corbin).

These two creative entrepreneurs moved into the neighborhood and soon noticed that its diverse and creative residents needed a community-oriented cafe. They’ve been open for almost two months and already have a bunch of regulars.

Food - Cornmeal crust and wheat-free pizzas, organic soups and salads, panini sandwiches, and an array of tasty pastries and desserts. One of their sandwiches - the “Amandanator,” was named in honor of their founding chef.

Drink - Drinks include microbrew beers, wine, sake, coffees and fair trade hot chocolates, mochas, coffees, and teas.

Fun Stuff - Wireless Internet, and soon, live performances several nights a week–including jazz, bluegrass, acoustic tunes, spoken word and screenings of film shorts!

Community & Green - Amy feels that the cafe offers a place to share their values and to educate people through the choices they make. The art you see on the walls of Prism Cafe is from local artists, often from right in the neighborhood. The cafe focuses on local, organic and fair trade food and drink, such as Numi Teas, Rubicon bakery breads, and McLaughlin coffee. They’ve implemented all the necessary steps to be a certified Alameda County Green Business, and should be official soon. Happily, they found that local residents truly support these sustainable practices and products. View more pics of Prism Cafe here!

1918 Park Blvd.
Oakland, CA 94606
(510) 251-1453
www.prismcafe.com

Hours:
Monday-Thursday 6:30 am - 10 pm
Friday 6:30 am - midnight
Saturday 8 am - midnight
Sunday 8 am - 10 pm

You name the chocolate, they’ve got it–white, dark, milk, organic, vegan, fair trade, mango, banana, orange, ginger, cinnamon. And, they have a coffee bar with pastries and truffles, to boot. For information about gift certificates and other tidbits, check out the Bittersweet website.

Hours:
Tues - Thurs: 8am to 7pm
Fri: 8am to 9pm
Sat: 9am to 9pm
Sun: 9am to 6pm
CLOSED MONDAYS

5427 College Avenue, Oakland
(510) 654-7159
info@bittersweetcafe.com

TransFair USA is this issue’s socially conscious organization. Located here in Oakland, TransFair certifies products as Fair Trade, guaranteeing that the farmers and farm workers were paid a fair, above-market price. Certified products include chocolate, coffee, tea, bananas, and more. Find Fair Trade products in Oakland at the TransFair USA website.