From alpaca handbags to recycled jewellery, the Big Green Market is guaranteed to have a great selection of ethical gifts.

THE Big Green Market will give people the chance to sample and buy ethically traded, organic and locally- produced goods when it visits central York for the third time this week.

As well as being a great opportunity to buy ethical Christmas gifts, the event will also feature live music, composting advice, demos on how to create shopping bags from old curtains, and a handbag collection point for Oxfam in the marquee.

The event is organised by Thirskbased Jane Redfern and Paul Kennedy, who have collaborated on this project to bring green products into town centres.

“There will be a wide range of contemporary, eco-friendly and quirky products from all over the world ranging from designer luxury to pocket money purchases,” says Jane.

Wyrd Loom designs and produce hand-made stoles, shawls, scarves and hand-knitted socks with weaving co-operatives in the Himalayas specialising in luxury and unusual yarns, such as angora, cashmere, camel wool and yak wool.

“We hope to encourage people to move away from throw-away fashion,”

says Wyrd Loom’s Jayne Tinsley.

“It’s a false economy to buy cheap, mass-produced products that are poorly manufactured and don’t last very long before being thrown in the back of the wardrobe, not to mention the human labour cost and environmental impact.”

■ The Big Green Market, Parliament Street/St Sampson Square, York, Thursday to Sunday, 9am to 5pm daily.

More information on biggreenmarket.co.uk