It's time to submit entries for the second semiannual Global Goodness Awards for recognition at next month's Las Vegas Market.

The awards cite gift, furniture and home décor companies for eco-friendly, sustainable and socially responsible activities. The Global Goodness Awards will be presented to five exhibitors at the Jan. 26-30 Las Vegas Market at World Market Center.

"Las Vegas Market is continuing to see growth in companies showcasing artisanal, sustainable, environmentally friendly and Fair Trade products," said Dorothy Belshaw, president of Gift & Home Décor at the International Market Centers, producers of Las Vegas Market.

The Global Goodness Awards debuted at last summer's Las Vegas Market with three recipients: Bridgewater Candle, which partners with Rice Bowls to feed orphaned children; Kismet Designs, which works with artisans in rural India to produce handmade products using sustainable local resources and recycled vintage materials; and SEAsTra, which promotes increased economic stability and sustainability by working with rural artisan groups in Thailand on hand-woven gifts and accessories.

The Global Goodness awards are open to all Las Vegas Market exhibitors.

This winter's five honorees will be selected by an independent jury of trade press editors, retail executives and industry experts. Essays from the recipients will be posted on the Las Vegas Market website and each honoree will receive at-market recognition signage.

Las Vegas Market tenants and exhibitors wishing to participate in the Global Goodness initiative are invited to submit essays that describe their personal journey, outline the socially responsible products that they offer, and detail how these products and the sourcing process have had a positive impact on people and communities throughout the world.

Essays, which must include both photos and text, are due Jan. 15. Submissions should be sent to Cain Brodie at cbrodie@imcenters.com. All submissions should include:

• Essay of 100 words or less explaining the socially responsible products offered, countries visited and people or organizations supported.

• High-resolution photo to illustrate the essay. Photo should be a minimum of 5-by-7 inches at 300 dpi resolution; JPG/JPEG, TIFF/TIF or EPS files will be accepted.

Two of Las Vegas Market's 13 temporary exhibit categories showcase Fair Trade, sustainable and socially responsible products and producers. "Made" spotlights hand-crafted, artisanal products including handmade ceramics, pottery, home décor, letterpress, apparel and jewelry; and "Global" presents products from around the world with an emphasis on fairly traded products, social responsibility and global community development. The categories are on World Market Center floor C-11 in aisles 500-700.

This Global Goodness awards program supplements an ongoing partnership Las Vegas Market has with the Sustainable Furnishings Council to create One Good World, a guide to sustainable furniture and home décor products to help connect legitimate suppliers and retailers.

"Las Vegas Market has been committed to recognizing sustainable products and business practices since the launch of the One Good World program in partnership with the SFC back in 2008," said Tom Mitchell, president of home furnishings for International Market Centers. "The Global Goodness Awards Program is a nice addition to our efforts to acknowledge sustainable practices among manufacturers in our industry."