Looking for the perfect gifts for your friends and family, but also want to contribute to the larger community during this season of giving? Here are some of the many organizations that have amazing products and that also give back!
Keep in mind that Boston College’s Fair Trade Holiday Sale is on Wednesday, December 11, 2013 on the 2nd floor of Corcoran Commons. Click here for more info on the sale and the organizations attending.
Shoes (and Eyewear)
With their well known one-for-one policy, you can buy a stylish pair of shoes for anyone on your list and Toms will donate a specialized pair of shoes to a person in need throughout the world. This also applies to their glasses and sunglasses, so buying one pair will give either prescription glasses or medical treatment to someone in need of “sight” around the world.
Like Toms, for every pair of Roma Boots you buy (they look a lot like Hunters), a new pair is donated to a child in need to help eradicate the cycle of poverty. Also, along with that, 10% of all sales go to the Roma For All Foundation that provides not only aid, but also education.
Stuffed Animals and Animal Goods
This is a really great site where you can buy (“adopt”) a stuffed animal dog, and the recipient of the pup gets to donate “rescue points” directly to his or her local shelter! Each dog has their own bio and is handcrafted with soft materials—and you can even send in a picture of your own dog and have them make a replica for you! The dogs can be a bit pricey, but keep in mind you’re also donating to a shelter to help real dogs!
World Wildlife Fund has an entire gift center where all of the proceeds go towards helping to preserve endangered animals and their habitats. My personal favorite is the species adoptions, where you can pick a given species and give a $25, $50, or $100 gift basket with an array of items, and the proceeds help preserve that animal! There are also other gifts such as apparel, accessories, collectables, and much more!
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Apparel and Accessories
This company has everything from jewelry and accessories to leather goods and home goods—all beautiful and handcrafted. This business gives a “double dose of good”, with every purchase benefitting the artisan communities that created the product. Also, all profits are given to sustain community development work of “Know Think Act.”
All of the Global Goods Partners crafts are fair trade, which allows for better economic empowerment, education, health, and gender equality! Plus, all the profits go to supporting community-based partner organizations for community development work. The items are all unique and beautiful, and the gifts include fashion, home and family, and so much more!
Same Sky helps empower women with HIV/AIDS as well as other women below the poverty line through their “hand-up” model, allowing women the opportunity to grow their own crafts and work for themselves. 100% of the profits are reinvested to train and employ more artisans. The jewelry they sell can be expensive, but they are absolutely stunning, fashionable, and well worth the money (check out the “on-sale” items too).
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Baby Goods
Baby Teresa is the perfect site for the babies or recent mothers in your family. For each organic baby outfit sold, another is donated to a child in need, and, for every accessory item sold, a portion of the sales go to purchasing formula for babies in need. Baby Teresa has made donations in over 20 countries and their baby clothes are fair trade (and soft!).
Other Great Ways to Give!
Kiva is one of my favorite websites! You can give a gift card of anywhere from $15 to $2,000 (if you’re really feeling nice…), and it just keeps on giving. The recipient of the gift card can then lend their money to entrepreneurs in developing countries to help them get their feet on the ground; then these entrepreneurs pay Kiva back in installments—so the money comes back to your Kiva account for you to donate again and again! It’s amazing to read about the stories of so many people and the loans help them to really flourish more than you can imagine.
eBay has a section called “Giving Works” that acts just like eBay—where you can sell and buy items—but some of the profits instead go towards nonprofits and charities! Browse around on Giving Works for something your friends or family members might enjoy and then look to see what percentage of the final sale price will go to a given charity!
Also check out www.shopwithmeaning.org to find even more ideas for companies and products that give back!
Picture Sources:
http://www.logoeps.net/toms-shoes-logo-eps-file.html
http://twofeistydivas.blogspot.com
http://www.shelterpups.com/about.php
http://www.kaleidoscope-media.com/clients/red-earth-trading-co
http://fairtradethewhitehouse.blogspot.com/2009/07/global-goods-partners.html
http://www.wheresmyglow.com/2010_04_01_archive.html#.Uok4Fhap2-8
http://www.matthewhooper.com/kiva-microfinance-lending-trumps-giving/