This is part 5 of Change.org’s 2009 Holiday Gift Guide, focused on empowering people everywhere to shop for social change this holiday season. You can also see part 1: How to Find Gifts that Create Change; part 2: How to Shop Ethically and Sustainably; part 3: How to Give Volunteer Time and Donations as Gifts; and part 4: How to Use Cause-Specific Giving Guides.
In case you haven’t gotten enough ideas from Parts 1-4 of this holiday gift guide, here are a few more resources to help you shop for change this holiday season. Some of these include other holiday buying guides, which can help you find lists of businesses who respect their LGBT employees, sell union-made products, or rescue animals. There are a ton of great resources to help you be a conscious consumer this holiday season.
As with everything you buy, we strongly suggest you be a conscious consumer and do your own research on the companies and organizations in this guide that you choose to support financially. Here are a few to get you started.
- American Airlines is a sponsor of P-FLAG, so travelers can use AA’s Business ExtrAA program with the account #527590 and P-FLAG staff will earn travel points for national events and lobbying.
- “Buying for Equality 2010”Human Rights Campaign Buyer’s Guide rates hundreds of popular American brands on their businesses’ treatment of LGBT employees.
- Cruelty-free shopping is available at www.caringconsumer.com or www.leapingbunny.org.
- HealthyStuff.org let’s you look up items, create shopping lists, text message from stores for results…and any product purchases made from the site benefit the project.
- Choose gifts that give back by visiting IGiveTwice.com and Tweeting about your favorite products- make sure to tag your tweet #igivetwice.
- You can find a state-by-state directory of farmed animal sanctuaries to find a sanctuary near you.
- Sweatfree Communities has a great shopping guide with a number of places to buy sweatshop-free apparel for men, women, and children.
- Unite Here has a browseable database of union-made apparel vendors and other union vendors, like hotels.
- And, of course, check out Change.org’s nonprofit partners to learn more about the great work happening across many important causes!
Do you have additional resources to help holiday shoppers be conscious consumers? Share them here in the comments section. Also check out a full overview of Change.org’s 2009 Holiday Gift Guide here. Happy holidays!