This is part 1 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 2: How to Shop Ethically and Sustainably; part 3: How to Give Volunteer Time and Donations as Gifts; part 4: How to Use Cause-Specific Giving Guides; and part 5: How to Find Additional Resources to Shop for Change.
We all have one among our friends and family – that person who seems to have everything and is totally impossible to buy gifts for. So how do you shop for the friend who has it all? Give a gift that benefits more than just the recipient. Dog-obsessed Aunt Trudy would love some free-range dog chews, and dad’s corny sense of humor will be tickled by Steven Coblert’s Wriststrong bracelets that support returning American troops. Even your moody little sister will melt when she tastes Dagoba organic chocolate. And we’ve got these gifts and more, here.
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 some creative ideas for gifts that create change:
- “All I Want for X-Mas Is. . .the Same Rights As You!” T-Shirt supports LGBT rights.
- You can gift a share of a local farm land through Community Supported Agriculture.
- The Dog Lovers Wine Club offers the perfect gift for the person who has everything. Choose an animal charity to benefit from your order of bottles with art print or custom labels, or you can order from one of their special collections, such as the “Vicktory Dogs” series that benefits Best Friends Animal Society.
- Defenders of Wildlife has over two dozen endangered species up for “adoption.” Gift packs range from $25-90 and include a stuffed animal, photo, and certificate.
- Free Range Dog Chews are made from naturally shed antlers and come with the “Happy Deer Guarantee: No deer were harmed, bullied, or even teased during the making of these treats.”
- International Fund for Animal Welfare offers gift packages ranging from $15-500. Choose from protecting seals from commercial hunts, saving orphaned bear cubs, and rescuing cats and dogs.
- Love and Pride Jewelry gives 10% of their proceeds to The Matthew Shepard Foundation and Lambda Legal Fund.
- Made By Survivors products are made by human trafficking survivors around the world and proceeds benefit nonprofits which work with survivors.
- National Coalition for Homeless Veterans has a program specifically for helping women veterans.
- Out in the Cold DVD, is a documentary to raise awareness about homeless LGBT youth.
- Planet Dog offers toys which are durable, recyclable, and non-toxic, and the company supports adoption efforts. Proceeds from the “Glow for Good Ball” benefit the Planet Dog Foundation’s mission to support canine service programs.
- Rancho Gordo bean company sells amazing heirloom beans the likes of which you’ve never tasted.
- Smithsonian bird-friendly coffee program tells you where you can get eco-friendly java.
- Stop Traffick Fashion sells jewelry and accessories made by human trafficking survivors and a portion of revenues benefit nonprofits which work with survivors.
- Wriststrong Bracelet from Colbert Nation offers affordable gifts whose proceeds go towards the Yellow Ribbon Fund supporting injured troops returning from war, and their families.
- Dagoba organic chocolate will rock your world.
- Duchy Originals, Prince Charles’s organic food company, offers organic gifts with British flavor.
- Evision Arts has some cool “foodie style” T-shirts.
- Foodzie’s producer map lets you browse local producers by area.
- The natural and organic section of the Gourmet Food Mall has gifts aplenty.
- Vegan Chic offers stylish, animal-friendly shoes and accessories. The products are vegan and the company donates to animal charities. Gift certificates available.
Have you already found an awesome spot to buy gifts that benefit a social cause? Share it here in the comments section. Also check out a full overview of Change.org’s 2009 Holiday Gift Guide here. Happy holidays!
a fantastic site filled with fair-trade handcrafts from small producers and artisans in the developing world – your money goes directly to support the person who made the item!
sorry, here’s the site – http://www.serv.org
Just to correct Alida, the web address for SERRV International is http:\\serrv.org
And yes, it’s a very worthwhile site to shop! Thanks, Alida for posting it!
Darn, my correction, now:
http://www.serrv.org
Or click on Alida’s name — that link is correct.
The hunger site sells lots of fair trade an eco-friendly stuff: http://shop.thehungersite.com/store/
green america also has a directory of green businesses: http://www.greenamericatoday.org/pubs/greenpages/index.cfm
and for Canadians there’s the ecocentric guide: http://www.ecocentricguide.ca/feature.php?ecosection=ecoWEAR
A TassaTag (www.tassatag.org) is a 4”x6” bright, heavy, hand-woven cotton luggage tag that helps you spot your luggage more easily while reclaiming children’s lives. It is practical, environmentally sensitive, fair trade, and with it you can make a difference.
The TassaTag project raises funds to: 1) Train people in the Travel Industry so they will be better equipped to take a more active role against sex tourism. 2) Inform the public that sex with children is against the law everywhere and if caught the person will be prosecuted and extradited to their home country, if necessary. 3) Mobilize Congress against child sex tourism. Tassatag is a project of ECPAT-USA.
Order by phone, e-mail or PayPal at http://www.tassatag.org.
Price: $12.00 including sales tax
Contact information:
Address: 3527 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Box 187,
Lafayette, CA 94549
Telephone: 925-451-0028
Website: Tassatag.org
E-mail: tassatag@gmail.com
Thank you for mentioning the purchase of Stephen Colbert’s red wristbands which help the Yellow Ribbon Fund! To read more about the work we do please go to our Web site: http://www.yellowribbonfund.org.
Thank you very much!
Marie Wood
Director of Communications
Yellow Ribbon Fund
This year I did all my Christmas shopping at http://www.thehungersite.com and their affiliated sites. They have lots of great gifts and you can support world hunger, child literacy, breast cancer research, rainforests, animal rescue or child health.
This year I did my holiday shopping with Opportunity International; one of the world’s largest and fastest growing microfinance organizations committed to eliminating global poverty. They offer OptINnow gift cards to help fund an aspiring entrepreneurs loan.
I chose Opportunity because of their belief that the greatest opportunity for interrupting cycles of extreme poverty come from microfinance programs that target female entrepreneurs.
You can check out opportunity.org for more information on microfinance and optinnow.org to purchase gift cards.
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For fair trade, eco-friendly gifts that are made by women from around the world, try http://www.globalsistergoods.com. You can also access information about women’s issues in the countries where they have partners, and dedicate a percentage of your purchase to a U.S. based nonprofit that supports women here (through “Gifts That Give Back” section).
Humantarian aid worker name Abdi Kahin Rage who works for MedCorp International has been kidnapped in a gun point in South Somalia
I love all these great ideas for meaningful gift-giving for the holidays! Since we’ve been invited to share others…another great resource is UniversalGiving. We offer gift packages so that you can give to a person in need on behalf of a loved one. There’s a wide variety of causes to choose from, or you can buy a gift certificate. Find something that speaks to you at http://www.universalgiving.org/gifts/
The Freedom Outpost benefits survivors of or people vulnerable to human trafficking. A great selection of things to wear, drink, read, and give! http://notforsale895.corecommerce.com/cart.html
Hi Amanda, I just read your article about Apple’s confessions to child labor. I was wondering if there is a petition to sign or cause to join, to boycott Apple into creating a “Fair Trade Line” of electronics. And if there isn’t one, let’s start one now!!