But spend we will, so why not ditch the guilt and make a purchase that combines the good feelings of gift-giving and charitable giving? It's easy to do, and there are a bunch of places to shop for good. Here are some of my favorites.
Name Brand Gifts for Good
Online Shopping Malls for Good
GoodShop lets you shop more than one thousand stores online and designate a portion of your purchase to your choice of its 80,000 affiliated charities and schools.
Similar sites include NonprofitShoppingMall.com; GiftBack.com; and iGive.com.
Products That Do Good
TOMS Shoes sells one type of unique, super-simple shoe (in a jillion variations), and for every pair sold, its nonprofit partner, Friends of TOMS, gives a pair to a child in need somewhere in the world. Buy a pair of shoes for someone you love and enclose the TOMS Shoes story in the package.
BuildaNest provides women around the world with microloans so they can create beautiful crafts and art that is then sold through the BuildaNest website. Established designers mentor the women so that they can create successful small businesses, thus preserving artistic traditions and helping to move women out of poverty.
In a similar way Aid to Artisans provides business training, support, and an online marketplace to crafts workers.
Toys for Good
Sustainable and Fair Trade Gifts
WorldofGood.com by eBay, features artisans who sell sustainable, fair trade, ethically sourced, and eco-friendly products. Every product is verified to have a positive impact. Search products according to your most treasured values.
OriginalGood.com specializes in fair trade products from clothing to housewares to jewelry. GlobalExchange's fair trade online store promotes environmental, political and social justice, while selling amazing products, from a Rwandan laptop sleeve to pillows from Guatemala.
Cause Specific Gifts
At GreaterGood.org you can buy gifts that support specific causes. Shopping sites are organized around Hunger, Breast Cancer, Child Health, Literacy, Rainforest, and Animal Rescue, with each site partnered with a handful of charities working on that issue.
Every time you purchase an item from one of these sites, up to 30% of the purchase price helps the cause. In addition, you can donate directly with 100% of the donation going to the cause; or you can simply visit each site and click the "Click Here to Give" button, which triggers a small donation at no cost to you.
Artists for Good
Annie Dillard
