15 Amazing Gifts that Give Back
The holidays are all about spending time with family, being thankful for those you love, and giving back. Charitable giving is an important aspect of the holiday season, but with so many people to buy gifts for, it can be tricky to budget your holiday spending. We’ve rounded up our favorite gifts that give back, so you can support worthy causes by purchasing gifts for friends and family.
While you might like to be able to give a sizeable donation to your favorite charity, the holidays are also the most expensive time of the year for most families. We’re all about efficiency at the holidays, so we’ve picked our favorite gifts that also give back—knock out your holiday shopping while also providing meals to children, promoting literacy, and saving the planet. Read on to find our favorite gift ideas and learn how your purchase will make an impact—and don’t forget to let your recipient know how their gift made a difference.
Cuddle + Kind: Knit Dolls
We’re totally obsessed with how cute these knit dolls are, and we’re even more excited about how Cuddle + Kind gives back. Each doll is handmade in Peru, using sustainable fair trade practices—which means each artist is compensated fairly for their work. In addition to supporting local artists, Cuddle + Kind works with the World Food Program's School Meals Program and Children’s Hunger Fund to provide meals to school children in 65 countries. Each doll purchased provides 10 meals to children around the world, giving them energy to learn and an incentive to attend school.
Buy it: Sebastian the Lamb, $52-72
Osmia: Evermint Soap
Osmia’s beauty products focus on making your skin and body as healthy as possible, and each purchase helps make the planet healthier too. Every order placed on Osmia’s website plants one tree through One Tree Planted, a Vermont-based non-profit organization that focuses on reforestation projects in North America, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Another bonus: their products are gorgeous. We're adding this Evermint soap to the top of our wishlist!
Buy it: Evermint Soap, $18
Related: 8 Beauty Products that Give to Good Causes
FEED: Canvas Bag
FEED’s products are totally adorable (we seriously need this canvas bag), and each purchase helps provides school meals to children in 63 countries. FEED’s mission is to improve children’s health, aid in their education and alleviate poverty by providing meals and employing artisans around the world. Many items available from FEED are made by artisans in Mexico, El Salvador, Peru, Columbia, Guatemala, Haiti, India and Kenya, and when those items are sold, part of the sale goes toward providing meals to those communities.
Buy it: Cultivate Kindness Tote, $38
Love Your Melon: Knit Hats
We’re betting at least one person on your gift list this year can use a cozy cap, and we’re totally on board with Love Your Melon’s cause. Plus, how cute are these beanies? Fifty percent of the profit from each sale goes toward supporting families of children battling cancer. When you purchase a hat, you provide opportunities through 26 non-profit partner companies, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Make a Wish America.
Buy it: Black Speckled Pom Beanie, $45
Soapbox: Bath Bomb Kit
Spa-inspired gifts are always in style, and we’re seeing bath bombs everywhere this season. This bath bomb set from Soapbox is gorgeous, and each purchase helps support groundbreaking research in water sanitation and hygiene education to reduce health risks in at-risk countries. With each purchase, Soapbox also provides a bar of soap to communities in need.
Buy it: Soapbox Bath Bomb Kit, $24.99
Related: Personalized Christmas Gift Ideas
Keep Nature Wild: Sunset Canyon Blanket
Anything from Keep Nature Wild makes the perfect gift for travel-lovers on your list. They sell beautiful travel-theme products like clothing, adventure journals and this seriously cute and cozy blanket. As their name suggests, the company is committed to keeping nature wild by using a portion of each purchase to restore, maintain and preserve local wild places in the Southwest. The company is also dedicated to promoting volunteerism and responsible outdoor recreation. Give a Keep Nature Wild gift this Christmas and coordinate a land clean-up outing with the recipient.
Buy it: Sunset Canyon Blanket, $48
S'well: Elements Collection Water Bottles
S’well is the fastest growing woman-owned company in the country, so chances are you’ve probably seen their trendy water bottles in use at the gym, in the office or out running errands. S’well’s triple-walled and vacuum-insulated bottles keep cold beverages cold for up to 24 hours, and hot beverages warm for up to 12. Plus, they’re condensation-free for comfortable use all day every day. Basically, they’re perfect for anyone on your list, and they support a great cause. S’well partners with UNICEF USA to bring clean water to Madagascar (where almost 50% of the population lacks access to clean drinking water). Purchases from S’well also support (RED) and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, while eliminating the need for plastic water bottles that end up in the landfill.
Buy it: Geode Rose Water Bottle, $35
Buy it: White Marble Cocktail Kit, $95
Dreaming Tree Wines: Cork Speaker
The wine cork speaker from Dreaming Tree Wines is the perfect hostess gift this season. The Bluetooth speaker fits over the top of an open bottle of wine and uses the space in the bottle to project sound, meaning you can open a bottle and jam out at the same time. Plus, this is a total feel-good purchase: All cork speaker proceeds are going directly to Living Lands & Waters and The Wilderness Society to support their efforts to help the planet.
Buy it: Cork Speaker + Gift Item, $35
Related: The Best Rosé Wine Gifts Under $20
Bridgewater Candle Company: Sweet Grace Collection
Bridgewater Candle Company creates soy-based candles with clean ingredients to keep you and your loved ones healthy. For every jar candle, holiday candle, or Sweet Grace Collection candle sold, they’ll donate 3 meals to children in need through RiceBowls.org.
Buy it: Sweet Grace Candle, $32
Lush: Charity Pot
This body lotion from Lush smells amazing, and is great for your skin—and the world! The ingredients in the Charity Pot lotion are sourced from Lush’s Sustainable Lush Fund projects that support regenerative agriculture around the world. In addition to feeling good about the ingredients you’re putting on your body, you can also feel good about the purchase—one hundred percent of the price of the Charity Pot is donated to small grassroots organizations that support environmental conservation, animal welfare and human rights. The small pot is only $7.95, which makes it a great stocking stuffer!
Buy it: Charity Pot Lotion, $7.95-27.95
Out of Print: Harry Potter Clothing
Anything from Out of Print makes the perfect gift for the book-lover in your life. Their collection of clothing, mugs, trinkets and more celebrate your favorite books and stories while funding literacy programs and donating books to communities in need. Plus, your purchase also supports authors, publishers and artists.
Buy it: Books Turn Muggles into Wizards T-Shirt, $28
Kiehl's: Collection for a Cause
A gift set is a great go-to when you’re not sure what to get someone—and this is one you can feel extra good about. For a limited time, Kiehl’s is offering a Collection for a Cause skincare set and donating a portion of the proceeds to Feeding America. Purchasing the $50 box provides 408 meals for Feeding America, which focuses on providing meals to hungry children and adults across the United States. They work with farmers, manufacturers and retailers to bring healthy, nourishing food to people in need. Since the program focuses on communities in America, it’s also easy to get involved around the holidays. In addition to purchasing the gift set, you can help Feeding America by organizing a volunteer day with friends and family to make an even bigger impact.
Buy it: Kiehl's Collection for a Cause Gift Set, $50
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Leon and George: Magenta Triostar
Gifts from Leon & George are perfect for anyone in your life who has reached plant lady status. Their gorgeous potted plants come in mid-century style ceramic and wood stands that are handcrafted using reclaimed wood and natural oils. And, your tree-loving friend will appreciate the gift even more when you let them know your purchase planted a tree as well. For every plant sold, Leon & George plants a tree in a United States National Forest in an effort to preserve those landscapes and offset emissions from fossil fuel usage in America.
Buy it: Magenta Triostar with Ceramic and Wood Stand, $139
Wine fans and environmentalists alike will appreciate this gift from Georges Duboeuf Wines. This holiday, you can drink wine while saving the environment—which is something we can totally get behind! Each purchase of their wildflower-theme wines helps rebuild the ecosystem of pollinators in the vineyards where the wine comes from in an effort to bring formerly extinct flowers back to the area. Each bottle features an image of the wildflower you’re supporting with your purchase—and in some states, the bottle comes with a packet of wildflower seeds you can plant at home.
Buy it: Cabernet Sauvignon, $11.99
Tatcha: Gift Set
Tatcha products pair Japanese skincare secrets with all-natural ingredients for products you’ll feel great about—and that will make you feel good too. This set includes a cleansing oil, rice polish, anti-aging solution a moisturizer, all made with pure natural ingredients that are free of synthetic fragrances, sulfate detergents and parabens. Plus, all Tatcha purchases support the Beautiful Faces, Beautiful Futures program through Room to Read, which sponsors days of school for girls in Asia and Africa.
Buy it: The Starter Ritual Set, $59
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