Shopping with a Purpose

My sister and brother (and their significant others) and our family have decided to shop purposefully this Christmas season. We drew names and each gift has to either come from a shop that "gives back" or the gift has to be "green" in some way (used, handmade, organic, etc.). So, I've been searching for shops that have these kinds of gifts to share with the family. I thought I'd share them here too since I know people are looking for ways to do this themselves. (I would include photos, but blogger is being stubborn tonight.)

Product (Red) - a portion of the proceeds from each Product (Red) purchase goes to help fight AIDS in Africa. My favorite thing on here (besides Starbuck's (Red) drinks) are the converse that you design yourself. I've designed myself a pair already (or maybe two or three pairs. Maybe.)

Ethiopian Orphan Relief - From their website: "100% of the profits from sales of our products benefit Ethiopian Orphan Relief, Inc.'s programs to help orphaned children remaining in Ethiopia." I really like their jewelry - most, or maybe all, is handmade in Ethiopia.

Ahope Store - AHOPE for Children is a non-profit organization whose mission is to serve the children of Ethiopia, with a primary emphasis on caring for orphans infected with HIV. This site also has great jewelry and the Ahope tshirts are very cute!

Omnipeace - Very cool Africa tshirts. Omnipeace donates 25% of their profits to the Millennium Promise to end extreme poverty by 2025.

Light Gives Heat - Their mission (from their website) is, "Empowering Africans through the encouragement of economic sustainability and creative endeavors. Motivating people in the West to “be the change they want to see in the world.” This is the site that sells Amy Bottomly's favorite tee.

Ten Thousand Villages - From their website: "Since 1946 Ten Thousand Villages has supported the work of literally tens of thousands of artisans in over 37 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, making us one the largest fair trade organizations in North America." They have a lot of different products to choose from - from all over the world!

Gifts of Life - Another fair trade site that works in Africa - "Our dream to help one woman, man, child,...family, at a time make a better life though the FAIR TRADE sales of their handmade African baskets and other handmade crafts," (from their site).

World of Good - This one is very cool because it has A LOt of different things to choose from - even clothes (to fit into the "green" category). Ebay runs it and it will tell you what "good" your purchase is doing, such as Eco-Positive, People-Positive, Animal Friendly, or Supports a Cause.

Gobena Coffee - Who doesn't love coffee? (Okay, maybe some people, but I don't know them :) Gobena is run by this beautiful family and 100% of the profits are being reinvested in the lives of orphan children through charity programs. It is also Fair-Trade & Organic. (Green & gives back!)

And finally, who could forget Tom's Shoes? Cute Tom's. Do you have a pair? They are comfy and cute and they give back! And, the best part - right now they are focusing on Ethiopia. Close to our hearts!



As always, I'm open to more ideas! Happy Shopping!