In the last issue of Grace Upon Grace, I shared some thoughts about Buying Power as a Form of Social Justice and our ability to strategically spend our money in a way that supports companies and ideas that reflect our values. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of our Savior and a time for sharing that joy with our families and loved ones. In that spirit, we share gifts. I think we can merge our tradition of gift giving with the hope and message that Christ’s birth symbolizes in a meaningful way.
Below are some ideas for gifts that will have a double impact — they will not only bring joy to the person you are giving the item to but will have a large impact on someone else’s life.
Donate
- Give a donation in someone’s name this year. In this article, Nicholas Kristoff shares his annual top three charities that he suggests you give to this year in lieu of gifts.
Buy One, Donate One Companies
- Toms Shoes — Toms was one of the first companies to become famous for giving away one product for every one product sold. They have since expanded their philanthropy to dedicating at least on third of their net annual profits to giving funds and initiatives around the world.
- Bombas socks — Bombas gives away a pair of socks to homeless shelters for every pair sold. Bombas socks works with Eva’s Village in Paterson and has been a steady source of clothing for their clients.
- State Bags — This company donates fully packed backpacks, funds special projects with partner charities and schools, and sheds light around social injustices impacting those they serve.
- Bixbee — Bixbee is a children’s bag and backpack company that donates school supplies to children in need around the world.
- Cuddle and Kind — This is a fair-trade company that sells handmade children’s dolls made by women artisans in Peru. For every doll sold, the company also donates to meals to children in need.
Environmentally Friendly Companies
- Earthling — This company sells bar shampoos and many other environmentally friendly products. They donate a portion of their proceeds to environmental organizations.
- Bite — Bite makes toothpaste that comes in plastic free packaging! Think about how many tubes of toothpaste you use every year.
- Allbird Shoes: This company produces shoes using recycled materials and wool, creating a much lower waste footprint than most other shoe brands.
- Bee’s Wrap — Bee’s Wrap is a certified B Corporation that makes wax-based reusable food wraps.
- Pela Case —Also a certified B Corporation, Pela Case creates compostable phone cases and partners with environmental groups that remove plastic from the environment.
Job-Creation Companies
- Greyston Bakery— Based in Yonkers, NY, their mission is to break down barriers in the hiring process by practicing “open hiring” and running workforce development programs for the most marginalized in our society. Their motto is, “We don’t hire people to sell brownies, we sell brownies to hire people.”
- Luv Michael — Luv Michael sells delicious handmade granola and employs autistic adults.
- Ground Up – This organic nut butter company provides job opportunities to women overcoming adversity through the company’s employment training program.
- Elegantees — Elegantees is a clothing company based in Nepal that gives meaningful employment to survivors of sex trafficking.
- Divine Chocolate — Divine Chocolate is the only fair-trade chocolate company in the world co-owned by the farmers who produce the chocolate. Based in Ghana, this company aims to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment through their hiring practices and employee training.
Liz Moulthrop, November 2020