One of the things I love about having a blog is getting to spread the word about really cool stuff so, since it's the season of gift buying, I thought I'd list a handful of recommendations. They're all cool things on they're own, but most of them happen to have a socially responsible component to them as well. You know, if you're into that kind of thing.
1. Envirosax - This is probably the hundredth time I've mentioned these wonderful reusable bags, but hey. I love them. They're a good size (pretty big but not overly so), heavy duty (I load mine up with ridiculous amounts of groceries and they don't ever rip), safe to carry food in, stylish, and they fold up very small (and very easily). Oh, and they're super lightweight. They come in pouches of five or as singles (makes a great stocking stuffer!). I get asked about mine all the time when I use them for shopping.
2. Kiva - Kiva is a really cool site where you can lend money in small or big amounts to people all around the world to help them accomplish their life goals. Sometimes the loan requests are for the basic necessities--housing expenses, etc. And sometimes they're for opening or expanding a new business. The cool thing is that Kiva combines monies from all different lenders to fulfill each person's loan, so you can make a real difference in someone's life with as little as $25. Their site is easy to use and I've found it really fun to surf around through the various loan requests to decide who I want to lend my money to. When the money is repaid (and it most often is), you can simply reinvest it in another Kiva loan. It's truly a gift that keeps on giving. You can purchase a Kiva card (like a loan gift certificate) for someone on your list and then they can redeem it and decide how to spend the funds (i.e. whose loan to fund).
3. The Cup Cooley - This is a reusable silicone beverage sleeve. It's way more environmentally friendly than the paper ones that get thrown out and it does a better job of protecting your hands from your scalding tea or half-cafe double decaf with a twist of lemon. I have a green one and I love it.
4. Skullcandy headphones - I know I've also mentioned these at least once but the recommendation bears repeating. I <3 my Skullcandy headphones. I use the Ink'd style in-ear ones. The sound is great and they come with three different sizes of, um, thingies (??) so that they actually stay in your ears comfortably. The only drawback is that mine didn't come with a case (not sure if others do), though it's not really a problem for me. I just wrap mine around my iPod when I'm not using them.
5. Soft Hands, Kind Heart hand cream from The Body Shop - This is a great non-greasy hand cream. I can wholeheartedly recommend it as a hand cream alone. But money from the purchase also goes towards helping to stop human trafficking. Per The Body Shop, 1.2 million kids and teens are trafficked every year for sexual exploitation and cheap labor. You can learn more (and sign a petition) here.
6. A Terra Pass - Terra Pass funds carbon offset projects. You can buy a Terra Pass that will offset the carbon footprint of your car (or a loved one's car, etc.) for a period of time. It's pretty cool. Ben got me one for Christmas a couple of years ago. On a related note, the online shoe shop PlanetShoes.com offers an option to offset the carbon cost of your shipping. (And they have good prices, good sales, good service, and good shoes.)
7. United Animal Nations - This organization is like the Red Cross, but for animals. They train volunteers who then travel to disaster areas to care for affected animals (among other services). It's a great organization to donate to in someone's name.
8. Heifer International - Another great charity. This organization provides sustainable economic solutions to underprivileged areas, largely in the form of animal husbandry. What I really like about it is that they basically operate on the whole teach-a-man-how-to-fish principle: they provide animals and also teach the recipients how to care for the animals and turn them into a prosperous business. The recipients are also encouraged to (perhaps required? I can't remember.) share their profits with their neighbors, again in the form of animal goods. For example, you send a bunch of guinea pigs to a cool dude in Peru. That dude learns how to care for the guinea pigs and breed them. Some he uses for food and other goods, some he sells. When they have babies, he gives or trades some of the babies to a neighbor and teaches the neighbor how to raise the guinea pigs, etc. And so it goes.
9. Etsy.com - This is quite a broad category because you can find freaking everything on Etsy. But Etsy is essentially an online marketplace for individual craftspeople. The goods offered there range from the kind of stuff you might see at your church bazaar all the way to artisan quality crafts. The reason I like shopping there is that more often than not, I'm supporting a person who is trying to make a business out of something they love--not unlike what I'm doing with my writing. And all those catalogs we get at this time of the year? I guarantee you can find at least 60% of that stuff in a similar form, hand made, at equal or better quality, for half the price on Etsy. Here are a couple of my favorite shops:
The Clay Collection - A gaming geek's paradise. Earrings, cufflinks and other cool things made from polymer clay in perfect miniaturized replicas of current and retro game controllers, gaming characters, and other whimsical things.
Flawed Jewelry Designs - Cute, tasteful jewelry made from recycled and re-purposed vintage jewelry and materials for great prices.
10. And, of course, books. :D I think that giving someone a book that touched you in some way is one of the most thoughtful gifts you can give.
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