Living
21 Gifts That Give Back
Slide Nr 1Giving a gift feels good. Giving a gift that elevates artisans, contributes to vulnerable communities and respects the environment feels even better. Whether handcrafted, sustainably produced or socially beneficial, these thoughtful gifts multiply the blessings and amplify the generosity with each purchase made.
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21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 2For The Playful Tyke – Most children are not short of toys, so if you want to surprise a little one with a plaything, it doesn’t just need to appeal to the children. To get past the parents, it should be original and engaging, safe and visually appealing. Tender Leaf ticks all those boxes and more. Their wooden toys are ethically produced in a family-run factory in Indonesia from reclaimed rubberwood, a by-product of the latex industry. For every reclaimed tree used, they plant a new one. In addition to being a sustainable gift, this weather station also teaches kids to tune in to nature by learning about the seasons.
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21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 3For The Home Cook – Gift chic and functional meal prep with a sustainable bonus. The Material x Kinder Kitchens’ reBoard® cutting board is made of 75% kitchen plastic waste and 25% renewable sugarcane, making it an eco-friendly (and BPA-free) surface for all the necessary slicing and dicing. And while the recipient is enjoying its sleek and functional appeal, Kinder Kitchens will donate 50% of the profits to Heart of Dinner, an organisation that supports elderly Asian-American communities by offering nourishing meals and care packages.
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21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 4For The Green Thumb – Working backwards from the material, FAIR ZONE develops fair trade rubber products for a plastic-free home. The company promotes natural rubber as “a sustainable, renewable and biodegradable material, which has the potential to make plastic redundant in many items.” It introduced FSC certification in rubber production and ensures “humane working conditions, ecologically sustainable management and the consistent renunciation of animal testing and child labour”. These rubber flower pots are the perfect practical gift for your horticulturally inclined friends who want their garden to be green in more than one way.
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21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 5For The Summer Child – We all know that person, the one who spends the entirety of winter curled up under a blanket with a candle flickering, glass of wine in hand and four-legged companion at their feet. For them, there’s Rescued Wine. This California-based company uses hand-cut recycled wine bottles as receptacles for their small-batch, hand-poured, eco-friendly soy candles with aromas inspired by wine (think: notes of Champagne, Merlot or Cabernet). The heartwarming part? 10% of profits go to supporting animal rescue organisations in the US.
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Living
21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 6For The Urban Gardener – A houseplant is truly a gift that keeps on giving, especially one that will actually stay alive whether or not its new owner has a knack for horticulture. Conveniently, the stylish plant shelves, vertical planters, wall planters and hydroponic systems from CitySens all come with automatic watering built in. The company’s products are made from 100% recycled materials, and are assembled and packaged in Spain by foundations for the social and professional integration of people with disabilities.
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Living
21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 7For The Budding Artist – Pencil, crayon and paint sets usually offer exactly one ‘skin’ tone – a shade of pink that, at best, represents maybe 10% of the world’s population. German company Hautfarben (literally ‘skin colours’) make 12 Skin Tones pencils and 8 Skin Tones crayons that enable children to “draw their friends and family the way they really look”. The company also offers diversity-themed games, books and colouring books. The pencils and crayons are produced in Germany and Austria under fair working conditions, using wood from sustainably managed forests and eco-friendly materials that are both raw and vegan. 100% of all proceeds go to certified charitable projects preventing racism and discrimination.
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21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 8For The Savvy Sipper – This tea calendar by Numi is a flavour journey in a box, featuring 24 bags of ethically sourced organic teas ranging from fresh Moroccan mint to detoxifying ginger-lemon and a cosy chocolate blend. Each tea comes in bags and packaging made from plant-based materials – reinforcing the brand’s ‘leave no trace’ approach – while proceeds go to the Together for H2OPE programme, helping ensure safe drinking water (and a safer teatime) for millions around the world.
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21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 9For The Snazzy Chef – Based on the truism that investing in women benefits their entire communities, Ghanaian NGO Global Mamas creates jobs, offers training and provides fair, reliable incomes for the 400 artisans in six locations across Ghana who create their handmade products sold globally. As community multipliers, these women invest their income into the nutrition, health, wellbeing and education of their families and children, contributing to overall societal improvements. Their colourful gardening and kitchen aprons are handcrafted from certified organic cotton using traditional Batik techniques, maintaining local artisanal skills.
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Living
21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 10For The Design Nostalgic – The colourful, round felted ball rug found in nurseries all over the world has already acquired classic status and is available from countless producers at varying levels of quality. Recently, more grown-up, monochrome and unique rugs have become available over the years. Now, you can order a custom design online, made to your specifications. The myfelt rug configurator guides you through a step-by-step process selecting shapes, patterns, colours and size. Your design is then made from 100% pure wool in Nepal, by the only felt product manufacturer in the world that’s been certified by GoodWeave International for its social and ecological working conditions.
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Living
21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 11For The Socially Conscious Shopper – If you’re looking for a gift that carries the promise of style, function and, perhaps, a better world, FEED might be able to help. Their classic organic cotton Market Tote bag is lightweight, highly durable and spacious enough to hold everything from groceries to travel essentials. Plus it sports a simple yet chic design available in different colours and prints to cater to a variety of styles. The best part? The purchase of one tote equals 10 school meals to children in need around the world.
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Living
21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 12For The Wine Aficionado – These unique wine glasses are reliable conversation starters at any dinner party. They come from a glass-blowing factory in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), built in 1979 by Swedish Aid. Machinery and equipment were imported, and locals were trained by glassblowers in Sweden and on-site; some of the original employees now train the next generation of artisans. All their glassware, as well as the decorative glass animals found in gift shops across southern Africa, are made from recycled glass collected by Swazis. A percentage of sales goes to the Ngwenya Glass Rhino and Elephant Fund, which contributes to saving rare and endangered animals in the kingdom.
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Living
21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 13For The Clothes Horse – At first glance, a microplastic-filtering washing bag seems like a gift suitable only for the eco warrior in your life, but it isn’t all about the environment. While the main selling point is its ability to remove microplastics that rub and break off from synthetic garments during the wash, to prevent them ending up in the water cycle, the bag also reduces pilling and protects your clothes. Developed by the founders of an apparel brand who wanted to help reduce the amount of microplastics in the environment, the bags are produced fairly and sustainably in Europe.
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Living
21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 14For The Expertly Organised – Most of us can use a nice calendar when the new year comes knocking. Online art gallery Photocircle have pioneered a new approach to royalties. They want the subject of every photograph sold to profit from its sale, so they donate part of the proceeds to a humanitarian, environmental or development project in the country or region where the picture is taken. They also use FSC-certified paper from sustainable forestry, their poster and calendar orders are plastic-free, and they plant trees in an Ethiopian reforestation project for every art print sold. For every calendar sold, they plant 12 trees – one for every month of the year.
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Living
21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 15For The Homebody – Treat someone to the ultimate in winter cosiness with a pair of snuggly sherpa slippers. Not only ultra-comfy, thanks to their cushioned memory foam insoles, they’re also sturdy enough to handle a quick run to the letterbox. And as you give a loved one a bit of warmth and comfort, you’re also doing the same for someone in need: with every purchase, Bombas donates essential clothing to people across the US who are facing homelessness or residing in shelters, rehabilitation centres and transitional living facilities.
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21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 16For The Growing Mind – Both fun and educational, Jiggy puzzles are a great way to introduce kids to the power of creativity and problem-solving. Each puzzle features contemporary illustrations and paintings, giving young minds a chance to develop cognitive skills as they assemble frame-worthy artwork. What makes the puzzles truly unique, however, is that the artworks are exclusively by emerging female artists from around the world, and a percentage of each sale goes directly to the featured artist, thus supporting women in the arts and helping to elevate their voices globally.
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21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 17For The Beer Boffin – Sometimes, tried-and-tested gift ideas are the best. Food and drinks always go over well during the festive season, even more so when there’s a great story behind the product. For their part, Toast Brewing makes beer from surplus bread, “transforming leftover loaves into liquid gold”. Their gift pack comes with a glass that reads “Raise a Toast to Planet Earth” along with a selection of the brewery’s lager, pale ale, IPA and low-alcohol 0.5% lager. 100% of the brewery’s profits go to environmental charities.
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Living
21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 18For The ‘It’ Girl – If you’ve got a fashionista on your list, she’s probably coveting a pair of trending Mary Janes, so gift her bold style with The Eugenia Flat in a festive silver colour. Beyond eye-catching fashion, Argentinian brand Zou Xou believes in purpose-driven craftsmanship: to reduce waste, the shoes are produced in small batches, and the artisans making them are ensured fair wages, flexible hours and respectful working conditions. It’s a fashionable gift, but also a celebration of artistry and sustainability.
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21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 19For The Forward-Thinking Fashionista – Sometimes, sustainable innovation results in the reinvention of a product that previously seemed unimprovable. The humble canvas shoulder bag, long a wardrobe staple for eco-friendly living, receives a stylish makeover from PLEATSMAMA, a South Korean company dedicated to sustainable research, development and innovation. Their knit bags are made out of 100% recycled polyester from PET bottle waste, with pleats created through structural weaving, in a process that causes minimal fabric waste. The company collaborates with others to develop eco-friendly practices and sustainable materials and produces its bag in a female-led manufactory in South Korea under fair working conditions.
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21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 20For A Zen Home – With this beautiful candle by Mexican brand Musgo, you’ll be bringing light and warmth to a loved one’s home – but also to the artisan who created it. Available in green and black, this ceramic-and-wicker candle bowl adds a warm, rustic touch to any space, and its purchase empowers craftswomen in rural Mexican communities by promoting humane working conditions and economic opportunity for these women and their families.
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21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 21For The Constantly Cold – This German start-up makes home textiles, like cosy blankets, from Austrian beech wood and Tanzanian organic cotton. For every tree used to produce the Tencel fibres, one is replanted in its place, and an additional two trees are planted in international reforestation projects. The European-based textile production is CO2- and water-neutral, and the B Corp certified company offers a buyback scheme for used towels that can be recycled.
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Living
21 Gifts That Give Back.
Slide Nr 22For The Effortlessly Elegant – A pretty piece of jewellery is an ideal present on many levels – the kind of gift the recipient can keep and use for years on end, thinking fondly of the gift-giver with each wear. Giving an accessory by Purpose Jewelry makes it even more meaningful. An initiative of the nonprofit International Sanctuary, Purpose Jewelry proposes beautiful necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings, all handmade by survivors of human trafficking in shelters across India, Uganda, Mexico and the Philippines. The income, education and community they find there provides a base upon which to rebuild their lives.
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