Ethical Shopping: A Guide for Christmas 2020

We know gifts are not the reason for the season, but like many of you, we are thinking about what we can give to the people in our lives while still thinking carefully about how our spending impacts the world around us. So we came up with a list of retailers that have a special mission associated with their products. We know there are a lot of factors that go into selecting gifts, so please take this as a starting place for ideas, and not a mandate.

We’ve highlighted a few socially conscious retailers that not only produce nice gifts, but that offer ethically made products with special emphasis on: livable wages, empowering women, stewarding God’s creation, or igniting change in the way they do business. 

If you know of other ethically sourced Christmas shopping destinations, please share them with us. We would love to add to this list.  

If you’re interested in learning more about the hows and whys of ethical shopping, you might enjoy some of these articles from around the internet: 

• An article about “how” to shop ethically (with some “why” as well)
• Another article from the NY Times on ways to arrange your spending dollars
• Here's one that helpfully considers the complicated nature of the webs we live in

And just to be clear: we’re not affiliated with any of these businesses, or compensated for sharing about them.

4ocean

For every product purchased, 4ocean pulls a pound of plastic out of the ocean.

Products for sale include:

• Bracelets
• Apparel
• Single-Use alternatives
• Drinkware

Alabaster Co.

The vision of Alabaster Co. is for all of humanity to experience God as good and beautiful. They do this by integrating visual imagery and thoughtful design into different texts of the Bible.

Products for sale include:

• Books of the Bible with beautiful pictures alongside the text
• Bookmarks
• Notebooks  

ABLE

Able is a lifestyle brand focused on ending generational poverty through providing economic opportunity for women.

Products for sale include:

• Leather goods
• Handmade jewelry
• Denim
• Clothing
• Footwear​

Beautiful Day

Beautiful Day helps refugees adjust to life in America by offering paid, on-the-job training in a hands-on classroom where trainees gain critical skills and the confidence to enter the job market. Their award-winning products educate consumers about the refugee crisis and every purchase, every bite or sip, provides a practical way to get involved with human displacement and start building more informed, welcoming communities. 

Products for sale include:

• Granola (bagged)
• Granola Bars
• Coffee

Because of Hope

Because of Hope is dedicated to helping women from three Ugandan villages to sustainably earn income and provide for their families.

Products for sale include:

• Facemasks
• Jewelry
• Bags
• Accessories

Beza Threads

Helps bring redemption and freedom to the enslaved, providing rehabilitation and job training to give them a sustainable future. They support organizations and former slaves by bringing their products to the marketplace.

Products for sale include:

• Accessories
• Bags
• Earrings
• Scarves 

Carthage Co.

Carthage Co. works to honor and empower Tunisian artisans and create jobs in the U.S. They partner with local manufacturers that employ and empower their communities with dignity and equity.

Products for sale include:

• Handcrafted stoneware
  • plates  
  • bowls
  • drinkware
  • bakeware
  • serveware

Darn Good Yarn

From the artisan to the person who packs our orders, Darn Good Yarn is fueled by infusing Good into all parts of our business. From our warehouse and order fulfillment partnership with Schenectady ARC (a non-profit dedicated to providing employment for adults with developmental disabilities) to our employee benefit programs, our goal is to create a better world by caring and doing things the slightly harder way. In a world of short-cuts and cookie cutter experiences, we believe that when you slow down in order to build that this creates more sustainability and stronger communities.

Products for sale include:

• Yarn
• Craft projects
• Clothing
• Accessories
• Home goods

Dignify 

Dignify helps women shop for what they will both love and feel great about buying; that which promotes dignity, empowers humanity, and champions good.

Products for sale include:

• Premium, ethically made, fair trade kantha quilts. They are hand-stitched in Bangladesh from six layers of reclaimed sari cloth. The women who make them were previously living on the street, or working in sex work (often these go hand in hand), or in a vulnerable situation at risk of such. 

Good Paper

Good paper’s mission is to restore the humanity and beauty within each of us that gets so easily forgotten and tossed aside through cardmaking. Cardmakers are women who have escaped sex trafficking in the Philippines and young adults orphaned by disease in Rwanda.

Products for sale include:

• Handcrafted greeting cards

International Women Association KEP 

International Women Association KEP empowers women by creating jobs in plastic recycling handicraft, insuring a regular monthly income, collecting plastic bags and raising awareness about plastic pollution in Kep Province, Cambodia

Products for sale include (all made of recycled plastic):

• Bags
• Wallets
• Baskets

Krochetkids

We provide life-changing job opportunities to women in need. With each purchase you make we introduce you to the women who made your product and invite you to visit her online profile to learn more about her.

Products for sale include:

• Hats
• Men’s clothing
• Women’s clothing
• Children’s clothing
• Stuffed animals
• Home décor 

NOMI Network

Nomi Network is in business to create economic opportunities for survivors and women at risk of human trafficking. Every product you buy provides jobs for survivors and women at risk, and helps end modern-day slavery. (Check out our story on the founder of Nomi Network.)

Products for sale include:

• Bags
• Bracelets
• Clothing

Papillon Marketplace

Pappillon Marketplace is a fair-trade certified, socially conscious lifestyle brand dedicated to supporting at-risk mothers and fathers with full-time artisan jobs in Haiti. Papillon’s mission of orphan prevention and family preservation through job creation has proven itself to be a viable solution for the current poverty orphan crisis affecting many developing nations.

Products for sale include:

• Jewelry
• Gifts and home décor
• Bags
• T-shirts
• Beads
• Dolls and stuffed animals
• Christmas ornaments

Re:New

Re:new Project engages, equips and employs refugee women in the Chicagoland area. Our greatest desire is to provide a space for refugee women to thrive as they rebuild their hopes and dreams in the United States.

Products for sale include:

• Jewelry
• Bags
• Home décor
• Accessories
• Baby blankets, burp clothes, and bibs