Gifts That Keep On Giving
by American Way StaffStrange, the holidays. They seem to be
all about giving - you're shopping for gifts, right? - but
sometimes the warm fuzzies of bestowing get swallowed up by
consumeristic fervor. Remedy: Choose gifts that not only show
your loved ones that you love them, but that benefi t the
less fortunate too. After all, you have to buy something for
Aunt Agatha, so why not make it something with a conscience?
These are our favorites. - Tracy Staton
Specialty Roast Coffee donates $2 per pound
purchased to your favorite charity. Order for your clients and
customers, and you'll get organic fair-trade coffee specially
packaged with a personalized label highlighting your donation.
About $19, including shipping. www.specialtyroast.com
Philosophy is offering a selection of charitable gifts
this year. Message in a Bottle shower gel - mineral-enriched and
with a fragrance reminiscent of rainwater and the sea - benefi ts
the Rainforest
Foundation. Peony- scented
Joyful Heart benefi ts the Joyful Heart Foundation, which helps
sexual-assault victims. And Inner Grace
benefi ts the Christopher and
Dana Reeve Foundation. $20 each for 16 ounces.
www.philosophy.com
Humanitas gives 20 percent of your wine's purchase
price to a charity you choose from the company's approved list,
which includes Habitat for Humanity. Wines start at $18 per bottle.
www.humanitaswines.com
Emporio Armani hands over 40 percent of its
profi ts from the unisex (Product) Red digital watch to the Global
Fund to provide HIV/AIDS relief in developing countries. $225.
www.emporioarmani.com
Organic Bouquet gives 5 percent of the $60
retail price of its yellowrose bouquet to the Humane Society. Other
bouquets benefi t charities such as
Amnesty International and the
Nature Conservancy.
www.organicbouquet.com
Kenneth Cole boasts a selection of clever
issues-oriented T-shirts for $35, and $10 from each sale goes to
the designer's Awearness Fund to fi ght AIDS and help the homeless.
We like the "I Have Issues" one.
www.kennethcole.com
Dr. Hauschka Skin Care gives 25 percent of
the proceeds from the sale of specially packaged product kits - our
choice is the
Aromatherapy Bath Kit - to Heifer International. $16.
www.drhauschka.com
| 100 Percent
of the
Proceeds…
So your family's not drawing names this
year but giving to a charity instead.
Make the donations seem more like real
presents by choosing one of the new
gift packages being offered by some
charities. Here are a few
ideas. |
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Mercy
Corps, a worldwide relief
group, offers Mercy Kits with
personalized gift announcements.
Outfi t a family in the developing
world with beehives, a goat, a pig,
a garden, or a camel. Or give a
child school supplies, soccer
equipment, or food. $20 to $250.
www.mercycorps.org/mercykits
Make your nephew proud by adopting a
Douc monkey (or one of dozens of other
endangered animals) from the
World Wildlife
Fund. The $50 kit includes a
plush version of the adoptee, a photo,
and an adoption certifi cate.
www.worldwildlife.org, go to the
adoption center
Plan USA
offers a gift catalog that includes
water wells ($50), child immunizations
($20), and school textbooks ($35).
www.planusa.org
Not sure which organization you'd like
to support? Visit Changing the Present;
its selection of gifts benefi ts a
variety of causes, including education,
the environment, health, and disaster
relief. www.changingthepresent.org
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