‘Tis the season for spending too much money on gifts for all your favorite people. But this year, leave the guilt trip behind—feel good inside about your purchases by supporting efforts that raise money for great causes around the world.
Hot Bread Kitchen: Support Hot Bread Kitchen’s work training programs for immigrant women in NYC by ordering one of its bread boxes. The Flatbreads From Around the World ($30) includes the slightly sweet Persian nan-e qandi, flaky Moroccan m’smen, and crisp Armenian lavash.
No Kid Hungry Spatulas: Williams-Sonoma is selling limited edition, celebrity-designed spatulas ($12.95)—from David Chang’s Momofuku peaches to Food Network star Tyler Florence’s son’s pig drawing—with 30% of sales benefiting No Kid Hungry.
Fair Spirits: Fair Spirits is the first Fair Trade-certified line of spirits. The company makes rum from sustainably grown sugarcane, vodka from quinoa farms in the Andes, gin with juniper berries from a nature reserve in Uzbekistan—all while following about 200 rules to make sure their farmers are paid and treated fairly.
Good Spread: Good Spread’s “buy one, give one” model means for every jar of peanut butter sold (3-pack for $16) they’ll provide a packet of RUTF (Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food) to kids suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition in Africa and Central America.
FEED: Buy a stylish bag from FEED, founded by Lauren Bush Lauren, to provide school meals to children around the world. Bag prices range from $35 for a basic tote and up to $250 for one with intricate beading that provides 370 meals to children in Kenya.
Counter Culture: For every pound of coffee beans sold this holiday season, Counter Culture will donate a nickel to development projects in coffee-growing regions. The company expects to raise $20,000 this year.
Far & Wide: This online marketplace showcases crafts from artisans in emerging economies like bowls from Swaziland ($12), wooden trivets from Afghanistan ($69), and tea cozies from Uzbekistan ($20). Trick out your kitchen and support artisanal entrepreneurs in one fell swoop.
Bellus Wines: A socially conscious winery that benefits various do-gooder organizations. For example, the Sangiovese blend Girasole ($23) benefits lady entrepreneurs through microfinance and mentorship; the Sicilian red Scopello ($23) supports a human rights NGO.
Everlane: Clothing brand Everlane partnered with five NYC chefs to create tote bags ($45 each)—“Know Your Pig” by April Bloomfield and “Know Your Sole” by seafood chef Camille Becerra—with all profits from the totes benefitting Edible Schoolyard NYC.
Brooklyn Biltong: This Brooklyn-based company makes biltong, South Africa's answer to beef jerky, with grass-fed beef. Every month the company gives away 10% of the biltong it makes to CHIPS, a Park Slope soup kitchen. Each 2-ounce bag is $9.99, or you can get a monthly subscription for $24.99 of eight ounces of biltong.
This Bar Saves Lives: Buy a granola bar (or a 12-bar box for $24.99) and this company donates a life-saving packet of food to kids in need.
MiiR Water Bottles: MiiR partners with nonprofits to develop clean water projects around the world. Buy a MiiR water bottle ($18-28) and you’ll provide clean water to one person for an entire year. (You can even track your personal impact on the website using your product code.)
Women’s Bean Project: By ordering dried bean soup mixes ($5.95) from this Denver-based non-profit, you’re supporting a job-training program for women struggling with unemployment due to incarceration, addiction, and poverty.
Donate Fruit: For every fruit basket you buy, Donate Fruit will match it, pound for pound, and donate to food banks across America. Grown in the Rogue Valley in Oregon, the pears are peaking right now. Look for its trademark Rogue Red pears (5 pounds for $24.95) along with other seasonal varieties.
Cookies for Kids' Cancer: Choose from 10 cookie flavors (hello there Triple Chocolate Chunk) and your purchase supports childhood cancer research. Cookies are fresh-baked to order; send a dozen for $29.99 and 100% of profits goes directly to pediatric cancer centers like Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Cheeky: This bright, colorful paper & plastic tableware line available at Target features more than just eye-catching designs. For every Cheeky item purchased ($3.99), the company donates a meal to people in need through the non-profit Feeding America.
Red Bay Coffee: This Oakland-based coffee roastery located in a shipping container hires employees from at-risk communities and shares company profits with the whole staff. If you can’t make it out to Oakland, Red Bay also has an online shop ($17 for 12-ounce bag of beans).
Man Can Candles: Made in real soup cans, these boldly scented candles ($9.50)—like Memphis Style BBQ and New York Style Pizza—provide a meal at a local soup kitchen. Since 2010, the company has donated over 100,000 meals. The candles are manufactured in a facility that employs developmentally disabled workers.
One Hope: For every bottle of One Hope wine purchased, the company donates half of the profits to various charities. El Dorado Rosé ($18.99) helps prevent ovarian cancer and the Santa Barbara Reserve Chardonnay ($24) funds research to find a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease.
Enrou: An online marketplace selling wood charcuterie boards from Uganda ($130) and other handcrafted items, all of which directly support artisans in developing communities around the world.
Greyston Bakery: You know those fudgy brownies in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream? They’re from Greyston, a Yonkers-based bakery known for “open hiring,” which provides job opportunities to people regardless of their immigration status, jail history, or prior work experience. All profits benefit low-income housing, free daycare, and other community endeavors in Yonkers.
Love with Food: Get a curated box of all-natural snacks delivered ($9.99 a month) and Love with Food will donate a meal to food banks through the Feeding America Network and No Kid Hungry.
Additional reporting by Belle Cushing and Amiel Stanek