gift guide: gifts that give back.

Since we find ourselves in a season of gift giving, I thought it might be nice this year to pull together just a few of the lovely things I’ve come across this season that also support a charitable mission. As always, I’ve chosen goods made by small, independent companies and artists. Some of these shops always contribute to a charitable cause, while others are owned by individual makers who have have decided to donate portions of their holiday profits to charities doing important work here at home during a complicated moment. If you know of other folks doing similarly stellar work—or if you’re doing it yourself—please don’t hesitate to share notes in the comments.

There Is An Alternative Print: Alice Saunders of Forestbound adapted an image found in a 1972 underground newspaper of her dad’s and made a limited edition letterpress poster printed by Repeat Press. 100% of proceeds from the poster to go the Disability Rights Center of New Hampshire. (We’re working on a protest art wall in our apartment and this print is headed there.)

Noland Baby Quilt: Block Shop textiles recently launched a limited edition run of baby quilts, hand printed on organic cotton in Bagru, India. Each year, Block Shop invests 5% of their proceeds to build and implement community healthcare programs for the cooperative of block printers who print their products.

Bertu Pillow: Designed in Brooklyn and handwoven in Ethiopia, proceeds from Bolé Road Textiles go to support self-sustaining economic development in the communities where their goods are made. 

Banana Leaf Basket: All profits from every sale at Indego Africa go to fund education initiatives for the artisans who make their products in Rwanda and Ghana. Services provided for their workers include business, vocational, technical, and sexual health training.

Handmade Quilts: On Saturday, December 10 from 11 AM – 2 PM PST, quilter Elizabeth McMurtry will be auctioning four of her handmade quilts through her Instagram account. Stay tuned to that space for upcoming details on individual quilts. Proceeds from the sale of the four quilts will be split between the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and the Sacred Stone Legal Defense Fund. (This post helps explain how to place your bid. Photo of the quilts by John Cranford.) 

Pour Over Coffee Set: The brand-new home goods shop, Jane and William, just opened a holiday preview shop featuring their pottery handmade in Upstate New York. They’ve partnered with Kiva.org to donate 100% of their profits to small business micro-loans. 

Alingo Rectangle Earrings: Proceeds from the sale of all goods at Mombasa go to support the nonprofit I Pour Life’s 10 x 10 program, “a women-led family empowerment program which seeks to end the cycle of extreme poverty and social isolation in Korah, Ethiopia.” More about Mombasa’s charitable giving, here.

Peace Print: Photographer Jamie Street gathered thirty women on a foggy morning to make this image. Last week she put it up for sale temporarily through her Instagram account. I bought one of these prints for our apartment, but just in case you missed it, Jamie’s extended her sale by two days for Reading My Tea Leaves readers. The 12″ x 18″ fine art print is printed on thick cotton rag paper and costs $65. (Optional gallery framing is available in natural, white, or black for an additional $100 without a mat; $150 with a mat.) 100% of print proceeds go to the ACLU. To place your order, email Jamie with your request at [email protected] by Tuesday, December 6 at 5:00 pm PST. 

Island-made Bags: Lissa Snapp of Barnacle Bags is donating 15% of her sales this week (December 4 – December 10) to the Sacred Stone Legal Defense Fund to support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe who have been protesting the building of the Dakota Access Pipeline on their sovereign land. (The Army Corp of Engineers decided to yesterday to deny the permit for the pipeline in that spot, but there’s still work to be done and resources that need giving.)

PS. A quick acknowledgement that a gift guide of this nature is a tricky thing to navigate. Buying a product with a charitable element can feel like it might obfuscate a greater need for direct action—and just yesterday we saw the impact of direct, on-the-ground action by the water protectors working to preserve sacred land in North Dakota—but it’s my sincere wish that this is a start in positive direction. In case it’s not goods you’re after, here’s my Charitable Giving Primer from last week.

PPS. I’m working on a longer post about voting with your wallets more generally. Stay tuned.

PPPS. Tradlands is still giving 25% of proceeds from this post to charity through the end of December.