25 Days of Socially and Environmentally Responsible Gift Giving

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25 At shuteyes we've decided for the final day of this advent calendar the best thing to give this season is love and time to your friends, family, and those in need. Give a hug, make a call to an old friend you haven't spoken to in forever, volunteer at a soup kitchen, tell someone about the true meaning of Christmas. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Beautiful words from 1 Corinthians 13: 1 - 13. Merry Christmas from us at shuteyes.

24 LWCD Holiday Gift Sets Put a LWCD Gift “Basket” on your wish list or send one to the dog or cat who has everything! The gift sets come with a gift certificate, natural treats, recyclable toys, and a personalized note. All in a recyclable and reusable tote! Or get the Extra Green gift set -- a better value and more products. A gift set is a great way to introduce environmentally friendly and healthy living to your pet or your loved ones’ pets. Plus, a portion of the proceeds benefit Pets for the Environment!

23 Green Heart Greenheart at Heart. Greenheart is Chicago’s premier eco-fair trade non-profit shop, carrying both fair trade and eco friendly products. Greenheart carries a variety of goods including recycled accessories and handbags, home goods, gourmet treats, cookbooks, glassware, jewelry, toys, personal care, organic cotton t-shirts and more. Greenheart believes consumers have the power to affect positive World change by supporting sustainable and fair business practices in their purchasing choices.

22 Equita’s Holiday Gift Guide 2008 - Ethical and Under $50 Equita (Italian for fairness) is a design-conscious shop showcasing the finest in green, sweatshop-free and Fair Trade essentials for the body and home. Each item is hand-selected and thoughtfully edited to ensure a mix that is design-conscious, functional, eco-friendly, and socially conscious. Their line includes: ethical fashion and footwear; green home decor; sustainable furniture; fair trade & eco handbags and jewelry; organic & fair trade body care; ethical baby clothing; fair trade sport and wellness gear; and specialty gourmet treats.

21 eBay Giving Works Help rescue animals, build homes, supply vaccines, provide clean water, educate children, plant trees, and so much more. It's as easy as looking for the blue and yellow ribbon when you shop, donating part of a sale to a cause you care about, making an online charitable contribution, or all three! The eBay Community has already raised more than $166M for great causes—and this is only the beginning. So what are you waiting for? Be a part of changing the world for the better—join us today! Visit ebaygivingworks.com to learn more.

20 Jimmy Belasco Candles Celebrate the season of light with Jimmy Belasco all-natural candles ($34). They're made of soybeans, vegetable oil and fragrance -- nothing else -- but the best part of this fragrant treat are the wrapping options. Choose from a wide selection of boxes decorated with cityscapes, calming landscapes, pop art patterns, and holiday themes. Five dollars from the sale of each candle goes to a good cause: You select one from a list of Jimmy's staffers' 10 favorites (with more options on the way).

19 Global Goods Partners Global Goods Partners (GGP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to alleviating poverty and promoting social justice by strengthening women-led development initiatives and creating access to the US market for marginalized communities in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. GGP purses this mission by partnering with organizations, associations, and cooperatives worldwide that integrate their commitment to community development-specifically, improvements in education, health, women's rights, and employment opportunities-with socially responsible income-generating enterprises. They provide our partners with direct access to new markets in the United States, helping to increase sales revenue and global awareness of their work. All of GGP's partners adhere to fair trade standards (link), where workers' health, safety and rights are protected alongside the communities' natural resources.

18 Tour Diary Are you or someone you know world travelers? Do you spend a lot of time on mission trips feeding the hungry and visiting those in need. Why not record your experiences (and maybe share some of them on shuteyes.org). Here's a great little tour diary from buyolympia.com that's only 14 bucks. It's printed in Oakland, CA on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with soy-based inks.

17 Divine Chocolate Divine Chocolate is the world's first farmer-owned, fair trade chocolate company. It's all-natural chocolate is not only delicious, but good for West African farmers, too. Divine Chocolate is available in a variety of flavors, including the new 3.5 oz White Chocolate with Strawberries bar! Or you can partake in some of the seasonally available items such as the After Dinner Mints. Divine Chocolate bars range from $1.50- $4 and seasonal holiday items can be found in Whole Foods Markets and Ten Thousand Villages Stores. To find a store nearest you or to buy select online items, go to

16 Ten Thousand Villages Ten Thousand Villages provides vital, fair income to Third World people by marketing their handicrafts and telling their stories in North America. Ten Thousand Villages works with artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed. This income artisans earn helps pay for food, education, health care and housing.

15

Hearts and Hands

The Deaf Population of China, numbering around 72 million and with their own language and cultural identity, could be classed as China’s largest minority people group. They exist in every city, every township and thousands of small villages.

The majority of Deaf young people do not find suitable employment and turn to Deaf-led gangs in the large cities for a sense of belonging. Their means of living comes from petty theft or worse, from drug trade and prostitution

It was with this in mind that Hearts and Hands began its work in 2000, first as a training class in patchwork and quilting for young Deaf, then as a small handcraft business employing young Deaf people who would otherwise struggle to make a living. Currently they have over 40 workers with hope for greater expansion in the future.

Their workers are all deaf or disabled, learning useful life skills in a friendly working environment. Their hope in providing this environment is to help them realize “plans that will prosper and not harm them, plans for a hope and a future.”

Products
Hearts and Hands produces a wide range of handcrafted goods and soft furnishings. The workers are skilled in sewing and quilting and can make items to order. They combine use of Chinese fabrics with Western designs to create interesting new products.

14

Charity Water

WHY WATER.
Right now, 1.1 billion people on the planet don't have access to safe, clean drinking water. That's one in six of us.

WHO THEY ARE.
charity: water is a non profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. They give 100% of the money raised to direct project costs, funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need. They also work to raise awareness of the water crisis through events, fundraising exhibitions and other public awareness campaigns.

Right now on their website charity: water is providing 7 ways to give this holiday season. Get involved and help someone else have safe drinking water this year.

13 American Dance Party American Dance Party is a clothing company designed to influence more than just fashion, but to change lives as well. ADP was designed to bring something more to the scene; to present people with good clothing with their "Every Day" clothing line, as well as their Social Justice line that represents the people who cannot speak out for themselves. With their Social Justice collection (which includes Make Lunch Not War) with every shirt purchased, one person in need in America will be fed for one day. ADP plans on taking its social awareness line to many different organizations nationally as well as internationally in the future. Every American Dance Party design is printed on Ultra Soft, 100% Sweat Shop Free, American Apparel t-shirts.

12 City of Others Denim [city of others] is a company that makes jeans for boys and girls, guys and gals, ladies and gentlemen, men and women, dudes and chicks. They are a community of [others] who want to experiment with the idea of collectively helping others while wearing rad jeans! Each pair of jeans [city of others] sells comes with a unique donation code that you can use to donate a portion of net profits from each jean towards a charity of your choice.

11 Reusable Gift Bags Reusable gift bags are a smart, sustainable alternative to disposable paper gift wrap. From production to consumption and disposal, paper gift wrap generates enormous waste (each year a staggering $5 billion worth of gift wrap is tossed in the trash.) Reusable gift bags save natural resources and money, too. When you restore the tradition of using cloth gift bags, you inspire others to do the same. There are several online retailers that sell reusable gift bags. Here are a few: luckycrow.com reusablebags.com wrapsacks.com rumebags.com

10 Aid to Artisans Aid to Artisans (ATA), an international nonprofit organization, is a recognized leader of economic development for the craft industry. By linking artisans to new markets and buyers to culturally meaningful and innovative products, ATA provides needed economic opportunities to artisans while preserving the beauty of global handmade crafts.

9 Save the children For more than 75 years, Save the Children has been an independent force for change in the lives of children in need, making it possible for them to grow up healthy, safe and prepared for a better future. With the trust and generous support of people like you, and by working hand-in-hand with families and communities in rural America and in more than 50 countries around the world, we have nurtured the seed of hope for millions of children. At this time of year, when you give gifts to those you love, consider giving a truly meaningful gift – a donation in honor of that special person. Imagine that your gift – a school desk, library books, essential vitamins and medicine – can help us educate children and keep them healthy so their futures are bright. Imagine what your gift can do…

8 TisBest From the TisBest website: Q: What is a TisBest Charity Gift Card? A: It works like any other gift card, except that instead of buying stuff in a store, the recipient spends it to support a charity of their choice. You are the donor and your recipient chooses the charity! 1) You buy a Charity Gift Card on this website. TisBest Philanthropy holds your donation in a specific bank account. 2) You give the Charity Gift Card as a gift. 3) Your gift recipient visits this website and chooses the charity to receive your donation. Over 250 carefully chosen and responsible charity organizations are listed!

7

KEZA Beads

From the KEZA website:

What We Do KEZA is a people inspired luxury fashion house based in Rwanda. We buy top quality fashion goods from non-profit development organizations, generate income for the poor and help to establish Africa’s position in the luxury fashion industry.

The Mission
KEZA means “beautiful” in Kinyarwanda, and we are about representing the beauty of Africa. We are dedicated to generating income for non-profit development organizations. We will ensure integrity, efficiency and quality products from all of our KEZA partners. We will establish Africa’s position in the luxury fashion industry and bring much needed income and careers to the poor. We will no longer speak of “those Africans” living in poverty. KEZA is where “they” become “we”, and together we shall strive to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.

6 BTC Elements Modern, eye-catching, uniquely crafted, BTC Elements combines smart style with sustainability. They hand-select each item in their boutique collection of fashion, gifts, and accessories with an eye to the environment and social justice. The result: Fresh, inspiring designs that are both earth friendly and ethically sourced. Because they work closely with small designers and artists who share their passion, their online boutique carries many one-of-a-kind items you won't find anywhere else. Their goal is to delight you with their distinctive collection of mindful products while providing value and excellent service.

5 Amani ya Juu Amani ya Juu (meaning “higher peace” in Swahili) or Amahoro ava Hejuru (in Kinyarwanda) is a sewing-marketing-training project for marginalized women in Africa. The main center is located in Nairobi, Kenya with sister centers in Rwanda and Burundi. The women involved in the project are learning to work together through faith in God who provides a higher peace that transcends ethnic differences. Amani itself portrays a unique picture of diversity with women coming from Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia as well as other African countries.

4 The Invisible Children Store In the spring of 2003, three young filmmakers traveled to Africa in search of a story. What started out as a filmmaking adventure transformed into much more when these boys from Southern California discovered a tragedy that disgusted and inspired them, a tragedy where children are both the weapons and the victims. After returning to the States, they created the documentary "Invisible Children: Rough Cut," a film that exposes the tragic realities of northern Uganda.s night commuters and child soldiers. The film was originally shown to friends and family, but has now been seen by millions of people. The overwhelming response has been, "How can I help?" To answer this question, the non-profit Invisible Children, Inc. was created, giving compassionate individuals an effective way to respond to the situation. The Invisible Children online store has a variety of products to choose from such as men's and women's apparel, bracelets, and film. Proceeds from the sales go to restoring peace and the way of life for those affected by the war in Uganda.

3 Buy nothing, give something Today, instead of giving responsibly to a loved one who may really not actually need anything, give something to someone who needs pretty much everything. The effects of consumerism are staggering. Our need to buy more causes so many problems around the world. So this holiday season give the gift of water, or a cow, or a goat, or food to someone who is in serious need. buylesscrap.org features many great charities that you can give to including LowerNine, Camfed, V-day and others. worldvision.org also has some great ways to give from giving water to vegetable seeds to buying a cow for a family that produces 120,000 glasses of milk in its lifetime. Buy less, give more.

2 World AIDS Day YouthAIDS, an education and prevention program of PSI, uses media, pop culture, music, theatre and sports to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and reach 600 million young people in more than 60 countries with life-saving messages, products, services and care. Make a difference this season by purchasing ALDO's limited-edition "Love for Life" bracelets. 100% of the net proceeds will go to benefit YouthAIDS. Visit www.youthaids-aldo.org to inspire change

1 TOMS Shoes. 30k in 30 days. 1,000,000 men, women, boys, girls are suffering from Podoconiosis in Ethiopia. Have you heard about TOMS Shoes? For every pair purchased, TOMS gives a pair of shoes to a child in need. One for One. This holiday season, help TOMS Shoes give 30,000 pairs of shoes to children in need in Ethiopia. Please click here or on an image below and join TOMS! And 30,000 children will have you to thank.