28 Gifts That Do Good
The holiday season is here again and ThatHelps is back with 28 gifts that make a positive impact on the world. We researched and found gifts for adults, teens, kids, and babies that actually make the world a better place—and most are easy on your wallet.
Each and every gift on this list makes a difference for a cause you care about, from Climate Change to Poverty to the Arts—and many more. Even better: whoever receives one will be thrilled to know their present did good. Download ThatHelps’ app to learn even more about more people, products, and companies that do good.
Let’s do more good together this holiday season. And don’t forget that fabric scraps, magazines, and newspapers make eco-friendly gift wrap! Little actions make a big difference.
Gifts for Adults That Make The World Better
Gift: Epimonia Embracelet
Interest it helps: Crisis Relief, Family & Community, Sustainability
Why it makes the world better: 50% of profits from Epimonia’s unisex bracelet go to their charity partners, like the U.N. Refugee Agency, and helps provide support for refugees. The Minnesota company was founded by a former refugee from Kenya who wanted to help provide opportunity and advancement for refugees from across the globe. Plus, each bracelet is made from recycled life vests! How cool is that?
Buy it for: The person in your life who loves to make a statement.
Gift: Vickery Trading Company Embroidered Ornament Circle
Interest it helps: Crisis Relief, Family & Community
Why it makes the world better: This Texas company is currently working with the Northwest Community Center to help hundreds of Afghan families who resettling in the Dallas area. The company also employs and mentors women fleeing conflict, so you’re making a positive impact for families, too.
Buy it for: We love this colorful, hand-embroidered ornament for just about anyone who gets hype for the holidays. (Vickery also makes super-cute kids’ clothes and accessories.)
Gift: One Hope Wine
Interest it helps: Health & Well-Being, Children
Why it makes the world better: When you purchase a bottle of One Hope wine, the company donates to a variety of charities and causes. This holiday season they’re donating a minimum of $50,000 on top of donations made from purchases to support children with special needs. Our pick: a festive Sparkling Rosé.
Buy it for: A wine lover—or yourself!
Gift: Sword & Plough Bags and Accessories
Interest it helps: Veterans & Military, Sustainability
Why it makes the world better: Sword & Plough supports veterans by offering jobs in every step of the bag-making process. Even better, their made-in-the-U.S.A. products use repurposed military surplus materials, so the bags are a fashionable way to recycle and reduce waste.
Buy it for: Any family member or friend who cares about supporting America’s military heroes, or anyone who’s appreciate a sleek, functional bag.
Gift: Williams Sonoma St. Jude Silicone Spatula
Interest it helps: Children
Why it makes the world better: Everyone has a foodie in their life—and every home cook can appreciate an extra spatula that does good. 25% of Williams Sonoma’s festive BPA-free tool goes directly to St. Jude, helping support research and treatment for pediatric cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Buy it for: The home cook or baker in your life.
Gift: Bombas
Interest it helps: Poverty & Hunger
Why it makes the world better: When you buy a pair of socks from Bombas, one pair gets donated, fulfilling a need in homeless shelters across the U.S., where socks remain the most requested donated item.
Buy it for: Husband, dad, brother, or Grandpa.
Gift: Hand in Hand Clean Hands Set
Interest it helps: Clean Water, Health & Wellness
Why it makes the world better: Since we’re washing our hands more than ever post-COVID, great-smelling soaps are in high demand. For every purchase, Hand in Hand donates one bar of soap and one month of clean water to a community in need. Not among the soap’s ingredients: Earth-unfriendly palm oil.
Buy it for: Friend or coworker.
Gift: Roma Rain Boots
Interest it helps: Poverty & Hunger
Why it makes the world better: When you purchase a pair of these fashionable, waterproof boots from Roma Boots, the company will donate a pair to someone around the world who needs them. The company has donated over 30,000 boots to date!
Buy it for: The gardener in your life.
Gift: Generation Jewelry
Interest it helps: Sustainability
Why it makes the world better: This woman-owned jewelry line upcycles e-waste and scrap gold to make timeless, investment-grade jewelry, like this handmade gold band. Each piece is truly sustainable, even providing its own carbon footprint and pollution stats. While the line isn’t exactly low-cost, these classic pieces are meant to be worn for life, making them a planet-friendly investment.
Buy it for: Spouse or fiancée.
Gift: Ocelot Market Ribbed Placemats
Interest it helps: Culture
Why it makes the world better: Ocelot Market sells ethical, handmade products from artisans all around the world and features the artists’ stories on their site. You can shop by country, so you can also learn while you shop.
Buy it for: Ocelot sells a wide range of products, but these colorful placemats handmade by by Bangladeshi artisans are a standout gift for the design-conscious loved one in your life.
Gift: Lush Cosmetics Charity Pot Body Lotion
Interest it helps: Animal Welfare, Sustainability
Why it makes the world better: Lush Cosmetics has a long history of doing good, like fighting animal testing and innovating waste-free packaging. And the Charity Pot Body Lotion is a continuation of this planet-friendly tradition: 100% of profits (minus taxes) from the product goes to small grassroots organizations working on regenerative agriculture. This company is goals.
Buy it for: The skincare guru in your life, or someone who could stand to practice more self care.
Gift: FinalStraw Portable Straw
Interest it helps: Clean Water, Sustainability
Why it makes the world better: At ThatHelps, we’re obsessed with single-use plastic straw alternatives, because millions of plastic straws are polluting our oceans and marine life every day. FinalStraw is super-easy to carry—it fits on a keychain—and it’s super-easy to clean. Better still, it comes in lots of colors.
Buy it for: College student or iced coffee addict. But we think it makes the perfect gift for just about anyone!
Gifts for Teens That Make the World Better
Gift: Pangaia Activewear
Interest it helps: Sustainability
Why it makes the world better: The nylon in this activewear collection is made from seaweed, eucalyptus, and renewable castor oil, a non-edible raw material which does not divert resources from the food industry. Need another reason to add it to your shopping cart? If you refer a friend to their newsletter, Pangaia will plant a tree.
Buy it for: A teenager, student athlete, college student, or anyone who lives in leggings.
Gift: Bureo Ahi Performance Cruiser Skateboard
Interest it helps: Clean Water, Sustainability, Wildlife & Habitats
Why it makes the world better: Discarded fishing nets make up an estimated 10 percent of all of the plastic polluting the Earth’s oceans. Bureo helps mitigate the danger fishing nets pose by using them to make quality products, like this rad skateboard. Among its other recycled products: sunglasses, board games, and more.
Buy it for: A young person who lives to shred or wants to learn how.
Gift: STATE Backpacks
Interest it helps: Education
Why it makes the world better: STATE donates fully stocked knapsacks to schools and funds special projects with partner charities. These stylish, practical bags come in a variety of fabrics and colors, and many are made in part from recycled materials.
Buy it for: The student in your life.
Gifts for Babies & Kids That Make the World Better
Gift: Sustainimals
Interest it helps: Sustainability, Wildlife & Habitats
Why it makes the world better: These adorable stuffed animals are made from 100% post consumer recycled plastic and 25% of profits are donated to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Each animal from the “Arctic” Collection is named for an endangered species, like the adorable Klondike the Polar Bear, so kids can learn about conservation and help the planet. Start ’em young!
Buy it for: Any baby or kid.
Gift: BirdRock Baby Moccasins
Interest it helps: Children, Poverty & Hunger
Why it makes the world better: For every pair of these affordable, adorable moccasins sold, BirdRock feeds a child in need for one day through Feed My Starving Children.
Buy it for: The mom-to-be or little one in your life.
Gift: MoMA Design Store Rock and Roll It Drum
Interest it helps: The Arts
Why it makes the world better: Every purchase from the Design Store supports MoMA’s educational programs. Plus, these drums come with an ear-phone feature so the budding rocker can drum away without bothering anyone else in the house. Bonus: it rolls up for easy stashing.
Buy it for: Any kid over five.
Gift: Krochet Kids
Interest it helps: Family & Community
Why it makes the world better: Krochet Kids provides job opportunities to women in need. You can even meet the woman who made the product you bought and visit her online profile to learn more about her.
Buy it for: Krochet Kids offers products for all age ranges, but this panda hat would make an adorable lid for any tot.
Gift: cuddle + kind Dolls
Interest it helps: Children, Poverty & Hunger
Why it makes the world better: cuddle + kind’s hand-knit dolls are produced in Peru by artisans who are paid fair trade income. Better still: for every doll purchased, the company donates 10 meals to kids in need around the world through established giving partners.
Buy it for: Any kid.
Gifts for (Almost) All Ages That Make The World Better
Gift: Kor Water Bottle With Filter
Interest it helps: Clean Water, Sustainability
Why it makes the world better: Plastic water bottles contribute to the huge problem of plastic pollution and microplastics that can be ingested in the air. With Kor’s Nava Filter Water Bottle, anyone can access clean, filtered water on-the-go with zero waste.
Buy it for: Anyone who drinks water!
Gift: Benevolent Brownies from Greyston Bakery
Interest it helps: Poverty & Hunger, Social Justice
Why it makes the world better: Greyston Bakery helps employ people stuck in a cycle of generational poverty. As the bakery’s motto says, “We don’t hire people to bake brownies, we bake brownies to hire people.” They also make a vegan version.
Buy it for: A neighbor or the choco-holic in your life.
Gift: Bird + Stone Upcycled Love Necklace
Interest it helps: Climate Change
Why it makes the world better: This wear-with-anything necklace is handmade in NYC from recycled glass beads. Each necklace donates 10% to NY Renews, a coalition working to help New York State transition to clean energy, protect workers, and invest in communities at risk of climate change.
Buy it for: The Greta Thunberg admirer in your life.
Gift: Endangered Species Chocolate Bars
Interest it helps: Wildlife & Habitats
Why it makes the world better: This tasty chocolate offers more than just a sweet bite. Ten percent of the profits earned from Endangered Species’ milk and dark chocolate bars are donated to support conservation efforts for at-risk species.
Buy it for: Stocking stuffers.
Gift: Wildfang’s Pronoun Pin
Interest it helps: LGBTQIA
Why it makes the world better: In 2018, Wildfang raised over $400,000 for charities that support reproductive, immigrant, and women’s/human rights. But we like the company’s pronoun pin because it can be worn by Trans people and allies—it simply lets the world know your pronouns without saying a word.
Buy it for: A member of the LGBTQIA community or an ally. If you buy for someone else, make sure you know their preferred pronoun—then grab a pin for yourself, too.
Gift: Found My Animal Gear
Interest it helps: Animal Welfare
Why it makes the world better: Found My Animal’s animal gear encourages rescues with a brass leash tag that says “FOUND.” Part of the proceeds from their sales support animal welfare and rescue organizations, and the company even helps facilitate pet adoptions! Their colorful collars and leashes will make your furry friend stand out in any crowd.
Buy it for: Your pet or the pet parent in your life.
Gift: Bookshop.org Books
Interest it helps: Culture, Family & Community, Education
Why it makes the world better: Bookshop.org is helping hard-hit local bookstores across the country stay in business. The B-Corp business also donates over 75% of profits to schools and other literacy-focused organizations.
Buy it for: Any bookworm.
Gift: Love Your Melon Knitwear
Interest it helps: Children, Health & Wellness
Why it makes the world better: Love Your Melon is on a mission to make sure all kids who are battling cancer receive a warm beanie to enjoy. They donate a whopping 50% percent of net profits to help fund donations to programs that support cancer-fighting kids and their families.
Buy it for: Anyone—they have cozy capes, hats, blankets, and sweaters for folks of all ages.
