Gifts with a purpose

I really enjoy giving gifts. I have to admit that I have a hard time receiving them, but I know that gifts can convey love through the thought and work put into them.  I have a couple of gifts that I am working on and excited to be able to finish to share here, but in the meantime I thought I would compile a list of businesses that are embarking on socially responsible missions. They all function a bit differently, but at their core is a desire to love people and give dignity through work. Businesses can be a great catalyst for change in many areas of the world if we are able to use our resources wisely. Business gives people the honor of working while being able to gain income to support other businesses in the community. Most of these businesses are based overseas and sell things that we need. I am all about practicality as well :)
First is a business call 3Seams that you can check out here. They sell handmade dresses and small purses. For every dress purchased, one dress is given to one Haitian girl. All products are made in Haiti, so purchases are also supplying jobs.

The second company is called 31Bits. It specialized in jewelry made from recycled paper by women in Uganda. They started with 3 women and now employ 99. Pretty cool!

Another company is called One Mango Tree. They carry many clothing, jewelry and handbag items. They use the fair trade model to give jobs to women living in impoverished and war torn areas.

If you like coffee I would recommend checking out Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee. It has a fairly large selection of coffees and their motto is “Drink Coffee. Do Good.” They use the fair trade model and buy coffee from Rwanda, Thailand and Haiti. In Thailand farmers are now growing coffee instead of opium for the drug trade. Good idea.

If you live somewhere tropical or are able to wear sandals year round then Sseko Designs is the company to check out. In Uganda they give women the opportunity to earn money and the women save that money and then are able to go on to the University.  There are multiple ways to tie the sandals and they even have Youtube tutorials on how to do it! They have recently introduced handbags that are super cute.

Those are some of the companies that I have found that are trying to make a difference. If you know of any other companies, please let me know by leaving the info in the comments section.
Merry Christmas!