First
Gift:NovaScotian
Crystal Candleholder, $123,novascotiancrystal.com
Second
Gift:$35 to Ronald
McDonald House Canada
NovaScotian
Crystal has a solid reputation of making beautiful, classic crystalware in their harbourfront workshop that
rivals the likes of Waterford. This holiday season they have designed a special piece to raise money to help
the families of sick children. Ronald McDonald House gives families who are far from home with sick children
a place to stay near the hospital. The holidays always seem like the most appropriate time for candles, maybe
next to Valentine’s Day, and this candleholder is a delicate and elegant way to light your holiday
feast.
First Gift:
Kiehl’s Limited
Edition KAWS Crème de Corps Lotion, $37.50
Second
Gift: 100% of net
profits to the Canadian Association of Pediatric Oncology Camps
Kiehl’s Crème de
Corps has long had an obsessed following of devoted fans for good reason. The lotion isn’t sticky and spreads
easily over your winter-dry hands. It is a healthy hand staple made with beta-carotene, and nurturing oils
derived from sesame seeds, soybeans, almonds and avocados. And now, for a limited time, the bottle is getting
a playful, cartoonish redesign by New York artist KAWS, who rose to popularity as a guerrilla artist on
billboards and bus shelters and created the artwork from Kanye West’s 808s & Heartbreak.
First
Gift: UNICEF Woven Reed
Handbag, $85, unicef.ca
Second
Gift: Support for
vulnerable children worldwide
For
those lucky enough to be jetting to French Polynesia or the beaches of the Maldives, this beautiful bag is
both practical and spacious. One of the most recognisable charities in the world, UNICEF provides support
services for children in need whether it be in famine stricken Somalia or post-disaster New Orleans. This
beautiful contemporary woven reed handbag, handmade in Thailand, with decorative hand-knotted mesh, features
comfortable rattan handles, cotton lining, zip closure and an internal pocket. This bag is a great example of
where charitable giving has gone in the past few years — to new philanthropic and fashionable
heights.
First
Gift: Duck Tea Set,
$20.99 serrv.org
Second
Gift: Support for an
international artisan in Bali
This
Make Way For Ducklings reminiscent
tea set is heartbreakingly adorable. With teas season upon us, a warm cup of herb is a good excuse for a
friendly get-together. The set was made by artisans from the
non-governmental, non-profit organization the Mitra Bali Foundation, which acts as a market and export
facilitator for small craft producers. Mitra Bali works with around 100 producer groups employing more
than 1,000 men and women to help them in marketing their products and improve their working conditions.
Mitra Bali also has a design center where artisans can access resources, work with designers, and get regular
training on new trends, technical aspects of production and health and safety, as well as the use of
environmentally sustainable resources.
First Gift:
$15
Gift Card from Starbucks plus bonus All You Need Is Love album
Second
Gift: $1 for the $15
spent and 5 cents for each time your gift recipient uses their gift card to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS in
Africa
This
holiday season, Starbucks has expanded its partnership with the Product Red initiative and will donate $1 for
every $15 purchase, be it bulk coffee or a portable tumbler. But, the most charitably economic way to spend
that $15 is on a Product Red gift card. Starbucks will donate 5 cents to the Global Fund for each gift card
transaction making this a gift that gives three, four or five times depending on the user. As a bonus, a $15
purchase will also get you a charitable compilation featuring John Legend and U2, which is also good to give
or to keep as a reward for your good deed.
First Gift:
Men’s
Vegan Charcoal/Natural Patch TOMS, $65, tomsshoes.com
Second
Gift: A pair of shoes to
a child in need
Lightweight and
stylish, these are a great alternative to the urban man-flop (shudder) and a great companion on your winter
getaway. Since 2006, TOMS has given over
150,000 pairs of shoes to children in Argentina, South Africa, Ethiopia and the U.S. In 2009 alone, founder
Blake Mycoskie and TOMS Shoes plan to give 300,000 pairs of shoes to children. They also
recently strayed from the classic lightweight slip-on into boots for men and women.
First
Gift: Body Shop Love
Etc… Fragrance Gift Set, $69.50
Second
Gift: Supporting
approximately 750 Ecuadorian organic sugar cane farmers
Love
Etc… is a new Eau de Parfum featuring alcohol made from organic sugar cane, which is fairly traded and
organically sourced from the foothills of the Andes, through the Body Shop’s Community Trade fair trade
program. The farmers from Cotopaxi, Ecuador formed a rural cooperative with more than 150 member families who
grow sugar cane organically to promote environmental sustainability and biodiversity. The fragrance smells of
jasmine, vanilla and sandalwood, and was especially created by one of the world’s finest noses, Dominique
Ropion. The gift set includes the Eau du Parfum, body lotion and body wash.
First
Gift: Yellow Bird
Project Bon Iver T-Shirt, $25, yellowbirdproject.com
Second
Gift: A donation to
Interval House, a Toronto women’s shelter
This
T-Shirt, from one of the bands consistently on 2009’s album of the year lists, Bon Iver, is a hip way to
express your music tastes and your charitableness. Talk about a complex and interesting identity. The Yellow
Bird Project is a Montreal-based non-profit that works with a range of indie rock musicians to create
unique t-shirt designs that benefit charities chosen by the musicians. If Bon Iver isn’t your friend’s
favourite, the Yellow Bird Project has a long list of participating bands that have chosen Canadian charities
to donate their money to including Hayden and The Magic Numbers.
