When gift-giving holidays roll around, those of us who care about social and environmental justice are always trying to balance our desire to give meaningful gifts with the knowledge that so many of our purchasing decisions are fueled by consumerism.
Of course, there are plenty of options to thrift, craft, or DIY a meaningful gift, but many of us simply do not have the time or energy to make something from scratch.
Fortunately, there are plenty of products out there that make it easier.
In this article, we’re highlighting our favorite recommendations for gifts that do good this season.
Let’s get to it!
By the way, some of the products and links in this article are partners and affiliates, which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Everything in this article was independently and honestly written by the Good Good Good team. Thank you!
The Best Do-Good Gifts This Holiday Season
Bombas Wool Socks Gift Box
Supports housing and essential services
Slipping on a cozy pair of socks — especially fresh from the package — is nothing short of luxurious. Bombas creates their socks with innovative technology and supreme comfort, so you can feel even more supported. We’re talking seamless toes, honeycomb arch support, venting, cushioning, and more.
Plus, for every item purchased, Bombas donates an essential clothing item to those in need, with over 150 million products donated — and counting.
This gift box of four pairs of merino wool calf socks is just one of countless options that will feel and do good this holiday season.
→ Shop: Bombas
Parks Project Wildflowers Full-Zip Fleece
Supports national parks and public lands
Experience wildflower season year-round! This high-pile fleece jacket is as cozy and cute as it is impactful. Made with recycled polyester and warm enough for the most adventurous excursions, it also gives back to national park lands across the country.
Since 2014, Parks Project has donated over $2.5 million towards advocacy and education that protects public lands.
→ Shop: Parks Project
Explore loads of other gifts for national park lovers!
Willinglee Gift Box
Supports various charities
Willinglee creates gift boxes for anyone, anytime. Choose from over 25 thoughtfully curated gifts or handpick items from their marketplace to craft a unique offering tailored to your recipient.
Each product is also sourced from authentic small businesses and artisans across the U.S.; Willinglee just takes care of the beautiful packaging for you! The selection of goodies is also inclusive for anyone in your life, regardless of their gender identity.
Best of all, Willinglee donates 1% of its sales to various charities, including organizations like Helen Keller International, World Central Kitchen, Texas Advocacy Project, and more.
→ Shop: Willinglee
P.S. You can take 10% off your first order with the code GOODSTHATMATTER
Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co. Hot Cocoa
Supports rescue animals
Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co. boasts that “every cup helps a pup.” In fact, 20% of all profits from the brand’s organic and eco-friendly coffee blends, merch, and hot cocoa go directly to rescue organizations that save shelter dogs.
Since its inception, Grounds & Hounds has helped provide 4.2 million meals, 24,000 toys, and 22,250 vaccines to shelter dogs in need.
Plus, who doesn’t want a bag of sweet and smooth hot cocoa?!
→ Shop: Grounds & Hounds
Cariuma Sneakers
Supports reforestation & climate action
Cariuma is a certified B Corp that creates skate shoes and sneakers for all.
Every time you purchase a pair of shoes — which come in a variety of styles — two trees are planted in the Brazilian rainforest. So far, they’ve planted 2.5 million trees and counting!
Plus, they use sustainable materials like organic cotton, bamboo, sugarcane, cork, and recycled nylon, PET plastics, and more. All packaging is also totally recyclable (and often made from recycled cardboard).
→ Shop: Cariuma
FEED Carryall Tote
Supports ending childhood hunger
FEED is a certified B Corp that makes a wide array of bags with organic cotton, recycled plastic, and natural dyes.
This Carryall Tote is no exception. A large-capacity bag with a wide shape, it’s the perfect go-to that you won’t actually forget before heading to the grocery store or farmer’s market — because it’s so cute!
Everything FEED makes and sells also points back to programs that end childhood hunger and make food accessible to all. Proceeds go to three partner organizations: No Kid Hungry, United Nations World Food Programme, and Akshaya Patra.
Since 2007, FEED has provided over 126 million school meals in over 20 countries, totaling over $14 million in support.
→ Shop: FEED
Paddywax St. Jude Candle
Supports pediatric cancer research
Paddywax candles come in a variety of delightful scents, but these ones — designed and inspired by patients in treatment at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital — take the cake.
This benefit collection includes scents like “Hope,” “Courage,” and “Possibilities,” featuring peaceful and uplifting fragrances in ceramic containers adorned with artwork that patients created during their time in the hospital.
Additionally, 5% of each candle purchase supports St. Jude’s mission of helping find cures and save the lives of children.
Pottery With a Purpose Beginner Clay Kit
Supports mental health
Does your gift recipient already seemingly have everything? Then, the gift of an experience is a no-brainer.
Pottery With Purpose is a woman-owned brand that offers vegan, USA-made crafting kits that help people tap into their creativity and let go of their need for perfection.
This Beginner Kit is perfect for folks to design, sculpt, and decorate and original piece with simple instructions. Founder Sam Hoff calls it a “hands-on, tech-free pause button.”
Plus, your purchase helps fund mental health organizations like Active Minds, Mental Health America, The Trevor Project, and more.
→ Shop: Pottery With a Purpose | Zero Waste Store
Explore other experience gifts!
Baloo Living Weighted Blanket
Supports sleep equity
With winter right around the corner, and stress levels keeping us and all of our loved ones up at night, there is no better antidote to both than a weighted blanket.
Baloo Living makes natural and chemical-free materials without any synthetic liners or polyester fill. Its blankets come in a variety of weights and colors, too, so you can find the perfect new addition for your gift recipient’s home.
A portion of Baloo’s profits also go to Pajama Program, a nonprofit that partners with schools, shelters, and group homes to provide new books and sleep essentials so children can have a good, safe, and secure night’s sleep.
→ Shop: Baloo Living
World Central Kitchen Cookbook
Supports humanitarian aid
Shopping for a chef? Look no further than “The World Central Kitchen Cookbook: Feeding Humanity, Feeding Hope.”
This cookbook is full of recipes inspired by the many places in which World Central Kitchen — and its founder, Chef José Andrés — have served following disasters. It also contains gorgeous photos and narratives that tell inspiring stories about chefs, volunteers, and communities on the front lines of crisis.
And of course, all author proceeds from the book support WCK’s emergency response efforts.
The Giving Keys Mini Key Necklace
Supports resources for transitioning out of homelessness
A sleek piece of jewelry that does good? Sign us up!
The Giving Keys’ necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and keychains are all part of the pay-it-forward company’s mission to spread support through human connections.
With hand-stamped products featuring words like Believe, Hope, and Strength, wearers are encouraged to embrace their word and then pass it on to someone else who they feel needs the message more. This Mini Key Necklace is a small but mighty reminder for anyone who wears it.
Plus, The Giving Keys donates a portion of its profits to Chrysalis, a nonprofit that provides employment resources and support for folks transitioning out of homelessness.
→ Shop: The Giving Keys
Who Gives A Crap Dream Cloths
Supports clean water and sanitation
This one is for the eco-friendly cleaning machine in your life. Who Gives A Crap’s Dream Cloths are part sponge-part cloth and serve as a reusable paper towel alternative.
They’re colorful and cute, and the perfect utilitarian gift that keeps things neat and tidy. Seriously — these cloths hold up to 13 times their weight in water and can easily be tossed in the washing machine or dishwasher.
Just like all of its toilet paper and other paper products, Who Gives A Crap donates 50% of profits to clean water and sanitation initiatives around the globe. So far, the brand has donated over $9.5 million to help people access vital services.
→ Shop: Who Gives A Crap
Greyston Bakery Benevolent Brownies
Supports workforce development
You can never go wrong with a sweet, straightforward snack for your gift recipient.
These Benevolent Brownies from Greyston Bakery come in flavors like classic chocolate fudge, vegan fudge, double chocolate chip blondie, and snickerdoodle. But the tastiest part of all? They help fund social programs at Greyston Bakery, which hires workers who otherwise wouldn’t be hired by other companies.
Employees also have access to a range of resources, like child care, community gardens, workforce development, sustainability initiatives, and more. All brownies are baked with love in New York and help alleviate poverty within its Yonkers community.
→ Shop: Greyston Bakery | Uncommon Goods
Explore other consumable gifts!
LifeStraw Home
Supports clean water and public health
While a LifeStraw water purification straw might be a great gift for your most adventurous loved ones, the brand also makes amazing purification systems right for your home!
The LifeStraw Home Water Pitcher is a smartly designed water filter pitcher that removes bacteria and parasites from, in addition to microplastics and other “forever chemicals.”
Not only does it make a difference in your own kitchen, but for every 500 products sold, LifeStraw donates a community purifier to a school in need, which provides safe drinking water to 100 school children for five years.
The brand has also worked with The Carter Center for over 25 years to support humanitarian efforts and Guinea Worm eradication.
Material Kitchen reBoard Cutting Board
Supports food justice
Whether your gift recipient is a pro at slicing and dicing, or they’re just trying to do a little more home cooking, the Material reBoard is the perfect choice.
The BPA-free cutting board is made entirely from upcycled and renewable materials (75% repurposed kitchenware plastic scraps, 25% renewable sugarcane) and donates to food justice organizations like Heart of Dinner, Apex for Youth, City Harvest, and more.
Together with shoppers, Material has donated over $184,000 to organizations feeding underserved communities in the U.S.
→ Shop: Material Kitchen | The Container Store
Keats & Co Tea
Supports global health
Scholars, entertainers, and philanthropist brothers John and Hank Green are no strangers to selling products that do good. From socks and soap to coffee and tea, their online store sends all of its proceeds to Partners in Health to improve health outcomes across the globe.
Their most recent endeavor is a line of loose-leaf teas that fund the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis and is named after poet John Keats, who died of the disease.
Teas come in a variety of poetic flavors, and accessories like tea strainers and infuser bottles are also available.
→ Shop: Good.Store
P.S. You can take 30% off your order with the code GOODGOODGOOD
Life is Good Boxy Tees
Supports childhood mental health care
Life is Good has long been a destination for comfy apparel items with positive sayings and playful graphics.
Its newest line of boxy tees — in both long and short sleeves — combine maximum comfort with laid back style.
Plus, 10% of Life is Good’s net profits go towards the company’s Playmaker Project, a nonprofit arm that reaches one million kids who face adversity like homelessness, abuse, or community violence.
The nonprofit “puts optimism into practice” and provides training to a network of over 16,000 professionals who help children heal.
“By having even just one positive relationship with a caring adult in early childhood can change a child’s life entirely,” the brand’s website says.
→ Shop: Life is Good
Activist Skincare Travel Kit
Supports environmental justice
Give them a fresh start to their skincare routine with Activist Skincare’s travel and trial kit. It comes with three cleansers, one toner, two serums, and one oil, all made with organic botanicals and thoughtfully sourced ingredients that are cruelty-free and 100% vegan.
Activist Skincare is also a member of 1% for the Planet, formally committing at least 1% of the brand’s revenue to environmental advocacy. Activist Skincare has also supported organizations like Earthjustice, Outdoor Afro, and Rainforest Trust.
→ Shop: Activist Skincare
Header images courtesy of Parks Project, Bombas, and Willinglee
