When giving gifts for the holidays, we try to follow a couple of guidelines.
Homemade or hand-made items always outrank mass-produced. If we have to buy something that is mass-produced, we go to an independent business, not a chain, because spending our cash locally makes a difference in our communities. We try to think of others who aren’t as fortunate as us, so organizations that teach and help people to sustain themselves get our vote.
I’d like to share my list of 6 gifts that make a difference. Maybe you’ll see something that calls to you as a gift for that someone that has everything.
Heifer International
Heifer’s mission is to end hunger and poverty while caring for the earth. For more than 60 years, Heifer International has provided livestock and environmentally sound agricultural training to improve the lives of those who struggle daily for reliable sources of food and income. And since 1944, we have helped 48 million people through training in livestock development and livestock gifts that multiply.
You can give the gift of honeybees, a goat, a llama, or a flock of ducks to a family or community in need. These gifts aren’t charity, they’re an investment in people and villages all over the world.
The last couple of weeks a realization has hit me… when I don’t go into stores, I want for little (this goes for wanting to buy things for my children). Our lives are full, we all have what we need and more. As Christmas approaches I have ventured out into the stores on a few occasions and BAM! “Oh, the kids would like this and that… isn’t that pretty… this would look great on the table…”
Commercials seem to have this effect on my kids, when they get to watch television they suddenly want EVERYTHING. There is nothing I see advertised that I then think, “oh, I want that”. For me, its a touch and feel kind of thing, which is why I also don’t do much online shopping.
Obviously we have what we need and Walmart will not be protecting us any more than they’ll be protective of the environment.
But I’ve got two quick tips for you, two lovely small businesses run by families, for families and I promise I’ll talk more extensively about their products when I have more free time.
1. Jelly Bean Row is beautiful handcrafted little victorian buildings that sit on your [...]
Update: The pregnant woman was injured; she did not miscarry as stated in early reports of the incident.
I’ve never understood what would move someone to get up early and be at a store at 5:00 am on the day after Thanksgiving. The crowds, the hassle, and the grotesqueness of over-consuming is enough to make me stay away from any store on Black Friday. Apparently, I am not alone, as today is also Buy Nothing Day.
Today is Buy Nothing Day:
Suddenly, we ran out of money and, to avoid collapse, we quickly pumped liquidity back into the system. But behind our financial crisis a much more ominous crisis looms: we are running out of nature… fish, forests, fresh water, minerals, soil. What are we going to do when supplies of these vital resources run low?
There’s only one way to avoid the collapse of this human experiment of ours on Planet Earth: we have to consume less.
It will take a massive mindshift. You can start the ball rolling by buying nothing on November 28th. Then celebrate Christmas differently this year, and make a New Year’s resolution to change your lifestyle in 2009.
It’s now or never!
Tragically, two souls have been lost already on this Black Friday. When the doors opened at a Long Island Wal-Mart at 5:00 am, a worker was trampled to death and a woman miscarried. The worker was an overnight stock clerk who was trying to hold back the unruly crowd of shoppers. Even as the man was trampled and gasping for air, shoppers continued to rush over and around him. A pregnant woman was also knocked down. When the paramedics arrived, they told her there was nothing they could do for the baby that was already gone. Sadly, shoppers just kept entering the store without paying attention to the dead man on the ground and the pregnant woman who lost her baby.
A new player in the online world this year is BlackFridayinfo.com, a website devoted to listing the various deals available on Black Friday, traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year. Or, this year, maybe not, according to this Black Friday Eve video.
In a nutshell, what BlackFridayinfo tries to do is provide consumers with a quick way to find out the best deals for Black Friday. What it, perhaps inadvertently does is drive consumers online.
I’m a firm believer in voting with your dollars. One of the most effective ways to effectuate change is to voice your opinion by the way you spend your hard-earned money. If you want to support renewable energies, sustainable fabrics, green building or fair trade products - then buy them. You, and all those that “vote” with you, will get attention simply because every business wants to provide what consumers want.
This weekend America will celebrate what has become the greatest logistically challenging holiday in its history – Black Friday. The one day retailers, online and offline, as well as economy and industry analysts, wake up and just watch the numbers,.The staffing, sourcing, shipping, & production cycles generated to meet the demands of this massive consumption holiday are tremendous. All are hoping to capture at least a small portion of consumers’ massive holiday wallet spend.
Question should we have a sale on Black Friday / Or should we wait 4 Cyber Monday? Also any ideas on how to promote sale of our Holiday items
As are many retailers, green or not, Trees Instead which is a sight where users can buy a tree to be planted in the Amazon, the US or Israel for various occasions (among other things), wants to run a sale on their service and products.
Over the years, as online shopping has matured, Black Friday, as the day after Thanksgiving is called, because that is the day of the year that many retailers actually start to make profits or “go in the black”, has been followed by an equally big shopping day, Cyber Monday - the day consumers turn to look for online sales.
This year with Black Friday looking to turn out to be very black indeed, as in funeral black not profits black, retailers both on and offline are looking for ways to fight the tide of bad news and entice consumers into the store.
For green and socially responsible retailers, here are some thoughts:
It’s a great idea: A small non-profit, Global Giving, challenges Americans to avoid the long lines and return to the true “Giving Spirit” of the holidays. But is it? Is it with, what, according to Charity Navigator, the well-respected non-profit watch dog, NOT a top notch company…in fact, the lowest ranked of similar organizations! Global Giving, according to Market Watch is encouraging shoppers to give a donation instead of a gift:
To help Americans rediscover the true meaning of the holidays AND find a gift for “the person who has everything,” [Global Giving] — “the Amazon of philanthropy” — is launching the “Great American Sleep-In”: a challenge to get more Americans to spend time with their loved ones and avoid the mall traffic this “Black Friday” by giving a gift that gives back … all from the comfort of their own home…. This year, instead of spending $20 on another tie, how about providing baby bottles to mothers in Brooklyn, immunizing mothers and children in India or sending a child to school in Uganda?
The problem is, that the organization running this promotion — and don’t be fooled for a minute, this is a promotion — may not be such a great sponsor. After a bit of research, I’m not sure I want to give them my donation. This, from their own site, troubles me:
All donations go through the GlobalGiving Foundation, a registered 501(c)3 organization, which receives a nominal 10% fee. This helps cover the cost of operating the marketplace - finding and researching projects, attracting donors, and building our website.
Heifer International
It’s a great idea: A small non-profit, 
