GIFTS THAT GIVE BACK

For a wealth of green living tips, tutorials, and articles, click The Green Home Guide at Grow and Make.

Our Guide to Green Family, Kids & Pets is full of good ideas.

Here are some ideas about ways of giving that are about more than just material items. We've outlined some organizations which give you alternatives to traditional gift giving and some products which lessen your impact on the environment. One nice thing about many of our 'Giving Back' selections is that they can be made and received online instantaneously.

Giving Back Idea

MercyCorps Mercy Kits which are symbolic gifts that support efforts to turn the challenges of disaster, poverty, conflict and instability into opportunity for millions of people in the world's toughest places. The Kits include 'Climate Change Kit', 'Water Saving Kit', 'Displacement Kit', 'Cricket Farm Kit', 'Beekeeping Kit'. By choosing to give one of these kits as a gift you can have a large impact on improving the world and making it more sustainable.

The Mission of Mercy Corps is to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities.

Gift Idea

Garden and Herb Grow Kits allow you to grow your own herbs indoors and start vegetables, medicinal herbs and tea herbs.

Giving Back Idea

CSA.org allows you to provide a gift of shares in an organic community farm. Your gift recipient will receive fresh, locally grown organic food dropped off at their home. Visit the site and enter your zipcode and you'll be able to select a gift based on the recipients location.

Gift Idea

Counter-top composter provides an easy way to get started with composting at home.

Giving Back Idea

Tis Best partners with more than 200 certified nonprofits so you can give a "charity of choice" gift cards, which allows recipients to donate anywhere from $10 to $200 to a favorite charity.

Gift Idea

Plastic bag drier makes the process of re-using plastic bags a lot easier.

Giving Back Idea

Heifer International's mission is to help struggling communities end hunger and poverty through the gift of livestock, bees, seeds, farming tools and the know-how to reap a sustainable harvest from them. Heifer offers a wide variety of options, from water buffalo to honeybees to a llama that can provide wool, milk and meat for an entire South American family.

Gift Idea

Smart Power Strip provide a way to eliminate phantom power use.

Giving Back Idea

The Nature Conservancy is responsible for preserving scenic and ecologically important land around the world. The nonprofit land trust has a range of green gift options which help with preservation efforts.

Solar Light Bottle is both a large water bottle and a solar powered lid with LED lights.

Giving Back Idea

CarbonFund.org Provides carbon offset gift cards which can allow you to give your gift recipient a years offset of carbon emissions. $100 for 10 tons or $20 for two tons at carbonfund.org.

Gift Idea

Solio Compact Solar Charger is a portable solar powered charger which can be used for charging MP3 players, cell phones and small electronic devices.

Giving Back Idea

CharityGuide.org can provide you with a volunteer vacation which you can take on your own, with your family or a special friend. Take a vacation where you come back with your soul feeling refreshed. These are vacations where you can give back to a remote community while experiencing their culture, geography and landscapes.

Gift Idea
Freeplay Radios are a great take-it-anywhere radio which runs off human cranking or a small built in solar panel.

Giving Back Idea

Charity Navigator provides 88 environmental charities which are rated with four stars by Charity Navigator. You can make a donation as a gift and you'll know you're giving a gift which gives back. Read the review and rating for each of the organizations before giving.

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