Top Five Gifts that Give Back

If those towels that Aunt Judy gave you last year are still sitting in your closet, and the last sweater from your mom hangs in your closet unworn, you may start to wonder what you can do with all of these well meaning gifts that you simply will not use. There is a lot of waste in the world simply because so many gifts are just plain bad. The thought behind them was often great, but that does not mean these things are useful. If you have a closet full of them, you may even call them wasteful. Instead of giving a sweater someone may not like, try to think about gifts that give back. They are great for any occasion.

The first type of gift on this list would be one that designates some profits to go to a charity or cause. This could be just about anything. You do run the risk of this gift going unused, but if you know someone well enough, you can probably pick something they are likely to use. These items can be anything from makeup, apparel, jewelry, and even some home furnishings and décor items. When you buy these items, some money goes to a charity. They are truly gifts that give back in a great way. You can choose by picking one that supports a cause dear to the person in question.

Along the same lines, gifts that give back can be items that make the world better for people in countries other than your own. You can put your money for gifts into items that are labeled as 'fair trade.' These are most commonly used things like coffee and chocolate, but there are others. Fair trade simply means that growers have been paid fair prices for their products, which is not always the practice in some areas of the worlds. This offers the small farmers the chance to get fair pricing on their good rather than being paid pennies on the dollar for things that will be marked up in price quite extensively. You can find many fair trade ideas out there for gifts that give back.