11 Awesome Holiday Gifts You'll Feel Good About Giving

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Be a Whistleblower

Sure, it’s stylish, but this Gunmetal whistle from Falling Whistles is a reminder of a haunting reality: Child soldiers in Congo are given similar whistles to use as a warning call in battles. Profits help support families in the Democratic Republic of Congo who have been displaced by violence.

Photo: Falling Whistles

Help Food Insecure Community

“On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, six geese a laying…” You can give that traditional carol some modern-day resonance by giving a goose from Heifer International to a family in an emerging economies. Geese not only lay up to 75 eggs a year, but they require little care, are adaptable to weather, and (bonus) they’re very loud, vigilant watchdogs for small communities.

Photo: Dendroica Cerulea/Creative Commons via Flickr

Buy Products Designed for Good

Designed Good offers a range of products that are designed with the good of the world in mind. The company’s OAK (Ordinary Acts of Kindness) backpack is not only made in America, but proceeds from its sales go toward donating backpacks and school supplies to children in Austin, TX (through CapCityKids) and in Rwanda (via Africa New Life). And with the Designed Good Joco Cup, you can keep your coffee warm and help cut back on the over 2.5 billion paper cups used a year.

Photo: Designed Good

Go to the Source, go to Grove

“Stay small, stay honest,” is the motto of Portland, Orgon-based Grove. The founders, designers Joe Mansfield and Ken Tomita, make custom wood, wool felt, and vegetable leather cases for books and Apple products. No middlemen here – they do everything from the design to the milling to the sewing themselves.

Photo: Grove

Hand Made Cases for Apple Products

If you dig tradition, you’ll want to check out DodoCase. The company prides itself on preserving traditional bookbinding techniques—adapted to the world of e-readers. All manufacturing is done locally by Bay Area artisans.

Photo: DodoCase

Give the Gift of Education

Pencils of Promise founder Adam Braun started his company while backpacking around the globe handing out pencils to kids. Today, Pencils of Promise is focused on building schools for the 75 million kids around the world who don’t have access to an education. The pencils are no longer free, but Braun’s dedication to his cause is clear: 100 percent of Pencils of Promise’s proceeds go toward building schools.

Photo: Pencils of Promise

Responsibly Made Gifts

You can’t really make a bad choice when shopping at Purecitizen. The site showcases a wide range of ethically produced items, whether you’re in the market for clothing, beauty products, or jewelry. You can even filter products to ensure to make sure what you are buying is vegan, cruelty-free, ethically made, organic, or made in the United States.

Photo: Purecitizen

Krochet to Fight Poverty

Krochet Kids’ mission is to help impoverished communities in Peru and Uganda rise above poverty by creating sustainable economies. Three high school friends (all boys!) learned crocheting in high school, then traveled to Uganda post-college to teach the skill to women in struggling areas. The hats, scarves, and headbands make great gifts.

Photo: Krochet Kids

Environmentally Conscious Fashion

Patagonia is making a new pitch to consumers: Buy less. The company has realized that everything it manufactures takes more resources from the planet, so it’s adopted Footprint Chronicles to track environmental impact and actively try to reduce waste in their supply chain. It’s a corporate approach worth supporting—but don’t buy too much! You might consider Patagonia’s badass beanies, or travel gear for the outdoors.

Photo: Patagonia

See a New World with Toms

Shoes are the most popular item sold by Toms, but the socially minded company doesn’t stop with footwear. This holiday season, it’s Toms sunglasses that you should really be buying: For every pair purchased, the company donates prescription glasses (or helps with visual medical care or surgery) to a visually impaired person in the developing world.

Photo: Toms

Stylish Bags that Build Economies

This Ignition Hobo Bag from Della is handmade near Lake Volta in Hohoe, Ghana. The company aims to teach women marketable skills, like sewing, so they can make a living wage.

Photo: Della

How are you giving back during the holidays? Tell us in the comments

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Everyone loves the holidays. Right? Okay, don't answer that. We all know the holidays can be stressful, especially if you have to buy gifts for a dozen or more people. If you fall into that category, here's one way to take some of the pressure off: make your gifts instead of buy them. It's cheaper, fun, and you can show your relatives the thought that goes into some homemade pomegranate vodka.

Go through the videos in TakePart.com's Better Than Store-Bought series, and then take the pledge below to make as many gifts as possible, instead of rushing off to the mall.

Now, when Cousin Barry asks, "What store did this come from?" you can answer "I hope you enjoy your homemade honey sugar body scrub!"

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Homemade gifts are more sustainable, can be simple to make, and often show more thought and effort than purchasing a gift card. I pledge to watch TakePart's Better Than Store-Bought series and, whenever possible, make holiday gifts for my friends and family instead of purchasing them.

Thank you for taking the pledge!

Share this page and help others make their own holiday gifts this year.

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Andrew Freeman is a California native with a degree in history from UCLA. He’s covered a wide range of topics for TakePart, but is particularly interested in politics and policy. Email Andrew |@natureofdabeast | TakePart.com