(Could that title have possibly contained any more alliteration?!)
Yes, my fellow adherents, the true reason for the season: GIFTS!
At the risk of spoiling some of the surprise for my immediate family, this is the second year in a row that I have bought all of their presents from either Christian nonprofits or from companies dedicated to an ethics of sustainability and worker's rights.
These are gifts that actually do give back--in addition to obtaining something nice for a loved one, I am also giving my hard-earned salary to companies and charities who I know will do good in the world.
In other words, the impact of the gift doesn't stop with me giving it.
If you're looking for a few places to buy such gifts for your loved ones as we rush towards Christmas, here are a few of my humble recommendations. This list should by no means be considered exhaustive--there are LOTS of great causes and companies worthy of your patronage this Christmas season. There are merely a few of my favorites:
World Vision is an ecumenical, evangelical world relief organization dedicated to providing material aid to the poor while also championing their cause and spreading awareness of their lives without condition (they are adamantly against leading someone to hear a religious message as a condition of their help). It has grown into a huge organization with a genuinely global presence. If you donate to their Maximum Impact fund, there are a number of gifts--predominantly crafts and clothing accessories--you can select from to give to your loved ones this Christmas.
This one is very important to me for sentimental reasons. One of my pastoral counseling professors in seminary is a Carmelite priest, and I actually received much of my religious education from the Roman Catholic seminaries in the Graduate Theological Union. Recommended to me by one of my seminary classmates, Mystic Monk Coffee is a micro-roaster run by the Carmelite monks of a monastery near Cody, Wyoming. They do this so that they, like other Catholic monks, can be self-sustaining, and the coffee is really very good, with a variety of roasts and blends (including some fair trade and organic options) available in both whole bean and ground packages. They also sell tea, chocolates, mugs, and various coffee-related gizmos.
Ten Thousand Villages, like World Vision, has been around for quite a while and is a leader in the international fair trade arena, with relationships with hundreds of artisans around the world. This has led to a wide array of products for sale, including crafts, dishes, clothing, decor, and more. They are also committed to environmental sustainability, and have won numerous distinctions for their commitment to reducing their carbon footprint--no small feat for an intentionally global-oriented business. This is a discovery I can credit to my parents--they have been patronizing Ten Thousand Villages for years, and I enjoy maintaining that particular family tradition.
Even though exposes on the conditions of sweatshop labor have been running for years, sweatshops still exist because, hey, we like cheap clothes. American Apparel has taken a different tack by manufacturing all of its clothing in the USA while also advocating for comprehensive immigration reform on behalf of immigrants who come here and end up being exploited on the job market. After the Prop 8 same-sex marriage ban passed in California (where they are headquartered), American Apparel created a line of t-shirts to express solidarity with the GLBT community.
If you want to give a straight-up donation in somebody else's name, there are tons of great organizations to donate to, and this is but one. Living Water is affiliated with the Advent Conspiracy--the grassroots movement I based my Advent sermon series on last year--and they are dedicated to drilling clean water wells throughout the global south. They recognize water not just as a fundamental necessity, but as a keystone to so many other things, including gender equality (as water shortages tend to affect women and children the most). After my sermon series last year, several folks I knew ended up making donations to Living Water as a Christmas present to me. It was incredible.
Those are a few of my favorites. Do y'all have any favorite ethical gift sources you like to buy from for the holidays? Feel free to share!
Yours in Christ,
Eric
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