Gifts that Give Back: For Him

Generous & Practical: 5 Awesome Gifts He’ll Love

 

Finding the perfect gift for someone special is always challenging. I have several practical ideas I’m sure every man in your life would appreciate, but there’s something more to my list of gifts than just being awesome. The holidays are the perfect time to help those less fortunate, and I can show you how to combine generosity and practicality.

State Backpack

 

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A backpack that can never go out of style is something that every man needs. This one from the State collection is extremely practical – the large number of compartments allow you to carry quite a few items in one well-organized package. It can fit a 15” laptop, and it has a convenient number of side pockets.

For every backpack sold, State delivers another to a child in need. By making this purchase you’ll not only get a quality backpack for a special man in your life, but you’re also making a child out there really happy.

David Sheldrick Wildlife Sweatshirt

 

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One of my fave items!  This sweatshirt is made out of cotton, which makes it incredibly comfy. It can also be machine-washed, so it doesn’t require any special care – I’m sure that any man would appreciate that fact.

You should also know that it has an illustration of Eddie by Hugo Guinness on it. Eddie was an orphan elephant who was saved by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, hand raised and released back into the wild. She was one of over 190 elephants that were saved by this trust. The complete net of every purchase goes directly to this cause.

Conscious Step Socks

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I don’t know about you, but almost every man I know has trouble finding one whole matching pair of socks. You should introduce them to Conscious Step. My husband is obsessed and looks forward to getting them every year.

The logic behind these socks is easy. I mean why get “normal” everyday socks when you can get a fun pair that was made to help fund the world’s most important causes, like providing clean drinking water, ending famine, saving trees, fighting HIV and improving education worldwide. Conscious Step socks are quite extraordinary, don’t you think?

Feed Projects-Adventorous Kit

 

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Men, unlike most women, somehow forget to take their essentials with them, and perhaps the reason behind it is that they don’t own their own kit. In order to help that special man in your life have a much more relaxed and convenient trip, my suggestion is to get them a practical FEED kit. The thing that makes this kit so special is the fact that making one purchase provides 15 school meals to children worldwide.

Veja-Most Ethical Sneakers 

 

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We all know that men like their sneakers and really can’t get enough of them. The company Veja is setting an example for other brands. Just to name a few of their accomplishments-Veja uses rubber from the amazon and organic cotton, they employ over 300 families and provide them with a competitive salary, and finally to cut cost for their costumers, Veja does not advertise. A few weeks ago I wrote a detailed post on this brand (yes, I’m obsessed) -please read about it here. It’s an amazing gift for everyone that likes sneakers (every man in the world, really).

Beauty That Does Good

Origins of Alaffia

A fortunate moment that brought together Olowo-n’djo Tchala and Prairie Rose Hyde is responsible for the foundation of this company. This amazing couple worked very long in order to find a solution for creating better conditions for families in Togo.

After some time, they came up with a simple, but brilliant idea – why not use Africa’s natural gifts, share them with the rest of the world and help improve the living conditions for the citizens of Togo and beyond.

Thanks to a bit of help and support, they came up with five nurturing collections for skin and hair care. What makes these collections so unique is their coconut and shea based formulas that emphasize natural beauty and help you maintain it.

But that’s not all this couple is working on. Alaffia is so much more than another business that sells beauty products – what makes them different is their company’s policy and the principles that both of them care deeply about.

Fair Trade Policy

For starters, they respect the Fair Trade movement that enables economically disadvantaged countries to receive a greater percentage of the price which is paid by consumers. Thanks to their policy, developing countries and their citizens can improve the conditions regarding basic human rights and finally put an end to some quite serious issues, such as child labor.

Help for Mothers

Did you know that each year of 160,000 women die due to labor complications in West Africa alone? The most powerful factor for this terrible fact is poverty, and others such as inadequate infrastructure only contribute to it.

Alaffia’s Maternal Health Project is working hard to lower and eventually eliminate these rates. Up until now, they have managed to pay for over 3,500 childbirths and still working to increase those numbers.

Empowerment Project

With money that comes from their skin and hair care collection, this generous couple is doing their best to improve living conditions in Togo, but primarily in the social and educational fields. Their company hires locals, pays for their health insurance and helps them raise their family.

That kind of empowerment to each and every individual they get in touch with makes a difference with a variety issues, like gender equality. With the rest of the money at their disposal, Alaffia is also contributing to youth educational projects.

Olowo-n’djo and Prairie have made it as easy as possible for us to help them with their cause. By getting one of their natural skin or hair care products, you’ll have a positive impact on someone’s life. You can order their products online or stop by Fairway!

Every Drop Matters, Every Second Counts

We often forget that there are many people less fortunate than us. This isn’t something you need to feel guilty about – it’s in human nature to allow our minds to be preoccupied with everyday troubles like our jobs, home chores and our social life. However, some global issues can’t wait for us to have time but instead need to be dealt with right now. Let me tell you how this watch (yes, watch…as in the thing you wear around your wrist that tells the time) is saving lives!!

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Fight for Basic Humans Rights

Just try to imagine how you would feel if you were thirsty all the time and you couldn’t take a refreshing shower or pour yourself a cup of delicious coffee. It’s even hard to imagine, isn’t it? Well, developing countries deal with such problems on daily basis – every day mothers send their thirsty children to schools that don’t have safe drinking water. Water is a basic human right, and not a single being on our planet should be left without it.

Running Out of Time & Water

Unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are the cause of over 90% of the 30,000 deaths that happen every week – and that number only covers children under the age of five. If we act on this horrifying fact and help distribute clean water and improve hygiene conditions, together we can prevent over 3.6% of the world’s disease problem.

Potters for Peace

Side by side with NGO, RDIC.org, Local Cambodian Ceramic Factory and Reputable Chinese Manufacturers through Alibaba, TUK wants to put an end to this. A brilliant solution that’s beneficial in many different areas has appeared – according to a UNICEF study in Cambodia, ceramic filters made for pots are light, relatively inexpensive, easily portable, chemical free and highly efficient.

For $15 we have managed to fit in a ceramic filter, 11 liter filter pot, 35 liter water storage and a cleaning kit. The whole pot and everything included can last up to around 5 years, and filters should be changed after up to two years. The pots are manufactured locally, so the Cambodians themselves are working on their production – Marc Hall is the one responsible for providing safe working conditions, great pay and health benefits for his employees.

 

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Sophistication, Simplified

Did you know that TUK is actually a Cambodian world for water? Our story actually begins with Kelsey Braun who founded TUK Watches with Shelby Bissen in 2015. After spending time in developing countries, she personally experienced what it’s like to be out of drinking water. This experience changed her and allowed her to get a better perspective on life.

After she met Shelby Bissan, they found a way to bring a sense of urgency closer to the minds of people in first world countries. By creating a simple, but sophisticated watch design, made out of leather bands and stainless steel clasps, the TUK team combined serious global problems with fashion – because every second counts.

Join their cause on Kickstarter from October 15th to November 24th and help them collect $22,000, so they can run their first production. Help make the world a better place.

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Bobbi Brown + GirlRising

Hi Friends!

I want to apologize for deserting you for a week. Things got really busy but I’m back with some exciting new posts! 🙂

Today we will talk about how Bobbi Brown is using her company to empower girls around the world. Before I go into the details of her campaign, I want to give you some alarming statistics.

  • 65 million girls around the world don’t attend school.
  • Two-thirds of the 792 million illiterate adults are females.
  • 14 million girls under 18 will be married this year.

Crying yet? Yup…this is really happening.  So now you understand why I jumped with joy when I heard that Bobbi Brown was joining the GirlRising movement and launching her own campaign called: The Pretty Powerful Campaign for Women and Girls. Bobbi Brown is giving us the opportunity to all make a difference and empower women and girls through this initiative. Bobbi Brown will give 100% of the proceeds of every Pot Rouge sold to one of these organizations :

US & UKDress for Success, an international non-profit organization that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.

Hong KongHER FUND, a charity that promotes human rights and gender equality for women and girls.

KoreaOpen Closet, an organization that supports job seekers with limited resources by providing access to professional attire, as well as other career development tools.

South AfricaHeartBeat, a charity that cares for the emotional well-being of orphaned and vulnerable young women and girls suffering from the impact of HIV.

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Fuel for the Fight

Hi Friends!

Hope everyone is ready for Christmas! I certainly am not! Ha! I still have some shopping to do…ahhh.  But anyways, I wanted to share this with you because it warmed up my heart when I saw it.  So, a few days ago I came across TreatMint Box. Treatmint Box offers gifts for cancer patients and survivors. It is the first-ever subscription service dedicated to cancer patients, survivors and caregivers. Their mission is to provide a rock solid way for friends and family to show their support and stay connected. Just so you know, this company was started by Kimberly Fink, a stylist who was diagnose with uterine cancer at the age of 32. After going into remission, she contacted folks in her network and started the company.

TREATMINT Box’s curated boxes and products provide inspiration to fuel the fight of those battling and healing from cancer. You can expect gifts that provide comfort and inspire. Below are some examples of items that can go into a box.

Isn’t this an amazing idea? I don’t have anyone close to me with cancer but during this holiday season I am keeping others in mind that may have families and friends with cancer and who are thinking of different ways to make them smile during the holidays.

XO,

Lourdes

Treat Men-Photo by http://www.treatmintbox.com

 

 

 

Treat Women, photo by: http://www.treatmintbox.com

 

Why I love Donna Karen (And you should, too!)

Hi Friends!

When Donna Karen is not getting ready for runway shows or traveling the world, she is caring for some great causes! I am not sure if you were aware of this but she has a foundation called the Urban Zen Foundation that is supported by the Urban Zen Store in the west village. The Urban Zen foundation has a three-part mission: Well-being, Empowering Children, and Preserving Cultures. Donna Karen created the Urban Zen Foundation because she wanted to integrate business with philanthropy and globally expand on the “soulful economy movement”concept.

The Urban Zen clothing collection is beautiful and inspired by Donna Karen’s travel experiences throughout the world, especially Haiti, a place very dear to her heart. Check them out here:

Below are some of my faves. 😉

 

XO,

Lourdes

 

 

 

 

Roger Vivier + We Are Family Foundation

Hi Friends!

I have awesome news for my London peeps!  Roger Vivier (known for creating the first “stiletto heel” in 1954) is collaborating with We are Family Foundation this holiday season. All sales until tomorrow will be benefiting the foundation. We Are Family Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the vision of a global family by creating and supporting programs that inspire and educate the next generation about respect, understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity – while striving to solve some of our biggest global problems at the same time.

This amazing collaboration comes as no surprise to me since recently We are Family Foundation hosted the 2014 Tedxteen conference in London and it was a success! Watch it here.

If you are not in London, feel free to pass this onto family and friends who are!

Happy Saturday!

 

XO,

Lourdes

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Eileen Fisher

Have you ever visited Eileen Fisher’s website? If not, do it now {then come back to my post; of course ;)}. What you will find is a fashion company that doesn’t only believe in philanthropy but has deeply weaved social responsibility from manufacturing all the garments she sells to the very core of the company. Eileen Fisher sees ” business as movement” meaning that she drives her company as an agent of change. The company even has a human rights leader in charge of making sure factories abroad are not part of human trafficking. Locally, stores nationwide host fundraising events, book readings and even knitting sessions. Along with all that, Eileen also founded a leadership institute focused on empowering women and girls and a grant program for women entrepreneurs that are themselves agents of change for women and girls.

Honestly, I’m giving you a small glimpse of all the awesome things this company does. I could spend hours writing about how they pick organic cotton for the garments they sell or how they even created a recycling program where the proceeds go to empowering girls. I mean, aren’t they just perfect? Well, maybe not perfect, but they sure do come close…

Now go and browse some of their beautiful garments and shop because now you know that buying from Eileen Fisher won’t only make you look beautiful but will make you feel great that today you contributed to a greater cause.

Below are some of my favorite fall pieces. 😉

Classic Collar Shirt In Crinkle Silk Crepe

Classic Collar Shirt In Crinkle Silk Crepe

Sweater poncho

Sweater poncho

Leather Sleeve Cardigan

Leather Sleeve Cardigan