Ethical Gift-Giving - How to shop smart!

"Every day, the dollars we spend are a vote for the kind of world that we want."

Last year I did a sort of shopping guide for bibliophiles.  This year, I wanted to do one on ethical gift-giving, but did not get to it before Black Friday.  And then I came across Relevant's version and thought I would share it here.  

Shopping ethically can seem so complicated--like, does this mean I have to make soap from scratch and only wear hippie-styled, fair trade ponchos?  But I've decided to educate myself and incrementally adjust my shopping habits.  But the best thing anyone can do is simply start educating themselves.  Contrary to my initial assumption, it doesn't even necessarily cost more.  

So if you care about what your money is voting for, I'd encourage you to explore some of the resources Relevant suggests.  Get gifts for the people you love with the knowledge you're not hurting anyone else or this planet.

And Happy Advent!

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Just an update that if a quality, new bag is on the list of someone you might know (or yourself), I just happened upon this pretty cool company called better life bags.  You can check out their awesome mission here.

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Second update that I just made a new pinterest board for this because I keep finding fun new companies that give back.  If you'd be interested in contributing to that board, let me know!  Cheers!