The Holiday season, and by default, enticing Holiday retail sales, cometh. And with it the scramble to own the newest pieces of tech or fast fashion trends. But what about taking a more altruistic approach to gift-giving this year? Not sure what I mean… Read on to learn more about why a humanitarian angle of gift-giving should become a household tradition. And why now is the time to consider a few exciting gift-giving ideas with a humanitarian twist for the Holidays.
The gifting of humanitarian-based items isn’t just for the Holidays, but it’s a great time of year to start practicing. Especially when the majority of these presents require minimal to zero wrapping for presentation. My genuine kudos go out to those who repurpose/reuse plastic-lined wrapping paper or substitute it entirely with recyclable newspaper. These accolades extend to those leaning on natural decorating themes or those who elect to plant a tree vs. cutting one down for the show and tell of it all.
But for those of you out there who require a little extra direction, allow me to be of service.
Gift-Giving Ideas With A Humanitarian Twist
And I don’t mean the twisting of a bow. I’m referencing the word as a noun; the deviation in direction, to curve, bend, or turn. As in your mindset and approach to gift-giving in general. Whether you need a gift for avid travelers, children, or those seeking awareness around sustainable living efforts. Try these two suggestions to get you started:
- Into handmade jewelry? How about supporting women? The Boundless Marketplace provides the opportunity to do both at once. Because two birds with one stone is always better. Purchases of these artisan goods mean supporting women in developing nations. With 100% of proceeds going directly to the artist, Boundless Marketplace serves as a global platform that celebrates female entrepreneurship.
- On-the-go often? An avid traveler or an ocean enthusiast? Then be prepared to fall in love with Ocean Bottle. Give the gift of awareness and help clean up our oceans. Each Ocean Bottle purchased blocks 1,000 plastic bottles from reaching the sea. Plus it’s humbling supporting a product that has rescued over 4M pounds of plastic from our ocean ways.
Not a bad start, right? What about the little ones?
Humanitarian Gift-Giving Ideas For Children
It’s never too early to start teaching the lessons of interconnectedness. The younger in life, the better, in my opinion. Because social constructs, racism, and basic hatred can be replaced with love for fellow humans, unity, and compassion. Queue the harmonies for Kumbaya.
Here are a couple of humanitarian-based gift-giving ideas for children:
- For the little ones, try WWF Gifts. Adopt a wild animal in exchange for a plushy version of the same animal to hand over as something tangible. Educating little ones on the impacts humans and climate change have on these innocent creatures is key to empowering the next generation with eco-awareness.
- For teenagers on the verge of their gap year perhaps Actions Against Hunger is a compassionate Holiday gift-giving idea. AAH is an organization that has dedicated 40 years to fighting malnutrition across the African continent. Purchase livestock, and fishing gear, or provide clean drinking water for a village in need in their honor. Set the tone for humanitarian works as they become young adults.
The earlier humans begin to understand the power of their spending habits on the state of the world, the better. We do have control over what trends over the other. This year, why not use your hard-earned money to uplift and support the world where you physically cannot? It’s worth thinking about.
Why Choose A Humanitarian Gift-Giving Angle?
As the world continues to heal from the global pandemic, now is the best time to make this kind of switch up. Gifts that highlight our interconnectedness and spread awareness of the harsh impacts of climate change are where it’s at. Consider this kind of gift-giving becoming traditional vs. heaps of wasted, unrecyclable paper, and more material things that collect dust.
Furthermore, we are all in this together. And the harsh reality that many of us have loads more than the other is played out, don’t you think? Imagine the people who find themselves currently in need and can benefit from a useful gift. This is instead of buying yourself or a loved one the newest iPhone model or Gucci watch. Hundreds of thousands of families are worried about their next meal, the newest social media trend is the farthest from their thoughts.
Curios About How To Be More Involved in Sustainable Travel & Living Efforts?
I don’t blame you considering the future of travel is undoubtedly sustainable. Think about it, if the world continues to exist as it does, there will be no future for the next generation. In travel, in anything. To do my part to educate others about the industry I love so much, I have published several blogs to shed some light on the topic.
5 Easily Applicable Sustainable Traveling Methods to Adopt
What You Should Know About Slow Travel
The Truth About Sustainable Travel & How to Get Involved
And for my sustainable solo traveling beauties, Destinations for Eco-Conscious Solo Travelers.
Grab More Eco-Friendly Gift-Giving Ideas
By visiting my Travel 101 page. There you can find several brands that support sustainable traveling. I only choose to affiliate myself with brands of this capacity and as someone who does not feed into over-consumerism, I opt to stay away from Amazon as a platform in general.
These brands, however, are brands I use and support as an avid solo female traveler. As a result, I can offer minimal savings via the affiliate codes found on the page for first-time purchasers of each brand. Happy traveling! Travel responsibly.
