Gift giving is an expression of love.
It doesn’t have to be shallow.
It doesn’t have to be expensive.
It doesn’t have to be materialistic.
Gifts are a love language, because giving them is an opportunity to not only show your appreciation for and celebration of someone, but also to show that you truly know them—you know what they’d love and you’re spending time, money, or energy (or all of the above) to gift them with it.
And it gets even better than that.
In a post I shared last month, Becca Piastrelli of The Dabblist noted: “Psychologists report that, in the act of gift giving, it is the gift giver that gains more psychologically than the gift receiver.”
It would seem, then, that when you gift from the heart, everybody wins—the person you love wins, and so do you. 
And when you gift from one of these seven companies, a deserving charity, organization, or group of people does, too.
These are the gifts that truly give back.
If you’re shopping for last-minute holiday gifts that show your love—to a loved one, to yourself, to the world—you might start with these 7 gift ideas:
For every one product (they sell more than just comfy shoes!) you buy from TOMS, they’ll provide shoes, sight, water, safe birth or bullying prevention services to people in need.
Sevenly promotes social good by picking a new cause to highlight every week, donating portions ($7 or 7%) of every Cause of the Week product sold on the site to the cause of the week.
I can’t imagine a better bubbly with which to celebrate! OneHope Wine (and their OneHope Foundation) implements what they’ve termed “Social Impact as a Service”, giving half of their profits to charity.
The mission behind 31Bits, a socially conscious jewelry company, is to use “fashion and design to empower people to rise above poverty”, empowering women in Uganda to provide for their families by creating the beautiful jewelry products sold on the site.
The Giving Keys, an organization that makes key and lock necklaces with empowering words stamped into them, creates jobs for those affected by and transitioning out of homelessness.
Following the TOMS “buy one, give one” model, Yoobi Stationery donates one item to a U.S. classroom in need for every item that you purchase.
In their own words, Kate Spade’s On Purpose Collection has “eschewed the per-product donation or charitable contribution idea”, by actually hiring individual artisans in Masoro, Rwanda—purchasing and selling their goods globally on KateSpade.com, and offering them employee benefits (like maternity leave and health insurance), too.
When you share a gift that is thoughtful, unique, and tailored to the recipient, you are showing them love in the most tangible way. And when you share a gift that also gives back on a broader scale, you expand that love even wider.
That may be the best gift you can give this holiday season—the gift of a true, conscious love…that truly keeps on giving.
xo!
D
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Dr. Dowling has spent years helping people live richer, more joyful lives. She has seen firsthand the magical pairing of psychology and life coaching, which allows people to access their happiest selves.
View Dr. Dowling's articles on Mindbodygreen
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