The Top 5 Ethical Christmas Gifts

04 Dec 2009

Jolyon White offers his Top 5 ethical Christmas gifts to insure a clear conscience - and a low overdraft.

We all know Christmas consumerism is absurd, but the real question is how do we grace the tables of the poor with peace and inclusion without losing a sense of joy, wonder and celebration?

1: A Goat
Or a cow, drinking well or school supplies. Groups like Tear Fund, Oxfam, and World Vision make available a range of gifts of enormous value to a vulnerable family in the majority world. You can even buy the gift in someone else’s name, and they’ll get a certificate thanking them for the donation with a picture. This lets them know that they are a nice person by proxy and prevents them from having to say “it’s just what I always wanted” when they unwrap the sort of thing you gave them last year. Options usually range from $15 to several hundred dollars. Check out www.giftforlife.co.nz

2: A Kiva loan.
Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, allowing individuals to lend to unique entrepreneurs around the globe. People register their need for a small start-up loan anywhere in the world. If you like their project you can make a loan as low as $20. When the total amount of loans adds up to what they need, the loan is made. Like any loan you’ll be repaid so you can reinvest in another project or pocket the money again. All it costs is the interest you forego and you can even gift your loan in someone else’s name so they get the warm fuzzies for being nice. Check out www.kiva.org

3: Buy Local.
In terms of ethical it is hard to beat supporting a local artisan or producer. Not only are there environmental bonuses to ‘buying local’ but community groups receive on average 250% more from small local business than from large national business. Also, locally owned businesses spend significantly more of that money back into the local area – quite simply, buying local supports your community.

4: Time.
Why not give a gift that will encourage hanging out together; activities, sports stuff, games, or tickets to something. Make your own certificate offering one weekend of their choice, doing anything they like together. Or maybe give them the chance to dream up any charity or project or social issue to get involved with, help them get involved and foot the bill. Not just for kids either. A friend of mine made all the Christmas presents she gave that year, she put heaps of time into them all (what a show off). Tomato Relish anyone?

5. Memories
If the recession has left things really tight then try writing lots of good memories you have of a person on pieces of paper, roll them up and put them in a box. Get your grandmother a children’s book and rewrite it, adding good stuff about her and some of your childhood memories – guaranteed to make her cry in a good way - and I guarantee the sentiment will last long than the scorched almonds everyone else gets.

Words: Jolyon White