Choose to opt-out of the consumerism of the holiday season by supporting a good cause.

Instead of shopping at the mall this holiday season, use your dollars to support a good cause in the names of your giftees. It’s the thought that counts, right? So, make it really count by supporting a good cause that you most identify with, or to try to match up your gift list with a good cause that they can support.

A note: Don’t just take our word for it. Whenever choosing a charity,  make sure to visit Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, or other charity rating sites for the low-down before donating to your good cause.

1. Nothing But Nets – Support this global grassroots campaign to fight malaria, a leading cause of death among children in many parts of the world. The group’s goal is to distribute as many mosquito nets as possible in the fight to stop malaria deaths.
2. Kiva –  Kiva is a micro-lending nonprofit with a mission of connecting people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the power of the Internet, Kiva connects individuals with the ability to lend (as little as $25) to help support and create entrepreneurial opportunities around the world.
3. Planned Parenthood – Planned Parenthood provides reproductive health care, sex education, and information for women and men worldwide. Its work promotes a commonsense approach to women’s health and well-being, based on respect for each individual’s right to make informed, independent decisions about health, sex, and family planning.
4. Starkey Hearing Foundation – The Starkey Hearing Foundation provides support to children and adults around the world who have disabling hearing loss (according to the World Health Organization, that accounts for more than 360 million people worldwide). The Starkey Hearing Foundation has worldwide initiatives to help people afford hearing aids and get access to the care they need.
5. Heifer International – Heifer International’s mission is to work with communities to end world hunger and poverty and to care for the environment in a sustainable manner. It  empowers communities and bring sustainable agriculture and commerce to areas with long histories of poverty.
6. National Public Radio – Support the non-commercial news and programming of public radio by donating to your local NPR station. Donations by individuals account for the largest share of NPR’s revenues–as much as 34 percent in 2013.
7. Meals on Wheels – Meals on Wheels provides both meals and company to seniors and others who may have lost mobility as a result of age or illness. Nationally, Meals on Wheels provides over 2.5 meals for seniors. You can choose to give to the national organization, Meals on Wheels America, or support a local provider of meals for direct impact in your community.
8. Highland Titles – Support land conservation in Scotland and give the gift of the title of “Lady” or “Laird” with a donation to the Highland Titles. The motto is “conserving Scotland one square mile at a time.”
9. Feeding America – Help stamp out hunger in America by supporting Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks and the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity. Feeding America serves over 46 million people annually with local food programs.
10. Farm Sanctuary – Finally, Farm Sanctuary’s mission is to protect farm animals from cruelty, inspire change in the way society views and treats farm animals, and promote compassionate vegan living.

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Yes, you read that correctly. Following suit with other fashion icons, the luxury brand Gucci has made a first step forward on the eco catwalk.

And the sexy creative director behind the luxury brand known for its double “GG” symbol stands at the forefront.

Frida Giannini is her name and she designed (and models in the image above) this limited edition eco-friendly T-shirt in honor of the environmental film HOME, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. The film was also funded by Gucci’s parent company, the PPR Group.

HOME expresses a deep concern for the earth. But rather than get overwhelmed and simply give up, Arthus-Bertrand suggests we work together to reverse the damage and change our destructive, wasteful ways.

The film features spectacular footage of over 50 countries, shot from the air. It’s a beautiful piece with an important message.

“Anyone who watches the film will not fail to be deeply moved by the incredible imagery captured by Arthus-Bertrand. It is a truly remarkable call to action for all of us to play a part in protecting the planet for the generations to come,” says Giannini.

Giannini’s T-shirt is made using 100% organic cotton and natural dyes. It features the Gucci logo integrated with the official HOME logo on the front; the back lists the name of each country shown in the film. It comes in a matching canvas tote and is available in both men’s and women’s sizes.

On sale now, find it at select Gucci stores for $195. All proceeds go to GoodPlanet.org, the non-profit created by Arthus-Bertrand.

The film premiers on June 5th in over 50 countries and in 14 different languages. For more information, go to the film’s website.

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It takes a village and and some of the best graphic artists around to rebuild after the devastating Southern California wildfires of 2007. Using the model of the Hurricane Poster Project for victims of Hurricane Katrina, artists and designers from around the globe donated posters to raise money for victims in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego Counties.

The So-Cal Fire Poster Project was the brainchild of Josh Higgins, a graphic designer from San Diego. Sold from $35 to $75, proceeds from the 52 designs are sent to the Salvation Army California Wildlife Relief Fund which will help residents in need.

Repopulating Hope and Long Live Southern Cal (below) are part of a series of four posters designed by the Metropolis magazine art department (MAKE0OUT) using 100% recycled papers. All of the posters are available at Relief Posters. For the price, you can add some meaningful art to your walls and help the fire recovery at the same time. These are so cool, you don’t even need to frame them. Just mount them on foam core and find a great spot in your house, perhaps near a fire hydrant as a reminder of fire safety.

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Accidentally shot at the age of 9 and paralyzed from the waist down, Chanda Hinton didn’t let her disabilities stop her from participating in activities with friends throughout her school years. But in college, she began to experience chronic pain. The best her physician could do was prescribe narcotic painkillers, which only caused Chanda depression, severe weight loss and substance dependence.

Through the advice of her sister, Chanda tried alternative therapies such as acupuncture, massage and dietary changes. She regained her weight and health and her self-esteem improved dramatically. Her own journey to wellness ignited a spark and she decided to help other disabled people access alternative and complementary therapies, as well.

At the age of 26, Chanda started her own nonprofit, the Chanda Plan Foundation, which helps distribute funds to those who need them so they can choose their own complementary health care practitioners. She’s even been lobbying for Medicaid approval of alternative therapies and wants to start an education center for physicians so they, too, can understand just how complementary these alternative therapies can be.

Image: russell.bride

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It’s great to send and receive cards. But what do you do with them once the holiday season is finished?

One of my friends bought her kids a paper recycling kit for Christmas with the aim of taking all the greeting cards they received and turning them into decorative paper that could be used for this year’s birthday cards.

But if you haven’t got the time or the creative gene for such an enterprise, consider this alternative.

Send your used greeting cards to Jude’s Ranch for Children in Boulder City. They’ve been running a Recycled Card Program for the past thirty odd years. Children and volunteers take the donated cards and create new recycled cards by removing the front of the original card and attaching a new back. These cards are then sold at the ranch’s gift store (and online) in packages of 10, with the proceeds of all sales going to the ranch which provides a safe haven for abused, neglected and abandoned children in Southern Nevada.

St Jude’s are accepting all used, all-occasion greeting cards up until Feb 28, 2009, so why not have an early spring clean and dig out all the birthday and other cards received last year?

Mail them to: St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, Card Recycling Program, 100 St. Jude’s St., Boulder City, NV 89005. Of course, if you’re in the neighborhood, you could always deliver them in person and maybe even pick up some new cards for this year.

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Having worked on one heartbreaking case after another, a concerned group of social workers in Vietnam decided that they weren’t doing enough to aid the thousands of impoverished children in this region. To get off the streets, the children needed something they couldn’t afford: a quality education.

By Founding Mai Vietnamese Handicrafts, this devoted group of humanitarians provided many suffering youths with skill training, fair wages and literacy classes. Once schooling in Vietnam became free, this nonprofit organization turned to the people in most dire need of assistance. Thanks to their continued efforts, ethnic minorities and women have the opportunity to make a steady living and support their families. Interested in purchasing some of these finely crafted items? A vast array of these artisans’ goods, from wall hangings to chopstick sushi sets, is available at Ten Thousand Villages.

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Speaking of black cats, there still prevails a superstitious bias against dark-colored animals and they are often passed over for adoption at animal shelters. Unless you have all-white furniture and the dark shedding fur would cause you major grief, consider bringing a black dog or cat home with you.

There are some other important and compassionate reasons to consider adopting a pet over buying from a store.

Puppy mills. Most pet stores get their puppies from factory-style breeding facilities called puppy mills. Puppy mills are high-volume breeding facilities where many dogs are kept in squalid, caged conditions until they’re ready to sell. They often have health and socialization problems.

Save a life, make a friend for life. It’s sad but true – space is limited in animal shelters and if that sweet little creature doesn’t get adopted within a certain amount of time, it will have to be euthanized. There are some no-kill shelters, but they are in the minority.

Save money. It costs much less to adopt from a shelter than to buy from a pet store. What you pay to the shelter generally includes vaccination, de-worming and spay/neuter services. You’ll also get some guidance and advice for the care of your new pet!

AKC papers don’t guarantee health. Purebred papers from the American Kennel Club guarantee only the purity the breed – nothing more. Even if a puppy is purebred, it might have hereditary health problems. If you are looking for an AKC-certified pet, look beyond the anonymity of the pet store or the internet and visit a reputable breeder in person to find out more about the puppy’s parentage and living conditions. These days there are rescue organizations for nearly every breed, so it’s not necessary to adopt a mutt if you want to rescue an animal.

You can find purebreds at a shelter. If you’ve got your heart set on a particular breed, give animal shelters a chance; purebreds show up there all the time.

Good karma. Many years ago, our family cat went missing and although my mom scoured the local shelters for him, he was never found. In the meantime, however, she came across a scrawny little ball of fluff that caught her eye and tugged at her heart. She brought him home, took care of him, and now he’s the biggest, fluffiest Maine Coon you’ll ever see. He and my mom are inseparable. She saved his life and he’ll never forget it.

Socialization. A pet store animal has probably never been in a house before, whereas a shelter animal most likely has. Most shelters screen for good behavior and temperament and will be honest with you about the animal’s personality and needs, whereas a pet store only wants to make a profit. Most shelter animals have been left behind because of a cross-country move, a new baby, or expense. These animals have likely been housebroken and know how to manage their way in the world of humans. They’ll certainly be happy to have a new home.

Don’t support animal over-population. There are already so many domestic animals in this world that need a home. Pet shops and puppy mills support over-breeding of these animals for profit. It’s estimated that 6 to 8 million pets are euthanized every year! Rescue a spayed or neutered pet instead and give it the loving home it deserves.

Shelters offer a huge selection of animals. Many shelters rescue more than just dogs or cats. Birds, horses, guinea pigs, hamsters, reptiles, farm animals and all kinds of other critters may be your ideal companion, too.

Image: Conway L.

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