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Blog Action Day :: Shop to Stop Poverty

Today is Blog Action Day, and this year the focus is on poverty. Here are some ways you can help people in need, as you shop for your own needs:

Numbered above:

  1. TOMS Shoes for Tomorrow, Giving Gifts to the Poor as You Shop: Starting from May 2006, TOMS Shoes for Tomorrow has given well over 10,000 pairs of shoes to children in Argentina and 50,000 pairs in South Africa through the purchases of caring customers. They’ve recently been nominated for the Cooper Hewitt People’s Design Award and they Need Your Vote! In 2008 TOMS plans to give 200, 000 pairs of shoes to children around the world. For each pair purchased, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need.
  2. Give the Gift of Sight with KAYU’s New, Hot Line of Ethical Sunglasses: KAYU, a line of ecological and ethical sunglasses handcrafted from bamboo. By partnering with Unite for Sight, the organization is eliminating preventable blindness which is one of the world’s most urgent problems, for every pair of KAYU glasses purchased, they donate enough funds for one sight-restoring surgery in the developing world.
  3. Discarded to Divine 2009: Help Raise Money for the Homeless with the St. Vincent de Paul Society of SF: “The St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco is now seeking professional and aspiring designers to transform discarded, donated clothing into couture fashions and exquisite home décor, which we will auction to raise funds to help the poor and homeless at our annual fashion show and auction, Discarded To Divine 2009.”
  4. Hot Pants to Help End World Poverty, Building a Community of Change Makers Online: This rocking undie company is building a network of people dedicated to building change to eradicate poverty and stop global warming. They were inspired by Nelson Mandela’s words when he came to London and said: “Today hundreds of millions of people lie trapped and enslaved in the prison of poverty… it’s time to set them free… Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom”.
  5. Shea Terra Organics: Healing with Nature in Africa: For over a decade Shea Terra Organics has been developing high quality healing products from indigenous African ingredients. Shea Terra’s most important goal has always been to support Africa through self-empowerment and environmental programs, and bring awareness about the continent’s diversity and beauty.
  6. Traidcraft ~ Fighting Poverty Through Trade, is another cool option (not shown above) that’s the UK’s leading fair trade organization with a mission to fight poverty through trade, practicing and “promoting approaches to trade that help poor people in developing countries transform their lives.” Traidcraft’s unique structure – a trading company and a development charity working together – gives them a unique how trade can be made to work for the poor.

Written by Lucille Chi

Lucy Chi loves good green design, ethical fashion, environmental art and education, renewables, holistic healing and more. She has been dedicating her energies toward finding and drawing attention to all the ways in which products, companies, and industries are moving toward creating a more sustainable world on the global scale, as well as the way individuals are moving toward living sustainably, and healing at the personal level.

Sustainability studies: PresidioMBA.org &
B.S. Cornell University, College of Human Ecology, Dept. of Textiles and Fiber Science.

Contact: lucillechi (at) gmail.com

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OBV :: A World First In Biodegradable Beauty Packaging.

Blog Action Day :: Shop to Stop Poverty, Part II