Long gone are the days of guilt-free ridonculously extravagant gift-giving. Not that I’d like a return to over spending and under thinking gift giving, but it seems that the pendulum has swung too far the other way. We’ve become so hyper conscious of what we purchase that “ethical gift-giving” is the new black. It all goes a little like this: being the cosmopolitan that you are, all your friends and family get a goat that is for someone else in some other country. Don’t get me wrong I think it’s great that those in need of a goat, mosquito net, water pump or a tree get one. Yet this type of “ethical gift-giving” has the giver get all the satisfaction and warm and fuzzy feelings of being a do-gooder, where as the loved one gets totally jipped of both the fuzzies and the pressies!
To me the underlying communication of gift-giving is the desire to give happiness, love, and show thoughtfulness to those we love. Unfortunately these benefits are totally lost when you tell the receiver that someone somewhere now has a goat.
Thankfully I’m not the only one who sees the dilemma of being ethical and gift giving. This year Jim and I were the lucky recipients of GOOD Magazine – a publication that donates 100% of the subscription costs to a non-profit of your choice. So we get a great magazine that focuses on adding value to the people who give a damn. Our gift-givers get to flex their ethics as well as pass on happiness, love, and thoughtfulness. Youth Aids will get some cash to help educate and prevent HIV infections in youth. And just like that “ethical gift-giving” goes from being a win win to a win win win!
Posted by Claire Alexander
Tags: Design, Ethical-Gifts, Good-Magazine, Inspiration, Learning, Sustainability, Tips
