Shopping for clothes and accessories feels better when the brands have a story to tell and a cause to support. There are tons of charitable fashion brands out there so this list only scratches the surface, but it includes some of my favorites. Consider shopping for a cause during this upcoming holiday season!
4Ocean
Ever heard of the plastic island three times the size of France floating in the Pacific Ocean!? (ugh, people suck). An estimated 16 billion pounds of plastic enter the ocean each year, and 4Ocean is on a mission to stop this.
With each bracelet sold, 4Ocean removes 1 pound of trash from oceans and coastlines. The bracelets are high-quality, trendy, and made with recycled ocean plastic and glass. What’s better, they release new colored bracelets each month to support different causes like whale conservation, saving the sea turtles, preserving coral reefs, and much, much more!
Added bonus: the bracelets come with free 4Ocean stickers for your laptop or water bottle!
(image credit: https://twitter.com/4oceanBracelets)
Taaluma Totes
Taaluma Totes takes traditional fabrics capturing local culture from places around the globe and sends them to Virginia, where the fabrics are hand-crafted into adorable backpacks. Taaluma Totes work with a team of adults with disabilities and allow each person to showcase their talent and abilities in creating these products.
The final do-good in their work is giving back to the people in each tote’s country, where 20% of profits are given to farmers and small business owners in the fabric’s country of origin. Each of their backpacks are adorable, unique, and filled with meaning.
(image credit: https://www.facebook.com/pg/TaalumaTotes/photos/?ref=page_internal)
Love Your Melon
Love Your Melon began with the simple idea of putting a warm hat on every child battling cancer in America. Since then, Love Your Melon has given over $4.7 million to the fight against pediatric cancer and over 149,000 hats to children battling cancer.
50% of all their profits go to the Love Your Melon Fund supporting non-profit partners in fighting pediatric cancer. The hats are stylish, comfortable, and made in the United States!
(image credit: https://twitter.com/loveyourmelon/status/810159718064934912)
Pura Vida Bracelets
Pura Vida Bracelets began when two entrepreneurs helped local artisans in Costa Rica make a living off of the gorgeous, simple bracelets they made. Meaning “pure life” in Spanish, Pura Vida appreciates life’s simple treasures and that motto is reflected in their hand-crafted jewelry made by 350+ artisans in developing countries around the world.
Besides giving artisans fair living wages for their work, Pura Vida began Charity Collections, helping to donate over $1 million to 174 different charities.
(image credit: https://www.puravidabracelets.com/)
Toms
Toms describe themselves as the “One for One” company because with every product you purchase, they help a person in need whether that be a pair of shoes, access to eye care, clean water, safe childbirth, and bullying prevention from Nepal to Kentucky.
With the help of Toms, 2 million children have been protected from hookworm with the simple ownership of a pair of shoes and access to proper medication. There’s been a 42% increase in maternal health care participation, increase in student enrollment in Liberian primary schools, and more children identified as needing malnutrition care in Malawi, all with the help of Toms.
Beyond their amazing charity work, Toms shoes are cute, comfortable, and great quality.
(image credit: https://www.facebook.com/pg/toms/photos/?ref=page_internal)
Same Sky
Same Sky was founded with a vision to provide all women under the same sky with the chance to thrive through employment, fair pay, and the education needed to sustain and empower their lives. They employ artisan women in Rwanda, providing them with training, tools, and 8 times the median hourly wage in the nation. All proceeds from the jewelry sold are reinvested into education and training new artisans.
I loved this touching quote from their website: “The true value of a Same Sky bracelet is empowerment. It is a ribbon that ties you to courageous women a world away – a beautiful piece of jewelry made more beautiful by the connection it symbolizes and how it makes you feel.”
(image credit: https://www.facebook.com/pg/sameskybracelet/photos/?ref=page_internal)
Lokai
Lokai wants to remind us that life is a journey balanced between highs and lows. To symbolize the balance of life’s highs and lows, the white bead in a Lokai bracelet is infused with water from the highest point on Earth, Mt. Everest, and the black bead contains mud from the lowest point on Earth, the Dead Sea.
10% of all of Lokai’s profits are donated to charity partners, and you can even chose the charity you’d like to donate through by shopping colored bracelets dedicated to certain causes. (my new favorite is the mint colored Animal Rescue bracelet)
(image credit: https://www.facebook.com/pg/livelokai/photos/)
Ivory Ella
Everyone has seen their insanely viral marketing campaigns, but Ivory Ella truly does do loads of good with these adorable tees. Elephants are threatened as a species almost daily and Ivory Ella seeks to sustain the ecological integrity of the places elephants live, as well as help develop a tolerant relationship between humans and elephants and promote our natural curiosity and knowledge about these beautiful animals.
Ivory Ella dedicates 10% of annual profits to saving the elephants, and to date, they’ve donated over $1.6million to Save the Elephants and other charitable causes.
(image credit: https://www.facebook.com/pg/ivoryella/photos/?ref=page_internal)