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hands holding a wrapped present surrounded by lights and gifts
hands holding a wrapped present surrounded by lights and gifts
Photo by Joshua Lam from Unsplash
Life

Capitalism Killing The Holiday Vibes? Support Small Businesses Instead.

Cassidy Burry
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Pace chapter.

Holidays continue to lead to overconsumption and corporate greed, which in turn leads to tremendous amounts of waste. From the carbon emissions, fast fashion purchases, and single-use plastic created, the harmful effects on our environment are everlasting. To combat these harmful practices, support, and shop from small businesses as opposed to large businesses. Here’s a list of five online small businesses where you’re sure to find holiday gifts to suit anyone’s interests. 

For your pop culture-obsessed friend: Buggirl200 

For all your unique and cool clothing needs, Buggirl200 creates shirts and accessories that feature all of our favorite pop culture icons. From Taylor Swift to Larry David, there’s a wide variety of collections, all with quirky phrases and/or pictures. Madison Sinclair, the owner and creator of Buggirl200, prints all of her designs made to order. From personal experience, I can say that the quality is remarkable and the T-shirts and tank tops are comfortable. 

For the friend who’s never caught without accessories: Light Years Jewelry

Since jewelry is such a popular gift, it’s important to make sure it’s sourced and created ethically. Light Years Jewelry does a fantastic job sourcing small-batch jewelry that anyone would love to receive. Everything is curated from their local area in North Carolina. They have a large section of birthstone jewelry, which can make giving jewelry more personal. All of their pieces are also fairly priced, allowing them to be more accessible to all. 

For the friend who loves to smell nice: The New Savant

After jewelry, candles are one of the best gifts to receive. The New Savant is a small-batch candle company that produces locally out of a studio in Brooklyn. Everything from their wicks to scents is ethically sourced and sustainable, making for a guilt-free gift. The containers are also adorable, mimicking the look of a paint tin. Once again, their candles are reasonably priced for all the time and care that goes into them. 

For the friend building her capsule wardrobe: Ratboi 

Ratboi is a woman-owned company that makes cotton basics, all of which are ethically made. Based in Ventura, California, all of their pieces are timeless and the quality reflects this; they’re made to last, not to be replaced with every trend cycle. Ratboi takes pride in pricing transparency, having customers only pay for what the article costs in terms of creation and materials. If I could, I would own one of everything on their website, as so many of my favorite items found in my own closet are theirs. 

For the friend whose apartment is a gallery: Libby Haines

Libby Haines is an Australian artist who creates remarkable oil paintings. On her website, she features a large collection of prints, which are more budget-friendly than original pieces. Libby Haines is the owner and operator of her business, and her husband builds and frames all of her pieces. They are based out of their home in Melbourne, Australia. All the paints and frames are ensured to be ethical and sustainable. Her paintings are full of vibrant and eccentric colors, matching the amazing tablescapes she paints. The only reason I haven’t purchased one for myself is because I can’t decide which one to get — I simply love them all. 

All of these brands will not only leave you feeling guilt-free but make your gifts feel more meaningful. Giving gifts is more fun when you aren’t left feeling like you’re adding to overconsumption and mass waste production. All of these brands pride themselves on the quality of their pieces, allowing them to last longer than their fast fashion counterparts. Recipients appreciate the specificity and intimacy that comes with a gift that’s more personalized rather than being mass-produced. When giving gifts this year, remember quality over quantity.

Cassidy Burry is originally from northern California and is a current sophomore at Pace University. She is majoring in Communications and Media, with a minor in digital storytelling and journalism, and french studies. This is her second year as a member of Her Campus Pace. Throughout her childhood she has collected various magazines, and Vogue in particular has been a great inspiration in her decision to pursue journalism. Cassidy also writes articles for a nonprofit, SisterLove, based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are the first women’s HIV, sexual, and reproductive justice organization in the southeastern United States. She feels honored to help advocate and educate people on the importance of reproductive and health care rights. These rights are extremely important to Cassidy, and ones she will not stop fighting for. Cassidy loves spending time with kids. Over the summer she is a summer camp counselor, at Camp Winnarainbow. Before that she worked at a school program. That involved taking kids, ages four through seven, to different parks, beaches, and other locations native to northern California. They would focus on teaching the kids the importance of the environment and how to leave it better than we found it. They regularly would clean up the beaches and parks they visited. Cassidy has always had a love for her community and giving back. She spent a large majority of her time in high school volunteering at a kitchen and garden that grew and produced meals for chronically ill people and their family. In her free time she works part time as a barista at a local bakery. Cassidy has a deep love for music ranging from all genres. She was actually named after the song “Cassidy '' by the Grateful Dead. She has found that being named after that legendary band has brought meaningful connections to her everyday life. For the majority of her childhood she played competitive soccer. And now that she is no longer playing herself, she looks forward to the Women’s World Cup every four years. She hopes that women in sports will gain more recognition in the future, and will not be seen as second to men’s sport.