Making a difference in another person’s life does not have to be relegated to the holiday season or a monthly donation to a charity. Now more than ever companies are getting creative with how they use the money donated when purchasing their product to improve the lives of those living in poverty. Check out these great shopping destinations to start giving back today.

1. The Hunger Site: The Hunger Site works to put an end to hunger and poverty around the world by donating to non-profits. How do you donate? They provide two options. There is a button to click daily that provides food to impoverished people around the world. It’s effortless and free to do and every time you click, the website sponsors donate money towards a bowl of food. To give, even more, there are numerous fair-trade items to buy ranging from clothing to decorative art that is often hand-crafted by those being helped by the site. The money spent is then donated and you, in turn, get a great gift for yourself or others.
2. Out of Print Clothing: Learning to read is an important milestone for many children around the world. But, even more, children go without the necessary tool, books, to even begin the learning process. Out of Print recognizes this need and for every purchase made on their site, they donate a book to communities through the Books for Africa campaign. They have shirts, books, and accessories made just for the literature love.
3. OneMillionLights: There are 1.3 billion people in the world who depend on dangerous kerosene lamps for their light source at night. With the pollution created and the average of 1.5 million deaths occurring every year as a result of kerosene, it is easy to understand why the creators of OneMillionLights chose safe, solar-powered lights as their donation project. A donation can be made the old fashioned way to provide families with a lamp for private use or through their “buy one, give one” project. You buy an Energizer solar powered spotlight for yourself and they send one to a school or medical clinic in need.
4. FIGS: Anyone who works in the medical field can tell you the importance of scrubs. Not only do they provide an immediately recognizable symbol for the public, but the act of wearing clean scrubs on a daily basis helps to reduce hospital-acquired infection by 2/3 and can, therefore, save millions of dollars in resulting necessary treatments. But, the uniforms are costly and many medical professionals in poverty-stricken areas don not make enough money to buy their own uniforms. That’s where FIGS got their mission. For every pair of scrubs purchased for yourself, you give a pair to a needy clinic. They have all the basics you need in a variety of colors and sizes for personalization.

– Chelsea Evans

Sources: The Hunger Site, Out of Print Clothing, OneMillionLights, FIGS
Photo: Go With Integrity