19 Purchases That Improve the World

What could be more rewarding than finding the perfect gift? Discovering a gift that also contributes to a noble cause! If you’re looking to lift someone’s spirits—or simply treat yourself—check out these companies whose earnings support those in need. (Additionally, explore: 20 Locations for Shopping that Support Worthy Causes)

1. AmazonSmile

When you shop at AmazonSmile, you can select a participating charity linked to your account, allowing Amazon to contribute 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases to that charity. If you have a preferred organization in mind, you can opt to donate directly to it instead of choosing from their featured charities.

2. Warby Parker

When you buy a pair of stylish glasses from Warby Parker—whether they’re prescription or sunglasses—they make a monthly contribution to their nonprofit partners, which helps to train individuals in developing countries to conduct basic eye exams and sell glasses at affordable prices. The funds also cover the cost of providing glasses equivalent to those sold.

3. The Alpha Workshops

Purchasing from the Alpha Workshops’ product line—which includes designer furniture, lighting, and wallpapers—means that 50% of your purchase will support design and educational programs for individuals affected by HIV/AIDS. Even without making a purchase, you can contribute through a direct donation, with a minimum donation of $25, which goes toward a Basic Trainee’s weekly lunch stipend.

4. SoapBox

SoapBox, a socially responsible personal care brand, donates a bar of soap or offers a month of clean water to those in need for every product sold. Their range includes body washes, lotions, shampoos, conditioners, and bar soaps.

5. Project 7

Your choice of flavored gum or mints from Project 7 helps fund one of seven partnered nonprofits, which undertake initiatives such as planting trees, providing disaster relief, addressing hunger in underserved U.S. communities, and ensuring access to clean water in developing regions.

6. Toms Marketplace

Popular for its one-for-one shoe initiative, Toms Shoes also features a Marketplace offering various products, including clothing, accessories, and jewelry. Each purchase aids different Toms projects, such as funding sight-restoration surgeries for those in need through Toms Eyewear or training skilled birth attendants in developing nations through Toms Bags.

7. State Bags

For every fashionable bag or accessory sold by State Bags, a backpack is donated to a child in need within the U.S. Additionally, even celebrities like Beyoncé are fans of the brand!

8. Better World Books

Each purchase made at BetterWorldBooks.com results in the donation of a book to someone in need. Since July 2015, they have distributed 17 million books globally.

9. Baby Teresa

For every accessory sold made from 100% organic cotton at Baby Teresa, a contribution of formula is made to an infant in need. So, when you buy a romper, another is donated to an infant requiring support.

10. Yoobi

Every purchase of desk and organizational supplies from Yoobi, available at Target or Yoobi.com, results in a donation of an item to their Classroom Packs, which are then given to classrooms in need.

11. Cooper & Ella

With each blouse sold by fashion label Cooper & Ella, a donation is made to supply hot meals through their Empower program to schools in India, aiming to provide 100,000 meals in their first year.

12. Road Twenty-Two

By purchasing a shirt from Road Twenty-Two, which employs women overcoming challenges such as incarceration or homelessness, you support employment and skill-building efforts, with an added guarantee that a shirt will be donated to a shelter.

13. The Company Store

Rest easy knowing that your purchase from The Company Store’s website or catalog results in a comforter being donated to a homeless child in need in the U.S.

14. Joan Hornig

Jewelry designer Joan Hornig donates all profits from your purchase to the charity you select, so your shopping experience can directly benefit a cause close to your heart.

15. Out of Print

Each item sold by Out of Print, a brand focused on literary-themed apparel and gifts, leads to a book being donated to a community in need, while also supporting authors, publishers, and artists whose work has shaped our lives.

16. Raven + Lily

Shop from Raven + Lily’s fair trade collection of jewelry, apparel, and accessories to help empower women in developing countries by providing them job opportunities, sustainable incomes, healthcare, and educational resources, breaking the cycle of poverty for their families. The brand currently employs over 1,500 women at fair wages.

17. Faucet Face

At Faucet Face, the focus is on clean living. They contribute 2.5% of sales from their unique glass bottle collection, plus donate a complete filter for every purchase of five or more bottles to the clean water charity Third Millennium Awakening, which employs locals in India to help distribute filters to families in need. Custom designs are also available.

18. 2 Degrees Food

Every purchase of a gluten-free and vegan snack bar from 2 Degrees Food provides a meal for a hungry child, supporting an initiative to nourish 200 million kids.