Give Awesome Holiday Gifts That Give Back

Whole Body, Whole Kids, Whole Foods...find feel-good gifts for the whole family

From the LifeMinute Team

November 20, 2014

This is the year, you tell yourself... This is the year you give back during the holidays! If it's what you tell yourself every year, only to find yourself full of good intentions but simply out of time, we brought in Jeanne Tamayo, Global Lifestyle Buyer with Whole Foods Market, with a list of holiday gifts that give back to kids, to education, to the environment and generally help out around the world. And they're gifts you won't just want to give -- they're gifts your loved ones will truly love to get. Let the holiday multi-tasking begin!

For the kids...

Jeanne says, "Whole Foods is known for one-stop shopping for holiday meal planning, but this year we wanted to make all of the holidays simple while also bringing beautiful sustainable gifts that give back." Step One was partnering with PBS Kids to roll out an assortment of awesome earth-friendly toys, with proceeds going back to support PBS Kids in their mission to educate kids; not to mention, Whole Foods Market will be donating a percent of the profits back to their Whole Kids Foundation, its mission to support healthy eating habits for kids. Jeanne adds, "The toys turned out beautiful; I'm so proud of them. PBS is such a great partner. We have all different price ranges and age ranges." Among them are My Little Scoot super cute wooden stocking stuffers, snuggly plush stuffed animals and even slick racecars made from recycled milk jugs. Jeanne's a fan of the onesie with the old school PBS logo: "This organic cotton - how cute is this?"

For the ladies...

"Mom is always next on my list," shares Jeanne, "So I brought two of my favorite things for Mom this holiday. The first is our Whole Foods Market Hand Cream Trio. So, if you've never tried these before, this is my favorite hand cream, hands down." Made with natural moisturizers Argan Oil and Shea Butter, the creams are super moisturizing without being greasy. "They're great for hardworking hands," adds Jean, "I put one in the bathroom, one by the kitchen sink and one in my purse...and Brenda, my colleague who develops these, has a great sense of scent, so the holiday exclusive scents turned out really awesome." Jeanne's other pick for Mom? The Nourish Organic Facial Cleansing System. She tells us, "This is a facial cleansing system that helps exfoliate and minimize the appearance of fine lines and pores. It comes with a little cleanser and lotion sample, but what makes this one really unique from a lot of the others on the market is that's it's half the price, so it's about just under $50...And this packaging is all recycled...the brush head is actually recyclable, so Nourish Organic will take back these brush heads, recycle them and turn them into new products, so they're constantly looking for ways to reduce waste."

For the guys...

Jeanne admits, "This is always where I get tripped up. They're kind of notoriously hard to shop for, no offense, guys." But Jeanne recommends Pact Apparel for the men on your gift list. "Pact Apparel is one of my favorite brands," she says, "They use only organic cotton, and they partner [with] family farmers in India, and then they produce at a solar and wind powered factory in India." The brand is known for its sock boxes for the guys -- and for kids and women, too. Jeanne adds, "They come up with these exclusive designs [and] this great giftable box, it's like a no-brainer for guys."

Those little extras...

Jeanne recommends having some beauty kit gifts at the ready to cover all your bases. "So I try to keep these on hand for everything that I've inevitably forgotten. So hostess gifts, anytime you go to a party, I love bringing something unique, like a beauty product. You know how happy women are when you show up with a lipstick trio, instead of some other food item that they probably have," explains Jeanne. She likes the Mineral Fusion sheer lip trio: really moisturizing and sheer pretty colors. Jeanne adds, "[And] their nail polishes are great for teens and tweens," pointing out a beautiful blue glittery color which is great for holiday.

Other beauty kits fit for stuffing stockings? "Pacifica," recommends Jeanne, "They're known for their fragrances, so they have a trio of three roll-on fragrances and then a gorgeous smoky eye kit; it's a dual eye shadow, and eyeliner and a mascara, so it's everything you need for a smoky eye."

"Last but not least," Jeanne tells us, "One of my favorite brands that we carry in the Whole Body department at Whole Foods is Alaffia Good Soap. So, Good Soap is good for a couple of reasons. First of all, it's a great value. At $2 a bar, it doesn't break the bank...It's natural Shea so it's super moisturizing; it lathers really well, but you never get out of the shower feeling dry, which is, for here in Winter, super important. They have great exclusive scents, Pine Garland; the green one's my favorite." And Alaffia, the company behind the soap, uses natural Shea and is produced by a woman's co-op in Togo in Western Africa. Jeanne explains, "The company was started by a married couple, Rose and Olowo-n'djo, and they started the company to try to provide decent work conditions and wages for women in Togo where it's really tough to find those things."

For more info, visit WholeFoodsMarket.com, where you'll find store locations and lots of great holiday recipes, too.

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