www.bakingforgood.com

Baking for Good is simply the perfect company to be featured on this Web site. Why? The business was designed and created to help support charitable causes.

Baking for Good is an online bakery with a social mission: each purchase of its delicious brownies and cookies includes a 15 percent donation to a nonprofit or community cause the customer chooses. Baking for Good is partnered with more than 100 nonprofit organizations and community causes, such as school groups and marathon teams. Customers also have the option to suggest new causes to be added to the site.

Baking for Good was founded Emily Dubner. She also serves as the CEO.

Growing up in Chelmsford, MA, Emily developed a passion for baking by helping her mother and grandmother in the kitchen. Sugar cookies were young Emily’s favorite baked treat, and she fondly recalls baking batches of creatively decorated flower sugar cookies for her 2^nd grade classmates. As a teen, Emily began getting creative, developing and re-creating recipes, and she frequently organized bake sales to raise money for the school orchestra, cross-country team and parent teacher organization. Emily’s love for baking continued through college where she would whip out new treats to the pleasure of her dorm mates.

After graduating from Harvard in 2006, where she had a concentration in social studies, Emily became a management consultant for Katzenbach Partners in New York. There she was exposed to the world of business innovation. Then, in late 2008, Emily’s mother sent her baked goods. That gift “sparked Emily’s idea of Baking for Good.”

Incorporating her love for baking, experience with fundraising as a child and the desire to start a business of her own, it was in January 2009 in her cozy Manhattan kitchen that Emily honed her baking skills and began plans for a company that is not only dedicated to providing premium gourmet treats but is also committed to helping great causes raise money.

Baking for Good uses the finest all-natural, organic, local and seasonal ingredients to make its delectable treats. Baking for Good also offers healthy granola and nut snacks as well as dairy free and gluten-free treats. Customized gift boxes make great gifts for friends, family, colleagues, and clients. Hand iced sugar cookies can be personalized for birthdays, anniversaries, new baby arrivals, weddings and more. Every purchase of cookies, brownies and snacks is baked fresh to order, wrapped in eco-friendly packaging, and promptly delivered to the recipient’s door anywhere in the U.S.

www.skiphop.com

Now that we have grandchildren, I spend a good deal of time looking at sites that sell children’s items. One newly found site is a New York City company known as Skip Hop. It is, “devoted to designing groundbreaking products for a new generation of parents.”

At Skip Hop, we truly understand today’s moms and dads because that’s who we are too. We’re in tune with the cool person you were before parenthood, and know that you’re even cooler now that you’re a new mom or dad. Yes, you spend tons of time online, but now it’s on your favorite parenting Web site. You still blog, but now you blog your baby photos. You love your iPod even more with lullabies in it. And baby’s first steps are up on YouTube for everyone to see. So really, nothing’s changed, yet it’s also a whole new world.

At Skip Hop, we get it. So we strive to create products that are smarter, more innovative, and safer. Products that appeal not only to your heart but to your modern sense of design. Iconic objects that beautify the living space, simplify parenting and make day-to-day living easier as a new mom or dad. That’s the ultimate goal in everything we do. To make parenting better.

In 2003, Skip Hop designed the world’s first diaper bag that converts into a stroller bag. Ever since, we’ve been creating new parenting products that are original and transformational. Our team continues to bring design to life, introducing exciting, innovative essentials for new moms and dads all over the world.

Skip Hop has designed items for the home, nursery, bath, and grooming. They have created truly innovative toys and zoo packs. There is even an Central Park outdoor blanket with cooler bag. Skip Hop seems to have an endless number of inspired ideas. 

Moreover, Skip Hop is philanthropic.

We recognize that we are part of a larger world and its important to all of us at Skip Hop that we help make it a better place. A portion of all Skip Hop profits go to charities benefiting parents and children. In particular, we contribute to three organizations that we’re honored to be able to help support. Whenever you purchase Skip Hop products, you are also helping to support the work of these great organizations.

Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

The foundation has spent more than two decades funding pediatric research and raising awareness about children’s fight against HIV/AIDS. Thanks to this research and awareness, as well as the advent of combination antiretroviral therapy, many children born infected with HIV/AIDS now have the opportunity to grow up healthy.

Baby Buggy

Baby Buggy is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing New York City’s families in need with essential equipment, clothing, and products for their infants and young children.

Ovarian Cancer Research Fund

The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund exists to fund research to find a method of early detection and ultimately a cure for ovarian cancer. In support of this mission, they help patients and their loved ones understand the disease and its treatment, and provide outreach programs to raise public awareness.

www.clearconscience.com

For decades, I have worn glasses for reading. And, as I have grown older, reading the fine print without them has become increasingly more difficult.

However, since I do not need glasses for driving, I have never worn contacts. Still, I find myself very impressed with Clear Conscience, which sells contact lens solution and contact lens cases.

Clear Conscience was established in 1998 to provide quality, safe products for contact lenses that are cruelty-free. Company policy ensures that all suppliers are also committed to product safety testing without the use of animals. Ten percent of all proceeds [are] donated to non-profit animal welfare and environmental organizations.

The contact lens solution, which is designed for soft (hydrophilic) contact lenses, is sold in  12 ounce and 3 ounce (travel) recyclable spill-proof plastic bottles. FDA approved, the lens solution is cruelty-free, thimerosal-free, and chlorhexidine-free.

Clear Conscience Multi-Purpose Solution is a sterile solution for daily cleaning, rinsing, disinfecting and storing soft (hydrophilic) contact lenses.

Then, there are the contact lenses cases.

Help the conservation of endangered species worldwide by purchasing Clear Conscience contact lens cases! For every contact lens case sold, a contribution is made to the Born Free USA, in addition to the Clear Conscience policy of donating ten percent of all proceeds to various animal-welfare organizations.

The cases contain a small mirror “to assist in insertion and removal of lenses.” They also have a “special screw-top lens case that fits inside the outer case.” When ordering, buyers select from over 12 different endangered species designs – leopard, tiger, cheetah, panda, dolphin, orca, wolf, sea otter, elephant, lion, polar bear, and rhino.

Cases are made from premium plastics perfectly suited for the use with Clear Conscience Multi-Purpose contact lens solution and various types of contact lenses, and are FDA approved.

Goodbyn.com

Right now, we don’t have any family members in need of a lunchbox. The day care center that our grandson attends provides lunches. But, in a few years, when he is in elementary school, we will certainly want to buy him the unique Goodbyn, a lunchbox, “reinvented for kids, parents, and our planet.” These lunchboxes were created by a small company in Seattle called Byndoo. The company “had a little idea to reinvent the way kids eat lunch – making lunchtime easier, more inspiring, and fun for both kids and parents.”

The dishwasher-safe Goodbyn, which is BPA and phthalate-free, has five individual compartments and a lid that ensures that the applesauce in one compartment won’t mix with the sandwich in another compartment. Thanks to a specially-designed handle, the Goodbyn is easy for kids and their parents to hold. And, without adult assistance, kids readily open the Goodbyn at school. Each Goodbyn comes with an 8.5 ounce bottle (which eliminates the need for juice boxes) and three sheets of stickers, “so the kids can make each lunchbox their own.”  

All of Goodbyn’s products are manufactured in Michigan at Cascade Engineering. Cascade was Byndoo’s choice from the beginning because of their capabilities in engineering, an impressive client list, and high-volume manufacturing capacity. Byndoo also preferred Cascade because of their transparency in labor and environmental ethics. Cascade has garnered innumerable awards and certifications for their stewardship to the environment, their employees and community — setting a new standard by which all other companies will measure themselves in the future.

Byndoo chose to use a local printer in Washington state, because they offered local quality with corporate efficiencies. They are FSC-certified and are very much in-tune with their waste and recycling procedures. Byndoo utilizes their unique printing expertise with vegetable-based inks, recycled materials, and water-based solvent adhesives. Byndoo also uses their warehouse to store, assemble and fulfill orders for Goodbyn. They’re the last link in the chain before Goodbyns reach their next destination: the store shelves and really excited kids.

As a member of 1% for the Planet, Byndoo is a very socially responsible company.

Byndoo contributes 1% of sales to multiple environmental organizations, donating directly to the nonprofits via 1% for the Planet.

I could not help but wonder about the origins of the unusual names Byndoo and Goodbyn. It turns out that the name Byndoo is from the Sanskrit work, ‘bindu,” which means “a small element in a larger plot,” like the ripple effect of a drop of water. And, the name Goodbyn?

Goodbyn started as a line of lunchbox containers for children, and the ‘byn’ migrated from Byndoo…. We think of Goodbyn as a product design and manufacturing company that will begin to change the way people think about food, nutrition, waste, and the planet’s health. It started with lunchboxes, but we hope to extend the vision to encompass the way we collect, transport, and dispose of what we use as a society, responsibly and prudently.

www.mountainavenue.com

Like many people, my husband and I have cut back our personal spending. However, we have not stopped shopping for our little grandson, and there are often presents to buy for holidays, new babies, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and other events. Whenever possible, we want our purchases to bring happiness to the person or people who receive the gift(s) and also serve an additional function. That was the reason I founded this website — before I had any sense of an impending recession.

So, it should not be surprising that I find the website of Mountain Avenue so appealing.

Mountain Avenue began, as many great things do, with a group of close friends sitting around a fireplace sharing dreams and ideas. The fireplace was located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Northern Colorado. The friends were a diverse group. Two had founded their own non-profits and had helped many others along the way. The other two had owned a family business that had been around for over 125 years. All of the friends were searching for a better way to make a difference in the world. That night, this circle of friends decided to form a company that would give back worldwide – one gift at a time. And so, Mountain Avenue and ‘The Circle of Giving’ were born.

Among the offerings at Mountain Avenue are jewelry, items for babies and kids, clothing and accessories, products for home and garden, pets, business, and travel. There is even a wine and gourmet section.

Mountain Avenue purchases the majority of our products from fair trade certified organizations and individuals. This means those groups are committed to the following practices: fair wages, good working conditions, respect for children and the environment, and support for their community.

When buying a gift from Mountain Avenue, you are choosing a product that has been purchased, in most cases, direct from the producer with as few middlemen as possible, allowing us to give you a unique hand-crafted item at an affordable price.

Mountain Avenue strives to be green. We work to minimize packaging and utilize recycling and ecologically sensitive materials whenever possible. We choose our product line carefully to offer you a broad selection of organic, non-toxic, recycled and repurposed items taking into account the processes by which they are produced in an effort to reduce our impact on the environment.

Every time you purchase from Mountain Avenue, a large portion of that purchase is donated to one of our non-profit partners. We offer you the opportunity to choose which of our partners that donation goes to. In having this responsibility, you become part of the circle of giving on a personal level.

giveagreenbag.com

Since founding this website early in 2008, I have logged onto the websites of thousands of businesses. Unfortunately, very few have proven to be socially responsible.

On the other hand, Give a Green Bag, founded by Suzanne Lippe,  is one of the most socially responsible businesses I have ever seen. In addition to giving back to her community in many different ways, Suzanne is passionately committed to environmental issues.

You will find many unique gift items that will help you ‘go green’ at home, in the garden, at work, and at school. Beyond being eco-friendly, all of my products are Fair Trade, organic, tree free, recyclable, reusable, and utilize renewable resources: I call this Full Spectrum Living. I have spent nearly 2 years researching products and getting prototypes. Many of the items were designed by myself in order to meet my high standard of quality. The items come from around the world and as close as a few towns away.

I am very involved in environmental issues. I have changed my home life to the cause of becoming environmentally conscious, and my business reflects my ongoing commitment to this lifestyle.

Give a Green Bag sells a wide variety of gift “bags” that are suitable for just about any occasion. Custom bags, with logos, personal messages, or corporate designs, may also be ordered.

My gift bags are one-stop shopping for any occasion. I fill the tree-free bag (reusable for many years) with items that are all fair trade, organic, recycled or recyclable, renewable – while at the same time BEAUTIFUL! All food items are organic and Kosher. I also include an insert that details ways of reducing one’s carbon footprint, information on endangered species, or an explanation of the meaning of ‘organic’ or ‘fair trade.’

One of my favorite gifts is the “Instant Spa Bag.” It contains the following items: aromatherapy soy candle, tree-free journal, biodegradable pen, Full Spectrum Living Body Lotion, Full Spectrum Living Body Lip Balm, organic tea, aromatherapy room spray, Nepalese woolen slipper/socks, organic European chocolates, inspirational book of photos and poetry, greeting card, information sheet describing contents which may be used as a gift card to recipient, and information on ways to live the Full Spectrum Living lifestyle. All these items come in a “reusable, fair trade, and sea grass/maize basket with handles.” Moreover, when one purchases Instant Spa Bag, a portion of the sale price is donated to Noah’s Gifts Foundation, “a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to raising money for families in need who have children with cancer and other catastrophic illnesses.” Likewise, the organization “provides much needed financial support for pediatric cancer research.”    

I am hoping that instead of buying your water in plastic bottles, you will consider the reusable stainless steel bottles sold at EarthLust.

EarthLust products are stylish and safe. EarthLust bottles are made from high quality #304 food grade stainless steel…. Our bottles are a custom design – not stock bottles. Most of our line is limited edition – new art will arrive soon. We use non-toxic paints and BPA-free safe polypropylene #5 caps. Select from our 13 ounce, 20 ounce and 1 liter sizes. Each bottle comes with a high quality carabineer and optional sports tops are available for the 13 and 20 ounce sizes.

EarthLust also sells child’s hemp hats, insulated bottle bags, and hemp shopping bags.

I was inspired to start EarthLust when our baby was first born. Protecting his health as well as the environment became our top priorities.

We love our stainless steel bottles because we know that our water is safe, and we never have to worry about waste from individually packaged drinks. We want to share this gift.

EarthLust is a member of 1% for the Planet.

In fact, the company was established in 1995 “with the main objective of supporting the developing Nepalese traditional craft industry, thereby improving a family’s standard of living in the rural and urban areas. NapalesePaper.com has supported the same group since the company was founded. All of our handmade paper items are entirely tree free and Fair Trade.” NapalesePaper.com “has been practicing Fair Trade since before it was called Fair Trade, when it was just called ‘the right thing to do.’”

You may be wondering how the plant is made into paper products.

After the plant has been cut, its bark is removed and softened by soaking in water for 72 hours; it is then cleaned, and the knots are remove, it’s then washed and dried before being stored. The dried, clean bark is cooked in a large vessel of water; the bark is properly cooked only when it breaks easily if stretched. Once cooked, it is taken out and rinsed. The bark is then beaten on an iron or stone plate with a wooden rod. Using a heavier devise can destroy the fibers, making the paper weak. The beaten solution is poured into a specially designed light wooden frame with a thin cloth stretched across it. It is then placed out in the sun. Once dry, the paper is peeled away from the cloth and stored in a dry room. Paper prepared this way is light brown in color. Paper can also be made whiter by hanging it outside for days until the effects of the sun bleach it.

Nepalese paper seems to fill a number of voids.

From making charms to ward off evil spirits to making attractive gift items, it is even employed by the people of the remote villages as a substitute for plaster to be applied to heal cuts and fractures. It has also found its way into use in religious rituals and for making incense.

The harvesting of Lokta also serves a number of important functions.

It allows the plants root growth to accelerate to help hold the soil in place during the two monsoon seasons Nepal gets every year, and it is the only export crop that remote villages have, thus giving them a sustainable form of income, making for a better standard of living.

There are many highly fashionable, hip, vegan footwear choices out there. So, it’s just a matter of finding them. Vegetarian Shoes and Bags has compiled the most attractive line of vegan footwear into one shopping experience.

It is important to realize that the animal products contained in consumer goods may not always be obvious. For example, the adhesives used in shoes frequently contain animal products.

We can’t always ‘see’ such products, but regardless, they exist. So even if the footwear is made of canvas, for example, it could still contain animal products…. Be assured that all shoes and boots at Vegetarian Shoes and Bags are 100 percent vegan in nature.

Additionally, the Vegetarian Shoes and Bags product line contains some of the best footwear to be found when it comes to fashion and style.

Vegetarian Shoes and Bags also sells 100 percent vegan accessories.

Fashion and style are plentiful at Vegetarian Shoes and Bags, not only in footwear, but also in accessories. Vegetarian Shoes and Bags believes that the best fashion and style are found by coupling a great pair of shoes or boots with a just-as-fabulous bag, purse, belt, or wallet.

Vegetarian Shoes and Bags notes that while most vegans choose a vegan lifestyle because of “ethical commitment or moral convictions concerning animal rights,” there are also environmental reasons for following such a lifestyle.

According to Vegan Outreach, livestock plays a major role in global warming, being responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2 equivalent.

Vegetarian Shoes and Bags is a very socially responsible company.

In addition to our animal-friendly commitment, we strive to genuinely make a difference in the world. Therefore, we donate a generous portion of our profits to multiple animal charities!

Organic Bug was born to nurture the relationship we all have with the Earth, each other and our own inner beings. The spirit of Organic Bug is to build a successful business with a focus on the environment, social justice, personal development, and sustainable living. Organic Bug is a destination where one discovers a diverse assortment of goods produced to create a positive and lasting effect. Building a company to promote a better world, we pledge quality products, excellent customer service, and an ongoing commitment to provide the newest, most innovative merchandise that contributes to personal enjoyment, relaxation and renewal. We believe that it is in everyone’s best interest to care about each other and the planet. If we empower ourselves, we empower others. We can make a difference, one purchase at a time.

At Organic Bug you can shop by collection or department. The collection includes fair trade, handmade, made in USA, natural, organic, recycled, and sustainable. The departments include accessories, apparel, children, cosmetic, garden, grocery, health & fitness, home, leisure, personal care, and pet shop.

We make it our top priority to offer only products that are of equal value or better quality than their mainstream counterparts. For example, we make sure our organic cottons and other eco-friendly fabrics feel wonderfully soft next to the skin, launder well and are women to last with beautiful finished you will enjoy for years to come. Our lotions and creams are made without parabens, petrochemicals or synthetic preservatives but are soothing, healing and moisturizing.

Every product sold by Organic Bug has been carefully examined.

We pay attention to the materials that go into the manufacture of each product. What is actually in the soap, body lotion, facial scrub, skin toners, sunscreen? We use the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database to research personal care products and their ingredients…. No product escapes scrutiny! Is the wood FSC Certified or from sustainable resources? Are the finishes natural, non-toxic or low-VOC? Are the fabrics certified organic by the appropriate third-party agencies? Are the colors produced from natural or low-impact dyes? Have recycled materials been utilized? Are plastics and other synthetics made with the least environmental impact, providing assurances systems are in place to minimize energy & water consumption and environmental discharge?

It should surprise no one that Organic Bug is a member of 1% For the Planet.