Your ethical gift-giving guide

Save your panic and support your community this silly season by choosing from a selection of socially-conscious gifts hand-picked by you.

The days are getting warmer, colourful lights are beginning to adorn our porches, and shopping centres have started blaring carols on repeat. The festive season has arrived.

If gift-giving is part of your holiday tradition, consider turning your dollar into social good by investing in organisations and products that are making a positive impact in our communities. Donate your Kris Kringle money to your favourite cause, spend some time volunteering, or buy locally and support a small business. You could even gift a subscription to your favourite for-purpose news source, Pro Bono Australia…

No matter what you celebrate at this time of year, if anything at all, you can delight in this fantastic round-up of ethical gifts – all of which were submitted by you, our loyal readers! We’ll be updating this guide all throughout December, so check back in whenever you need some inspiration.

Want to add to our list? Email ruby@probonoaustralia.com.au.

First Nations businesses

Mardijbalina Art, run by Yanyuwa and Garrawa woman Zoe Fitzpatrick, is filled with authentic Aboriginal designs, available as commissions, prints and even phone cases.

Immerse yourself in First Nations culture by participating in a unique on-Country bush medicine workshop run by Kings Narrative, a social enterprise aiming to support Aboriginal men.

From fashion and skincare to homewares and Christmas decorations, Aboriginal Bush Traders sells ethically sourced and sustainable products that directly support local Indigenous communities.

Choose from over 200 Indigenous cultural experiences across Australia through non-profit Welcome to Country, and improve employment and economic development outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Buy Bush Balm’s rubs, moisturisers, soaps and lip balms and you’ll support the social enterprise in its efforts to provide free bush medicine for Indigenous dialysis patients in remote parts of Australia.

Not-for-profit organisations

Donate to the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal’s Back to School program, and help remote, rural and regional Australian students start the school year right.

Help protect the waterways, wildlife and land of the Kimberley by purchasing books, cards, clothing and accessories from Environs Kimberley, the region’s peak environmental non-government organisation.

Choose from Oxfam Australia’s fun range of personalised gift cards, each of which represent a tax-deductible donation and provide food, clean water and other essentials to people living in poverty.

What’s better than a puppy? A platypus! Adopt a platypus through WWF, and you can save our unique Australian mammal and their habitat from extinction. 

Family services not for profit Berry Street is turning your purchase of a theoretical ‘gift’ into something hand-selected by staff, foster carers and kinship carers for children living in out-of-home care.

Choose from international aid non-profit CARE Australia’s range of gift cards, illustrated by Australian female artists, and help families living in poverty overseas.

Buy a Christmas card from Youth Advocacy Centre Inc., and you’ll contribute to family, accommodation and legal support services for vulnerable children in Queensland.

From books and aprons to coffee and cosmetic bags, purchases made from Hands Across The Water’s online store will go to helping children and communities in Thailand.

Help the Royal Flying Doctor Service Victoria support the healthcare needs of those living regionally and rurally by purchasing from a range of products including Australian designed and made candles, cards and tea towels.

Social enterprises

Asylum Seeker Research Centre’s social enterprise catering arm is offering a selection of spices, chutneys and jams. Proceeds support refugees and people seeking asylum with opportunities for training and meaningful employment.

Buy a gift box from Moon Rabbit filled with local independent produce, and you’ll help the Melbourne-based social enterprise to provide social, educational and nutritional support to its community.

Stop by SisterWorks’ social enterprise cafe and shop in Melbourne or browse its unique, quality gifts online, all of which are made by refugee and migrant women living in Victoria.

Mary MacKillop Today’s Fair Trade social enterprise Ethica sells handcrafted products including alpaca ponchos, blankets and beanies, which support female artisans in Peru.

Empower people in NSW seeking asylum by purchasing from the Asylum Seekers Centre’s online range of tote bags, cards, t-shirts, caps, tea towels and more.

Global Sisters’ online marketplace is filled with over 4000 products from female-led Australian micro-businesses, all of which subscribe to the social enterprise’s #GOODbusiness standards.

For every one of its permaculture journals sold, start-up and social enterprise Candle Hill will plant a tree and donate to charities including Seed Mob, Ethos Foundation, and Permaculture Australia’s Permafund.

Level up your gifting game with Hey Good Thing’s offering that exclusively features products from social enterprises, B Corps and for-purpose businesses.

Give your gift with a side of social impact with Scarf’s range of limited-edition, locally-made merchandise, which support young people facing barriers to employment.

Make someone’s dreams even sweeter with #GoKindly’s ethical range of pillows, quilts and mattresses. They’ll donate 50 per cent of profits made to women experiencing homelessness and even recycle the pillow when it’s time for a new one.

Ethical businesses

Do you know someone who needs a comfy new pair of kicks? Try Twoobs, an ethical footwear company making sandals out of recycled materials, sugar cane and pineapple (yes, pineapple) thanks to a collab with B Corp Ananas Anam.