Before you start gearing up for a new school year, consider a new idea regarding back-to-school gear: seek out companies who give back. By filling your own needs, you can help others in real need—a genius way to start a new school year!
SoCozy is thrilled to be teaming up with STATE Bags to create a sturdy, stylish backpack, perfect for years of heavy-duty learning. For every SoCozy Backpack (or any STATE Bag) purchased, STATE hand-delivers a backpack loaded with essential items to an American child in need.
See how easy it is to get involved in giving? But our hope is to make it even easier. We’ve gathered a list of awesome companies with similar visions to get you started. Take a look at these other socially conscious retailers as you tackle your back-to-school shopping list.
BOOKS
Better World Books operates on a book-for-book basis. For every book you purchase, a book is donated to a child in need. With everything from summer reading lists to college textbooks, it’s a great way to shop for new and used books.
SCHOOL SUPPLIES
There’s nothing better than bright, fresh school supplies at the start of a new school year, especially when your supplies from Yoobi result in an equal donation to local kids in need. They offer everything from pencils to art supplies to headphones, and whatever you purchase is replicated in kind. You can help ease the burden of kids in need and teachers who often spend out of their own pockets to help.
GLASSES
Not only are Warby Parker eyeglasses “on fleek” as the kids say, so is their mission: for every pair of glasses purchased, they donate glasses and eye exams to people in need around the globe, helping to make a dent in the estimated 703 million people who don’t have access to eyewear. (Now if they would only start making little kids’ styles!)
SHOES AND CLOTHING
TOMS started with a simple shoe, but has expanded into a whole line of apparel and accessories, based on a simple one-for-one model. You buy one, they give one to someone in need. Their giving has helped people in over 70 countries, and not just with clothing, but medical care and clean water initiatives.
When you think socks, what comes to mind? Did you know that socks are the number one most requested clothing item at homeless shelters? Bombas has a one pair purchased, one pair donated model, and they are taking it one step further. The socks that are donated are engineered to specifically meet the needs of people who don’t have the luxury of a clean pair of socks every day. With darker colors and reinforced seams, these socks have a greater durability and longer lifespan.
Out of Print celebrates your favorite iconic and out of print book covers on stylish clothing. Not only are you celebrating your favorite reads, every purchase results in a donated book to Books for Africa.
Few things bring as much comfort on a cold day as a cozy hat or scarf. Twice as Warm provides a duplicate donation for your purchase to a shelter.
SPORTS EQUIPMENT
When your soccer team asks for donations, how about a never-flat ultra-durable soccer ball for the team? One for the team from One World Play Project means one for kids in a disadvantaged community too, providing opportunities for play to those who need it most.
Before you grab another water bottle, think about how easy it is to take clean water for granted. The Drop for Drop promise of People Water provides clean water in the form of clean wells and water purification systems to global communities in need with the purchase of every reusable water bottle.
BEDDING AND LINENS
If you’re setting up a college dorm room this fall, you’ll need cozy blankets, sheets and towels to add some comforts of home. Blanket America matches each purchase with a donation to communities in need, here in the U.S. as well as Haiti.
HYGIENE SUPPLIES
Getting your kids to brush their teeth can be a challenge, but providing basic dental care—like toothbrushes—is a global challenge that Smile Squared is undertaking. Every toothbrush purchased means a toothbrush donated to a child without.
Hand in Hand Soap is focused on sustainability and basic hygiene for all. Your purchase of their natural products includes a donation of a bar of soap and a month’s worth of clean water to someone in need globally.
TECH
The XO Tablet from One Laptop Per Child is colorful, easy to use and built to handle wear-and-tear from kids. But the most impressive thing about it, is that it helps to fund a mission to provide solar-powered durable laptops to children around the globe living in poverty and without access to education.
