By Rebecca Hitchon
The festive period is a time for giving, but this year is a little different. As the financial implications of the pandemic are affecting people everywhere, it is likely that many of us won’t be able to be so generous to causes we care about. However, a smart move to make is to switch up your Christmas shopping and buy from charitable brands that give back.
1. Nursem
A paediatric nurse co-created Nursem hand cream in order to treat the painful effects of persistent handwashing on skin. The product quickly became a natural, healing formula loved by nurses and mums alike.
For every purchase, a month’s worth of free hand cream is given to a nurse or midwife. The hand care brand’s mission is to give Nursem hand cream to every nurse and midwife by 2025. This mission was helped during spring when the brand decided to give away free Nursem to 10,000 extra nurses and NHS workers in need of skincare relief.
2. Kahina Giving Beauty
Kahina Giving Beauty’s skin and body care products revolve around organic argan oil and other by-products of the argan tree. The brand strives to protect the natural, human and cultural resources that are crucial for making these products. Therefore they donate 1% of annual revenue to organisations that benefit the Berber women who live in the argan forest in the South of Morocco.
These women complete the hard task of extracting oil from the nut of the argan tree. Their individual signatures are stamped on each Kahina Giving Beauty bottle. The brand’s charitable donations enhance these women’s and their communities’ lives through education, environmental, agricultural and clean water programmes.
3. Neal’s Yard Remedies
Neal’s Yard Remedies uses the highest possible percentage of organic ingredients in its health and beauty products. Many of the ethically sourced herb, botanical and essential oil ingredients are sourced in gardens next to the brand’s eco-headquarters.
3% of sales from the brand’s Bee Lovely collection of body washes and creams supports bee-friendly charities. The main one of these charities is Bees for Development, which introduces bee colonies into cashew orchards in Ghana. This then boosts harvests and farmers’ lives there. After raising £9000 for the charity last year, Neal’s Yard Remedies want to raise £26,000 more so that 100 farmers can each install 10 hives.
4. Abhati Suisse
Abhati Suisse aims to adapt Ayurvedic beauty treatments, which were developed over 3000 years ago in India, for today’s consumer.
A significant amount of this vegan skincare and haircare brand’s profit supports their workers, the environment and local communities. Alongside working in a sustainable and fair trade manner, Abhati Suisse is charitable towards local farms, reforestation programmes and education initiatives. These initiatives focus on the education of women in rural India so make it possible for them to attend school. In fact, the brand has made it possible for an estimated 120,000 girls to receive an education to date.
5. Tatcha
Tatcha founder Victoria Tsai takes her inspiration from time-tested Japanese beauty traditions. She finds importance in Japan’s more simplistic and holistic approach to beauty, therefore adapts this approach for modern life. At the skincare brand’s core is anti-aging green tea, rice and algae, which geishas originally used in their beauty routines.
Every purchase of one of Tatcha’s products supports female students in Asia and Africa, through the Room to Read organisation. As well as funding these girls’ education, the brand’s charitable model provides life coaching and mentorship. As of the end of September this year, Tatcha purchases provided female students with 4,600,78 days of school.
So when you’re Christmas shopping this year or even when buying for yourself, make sure to keep these brands in mind. If we’ve missed any charitable beauty brands off the list, we’d love to hear them in the comments section below!
Rebecca Hitchon
Rebecca is passionate about cultivating a more sustainable lifestyle and enjoys being able to mix this with her love for writing, alongside completing her final year of a journalism degree and working on her blog: rebeccahitchon.wordpress.com.
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