As great as gifting your family and best friends feels, nothing empowers more than knowing your holiday season dollars are actually taking a conscious step. Giving to a good cause via gifting (or buying for yourself, let’s be honest) allows you to contribute while getting something tangible in return. If you can’t freely shell out big bucks to your favorite organization, there’s a way to have your cake and eat it, too. Use the power in your pocketbook to make your holiday gift-giving count.
Below are some of our favorite give-back brands, the nonprofit organizations they support, and the best gift ideas. Who needs cutting boards, T-shirts, and pairs of socks, when you can have hair and beauty? That’s obviously why you’re here, right? Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, or all of the above, there are likely loved ones in your life who’ll appreciate a holiday gift box or tote bag with a good cause in mind. Shop our gift guide now!
Prose
Our Fave Product: Custom Hair Oil
(Image Source: Prose.com)Custom hair and skincare brand Prose has had a longstanding partnership with Midnight Mission to bring personal care to those in transitional stages. Taking their charitable efforts one step further, for Giving Tuesday, the brand will donate one set of shampoo and conditioner for each new order placed on 11/28.
Maria Nila
Our Fave Product: Head & Hair Heal Beauty Box
(Image Source: MariaNila.com)Swedish vegan hair care brand Maria Nila just launched a selection of holiday beauty boxes, and there’s more to ‘em than luxurious goodies. Each variation has a colorful, sleek design meant to be upcycled to store your personal essentials. Additionally, the brand will donate 5% of proceeds from each beauty box to their charity program, The Friendly Year, where they gather their community to help endangered animals.
Innersense Beauty
Our Fave Product: Detox + Exfoliate Holiday Set
(Image Source: InnersenseBeauty.com)Give the great gift of a healthy scalp while simultaneously giving back! Innersense Beauty offers a Detox + Exfoliate set (among other options) with proceeds that go back to one of four charitable partners. Beam Impact is a tool the brand uses on its site, where shoppers can select their partner of choice. It will be live on the Innersense website from 11/24 to 12/24. From 11/1 through 12/30, Innersense has increased the standard donation of 1% to 5% from each purchase price.
Clarins
Our Fave Product: Tonic Body-Firming + Tightening-Treatment Oil
(Image Source: ClarinsUSA.com)Charity is at the core of Clarins, which has affiliations with a number of charitable causes, including PUR reforestation, Plastic Odyssey pollution reduction, and Domaine Clarins sustainable farming. If you want to make an immediate difference, the brand donates to its Fondation Arthritis with the purchase of every Tonic Body Treatment Oil. Established more than 30 years ago, the organization funds research in the field of chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases.
L’Occitane
Our Fave Product: Solidarity Balm With Verbena Extract
(Image Source: Loccitane.com)Decades-long French self-care fave L’Occitane is involved with a slew of philanthropic causes. But if you want to know exactly where your money is making an impact, you have your answer in a stocking stuffer anyone can enjoy. One hundred percent of profits from the brand’s moisturizing Solidarity Balms and Solidarity Hand Creams support women's leadership initiatives in Burkina Faso, West Africa. With the freezing weather, these lotion-like products should get your dry hands through the season.
Hope Fragrances
Our Fave Product: Hope Original Eau de Parfum Vaporisateur Spray
(Image Source: HopeFragrances.com)If you’re shopping for someone into scents, Hope Fragrances might make the perfect gift. With a focus on perfumes (and a candle and body creme in the mix), all net profits go to depression research. The mission of Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF) is to fund cutting-edge, scientific research into the origins, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of depression and its related mood and other emotional disorders. This includes bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, post-traumatic stress syndrome, anxiety disorder, and suicide. If you’re a mental health advocate, this a brand to keep on your radar.
Thrive Causemetics
Our Fave Product: Liquid Lash™ Extensions Mascara
(Image Source: ThriveCausemetics.com)You may have spotted Thrive Causemetics on TikTok or perhaps seen their famous mascara on one of your favorite celebs. America’s popular DTC beauty brand has been at the forefront of philanthropic beauty for years—and continues to grow with this year’s Bigger Than Beauty skin care expansion. Holiday shoppers can take advantage of one of their limited edition gift sets while donating to one of their giving partners with every purchase.
ESW Beauty
Our Fave Product: Plant-Based Milk Mask Set
(Image Source: ESWBeauty.com)ESW Beauty not only has some of the cutest packaging we’ve seen (hello, stocking stuffers!), but they stand for all things good. In addition to being clean, vegan, cruelty-free, and eco-friendly, they donate 10% of profits from their website each month to Women Aware—the state-designated domestic violence agency for Middlesex County, NJ. Providing comprehensive services for 40 years, their mission is to promote the safety and self-sufficiency of individuals and families affected by domestic violence.
good time
Our Fave Product: Hair + Body Bundle
(Image Source: US.WhoGivesACrap.org)Good time, the sister brand of our favorite Australian do-good toilet paper who gives a crap, offers a good time to the planet with its zero-waste hair and body care products. Additionally, 50% of profits are donated to support one of eight clean water non-profits. In terms of gift recipients, the brand offers several sets, including a five-piece hair and body bundle, which won a 2023 Allure Best of Beauty award.
Tatcha
Our Fave Product: THE DEWY SKIN CREAM
(Image Source: Tatcha.com)In addition to selling some of the most luxurious skincare on the market, Tatcha has supported its Beautiful Faces, Beautiful Futures fund for almost a decade. A portion of the proceeds from each purchase supports education equality worldwide, with partial donations also going to Asian and African Room to Read’s Girl’s Education Programs. So when you’re racking up your girly gifts full of bestsellers, know you’re making a difference!