Wear It Well

Are kids more socially conscious these days, or are they being raised by parents who want to inspire them to give back? Whatever the reason, there’s a slew of kids’ clothing out there that both looks good and does good, and I think that’s definitely a positive trend. Take the Giving Tee ($24) from California-based jillybean green. Made from 100 percent organic cotton, the shirt bears the image of a little girl or boy doing their part to help protect the planet. And 20 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the shirt go to Healthy Child Healthy World, which helps parents protect young children from harmful chemicals.

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Child's Play

My daughter doesn’t start preschool until the fall, but I already want to buy her one of Skip Hop’s adorable Zoo Lunchies insulated lunch bags. BPA-, phthalate-, and PVC-free, they’re just the right size for toting her favorite midday meal of ham and cheese with a side of banana. Skip Hop’s got plenty of other cute and cool products for kiddos and their parents, like diaper bags that could pass for high-style purses and a mod-looking bottle drying rack that’s as pretty as it is functional. And the company donates a portion of all sales to charities benefiting parents and children, such as the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Baby Buggy, and the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

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Support Steaks

After Christmas, I always end up with a slew of gift cards for OSI Restaurant Partners locations. What can I say—I’m a sucker for a Bloomin’ Onion from Outback Steakhouse or the Pollo Rosa Maria from Carrabba’s every now and then. If you know someone like me who has a birthday coming up, get them a gift card for Outback Steakhouse and encourage them to put it to use during the month of March. If they order from Outback’s “Red, White and Bloomin’” menu, available through March 31, the proceeds from menu sales will help the restaurant meet its $1-million commitment to Operation Homefront, which provides support for active U.S. troops, veterans, and their families. I'd say that's a good reason to treat yourself to a steak, wouldn't you?

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Sweet Sentiments

In 2009, Norman Love was named one of the Top 10 Chocolatiers in North America by Dessert Professional magazine. And there’s no doubt about it—his sweet creations taste as great as they look. But the Florida-based candy connoisseur behind Norman Love Confections deserves just as much praise for his support of worthy causes, having donated funds to everything from the American Heart Association to local arts organizations. The company recently announced a one-year partnership with Hope HealthCare Services, whereby five percent of the online sales from http://hope.normanlove.com/ will go to the Southwest Florida nonprofit, which provides in-home hospice care to patients with terminal illnesses. “Chocolates are a favorite way of expressing care and comfort,” says Samira K. Beckwith, president and CEO of Hope HealthCare Services. “And providing care and comfort to our patients and families is at the core of Hope’s mission.”

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Get a Bead on Your Health

The Count Me Healthy Helping Hearts bracelet ($88) is more than just a nice piece of jewelry. It also helps wearers to stay on top of their health goals. Say you want to make sure you’re eating enough fruits and veggies each day. Have the bracelet’s sterling silver, heart-imprinted beads each represent one serving. Every time you eat an apple or nosh on some carrot sticks, move a bead from one side of the bracelet to the other to keep track of your progress. Looking good while staying healthy—what could be better? How about the fact that 25 percent of the sale price of every bracelet sold is donated to WomenHeart, a patient-advocacy organization for women living with or at risk for heart disease.

Clothes with a Conscience

Kids often have the coolest ideas (remember the movie Big?), and verymeri celebrates their innovative spirit with a line of T-shirts created by the under-18 set. Design contests help the company find its newest looks; winning designers receive 3 percent of the sales of their shirts, with another 3 percent going to the charity of their choice. Current offerings speak out against things like bullying and in favor of concepts like peace, love, and conservation, supporting organizations such as Free Arts for Abused Children, GLAAD, and Autism Speaks. Out of the mouths of babes come some pretty simple ideas we grown-ups should embrace too.

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Banding Together

Bella Tunno’s new reversible headband ($8) doesn’t just look good, it does good. One hundred percent of the proceeds from sales of the product go to the Lift Up Ellie Fund, which provides financial support for Ellie Potvin and her family as the eight-year-old battles a rare form of cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma. About 350 children are diagnosed each year with the disease, which accounts for about 3 percent of childhood cancers. The Potvins are doing everything they can to find a cure for Ellie, and by buying this headband for a special little girl in your life, you can help another special little girl fight for hers.

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The Beat Goes On

With Tiny Revolutionary’s “This Shirt Saved a Life” T-shirt, you can do more than just wear your heart on your sleeve. Buy the shirt (available in kids and adult sizes) and $20 from the sale price is donated to Save a Child’s Heart, which provides pediatric heart surgery and follow-up care for indigent children from developing countries. And through February 9, everything at Tiny Revolutionary is 15 percent off for the company’s Valentine’s Day sale. Just enter VDAY10 at checkout.

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What a Card

Don’t say “I love you” this Valentine’s Day with just any old card. Instead, pick one that shares your love with some kids who could use it. Valentine’s Day cards ($4.99) from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s Hope Gift Book feature artwork created by patients at the hospital. Each set of ten cards includes five different designs that should bring a smile to your honey’s face. And that smile should get bigger when they realize that 100 percent of the profits (after related expenses) go right back to the hospital, which treats about 5,700 patients a year from around the country and the world.

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Put a Ring on It

When it comes to Valentine’s Day, jewelry tends to be a good gift choice for most women out there. And while old standbys like diamond studs and heart-shaped pendants are always appreciated, there are also lots of fashion-forward choices for women who like to stand out from the crowd. Melissa Joy Manning designs modern pieces using gold, silver, precious and semi-precious stones, and found objects. Inspired by the natural world, her rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets have an organic, slightly bohemian vibe and work with everything from a little black dress to a T-shirt and jeans. Through March 30, 10 percent of all sales from her Web site will be donated to the American Red Cross to support Haitian relief efforts.

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Smart Cookies

I’ve got grand plans this year to whip up some special Valentine’s Day treats for my husband and daughter. I just hope I’ll have the time to do it. If time isn’t on your side but you’ve got a sweet tooth for a Valentine, check out Baking for Good. The California-based bakery offers a whole host of all-natural Valentine’s Day goodies, from red velvet whoopie pies to iced sugar cookies. You can even add a little mystery to your order by signing it “Your Secret Admirer”—Baking for Good will include a code with your package that lets the recipient log into its Web site to learn who sent him or her some love. And the sweetest part is that 15 percent of every purchase is donated to charity. Purchasers can pick from any of the nonprofits listed on Baking for Good’s site, which include organizations like Action Against Hunger, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and Women for Women International.

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Toasting Your Ticker

Planning a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner? How about serving some wine with real heart? Held in trust by the nonprofit Leducq Foundation, the Napa Valley–based Ehlers Estate produces certified-organic vintages like cabernet franc and merlot. One hundred percent of the proceeds from all wine sales helps fund research on cardiovascular diseases. Consider a bottle of St. Helena One Twenty Over Eighty ($45), whose name is a play on what’s typically considered the ideal blood pressure. A red with aromas and flavors of spiced plum, molasses, tea, vanilla, cream, and mocha, it’s a great way to raise a glass to your sweetie and help protect his or her sweet heart.

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Send Some Love

In the market for a new tote bag or cosmetics case? If you buy one from Saltbox design studio, you can support relief efforts in Haiti at the same time. Now through February 14, the company will donate 10 percent of every purchase to the American Red Cross to help those affected by the recent earthquake. Just enter “Give my love to Haiti!” in the message box at checkout.

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Little by Little

Anyone who’s ever had a baby knows just how much gear small fries require. From pacifiers and bottles to burp cloths and changing pads, all the supplies can make any mom feel something like a Sherpa at times. Bella Tunno aims to bring some style to what it calls those baby “neccessories,” with bibs, pacifier clips, and other products for the pint-sized set done up in hip, modern prints. And kiddos get an early lesson in giving back, since a portion of the proceeds from every sale go to charitable causes like the Matt Tunno Make a Difference Memorial Fund, which supports drug and alcohol abuse prevention, rehabilitation, and education programs.

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Raising the Bar

I don’t think there can ever be too much hope in the world. Especially when it comes to things like breast cancer. Skin- and body-care company Lather is helping to spread a little of that positive thinking with its Soap for Hope Gift Set ($20). Included in the set are a natural wood soap dish and two bars of Sandalwood Rose Soap, an olive oil–based soap infused with rose petals, rose absolute oil, and sandalwood oil. For every set sold, $12 goes to the breast-cancer program at City of Hope, a Los Angeles–area medical and research institution designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. The soap is also sold by the bar ($8), with $5 from each sale going to City of Hope.

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Clothes for Comfort

Show your support for the victims of the Haiti earthquake with a limited-edition T-shirt from Studio Number One ($15). All proceeds from sales of the shirt go to the United States Fund for UNICEF, which has been sending much-needed supplies to the survivors of the natural disaster. Find the shirt at CafePress’s Haiti Relief Shop, which features other goods that also benefit UNICEF.

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Compassionate Computing

My dad used to always tell me and my siblings that he didn’t do weather. Of course, that was before 24-hour news channels, the Internet, and applications like Seasonality ($24.95, for Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later). Available through Gaucho Software, it features everything from seven-day forecasts for locations throughout the globe to radar images and astronomical data like sunset and moon-rise times. And through the end of January, Gaucho Software will donate 100 percent of the proceeds from sales of Seasonality (minus a $3 processing fee) to Partners in Health, which has been working in Haiti for 20 years and is providing much needed medical care in the wake of the recent earthquake.

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Handmade Help

In just two days, Craft Hope has helped raise $7,000 for Doctors Without Borders’ efforts in Haiti through its Craft Hope for Haiti Etsy shop. Crafters from all over have been donating items to the site, everything from laptop covers and tote bags to pillows and jewelry. Donations keep coming in, and 100 percent of the proceeds from the items sold on the site go to Doctors Without Borders as it works to treat survivors of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

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A Bag with Benefits

These days, travel can definitely be something of a hassle. But it’s a little more fun when you’re carrying a spiffy-looking bag. The Plaid Travel Bag from Saltbox design studio definitely fits that bill, and when you buy it in the company’s Spencer print ($190) through January 15, you won’t be the only one reaping the benefits. Saltbox is donating $5 from every sale of the bag to the Buoniconti Fund, which is working to find a cure for paralysis resulting from spinal-cord injury.

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Grab Some Green Gear

Hey you! Yeah, the one with the plastic grocery bags. Still haven’t made the switch to reusable shopping bags? Then check out the selection at Blue Q. Made from used grain sacks and plastic water bottles, the bags feature funky designs depicting everything from cupcakes to Michelle Obama. So why not show a little bit of your personality while you shop, instead of just broadcasting the name of your grocery store? And while you’re at it, ditch the plastic water bottle and pick up a stainless-steel, BPA-free one. You’ll be doing the environment a favor, especially since Blue Q donates 1 percent of the sales of its bags and water bottles to the Nature Conservancy, with a guaranteed minimum contribution of $50,000.

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Say Something

Message tees have been all the rage in recent years. But instead of using your chest to declare your dating status or which Twilight stud you favor, why not use it to speak out for a good cause? The men’s, women’s, and kids’ T-shirts from Farofa Nation ($24 to $26) offer both style and substance. Their cool designs mean you’ll look good wearing them, and you’ll feel good about the fact that 10 percent of all T-shirt sales goes to Task Brasil, which helps improve the lives of homeless kids living in the South American country.

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