Wedding Gift Ideas

There are some great ways for your guests to give you a gift and donate to charity at the same time. ChangingThePresent.org encourages couples and guests to consider giving green. The site offers thousands of specific donation gifts from hundreds of leading nonprofits representing 33 categories of causes, including Inspire Dreams -15 Books for Kids ($45); Equip a household - give seeds and supplies ($100); and Adopt A Jaguar - Support a Conservation Project ($35). With a remarkably wide range of donation opportunities, guests are sure to find something that is inspiring and moving to support a couple’s passions and hopes. Couples can create their own personal registries and send an announcement to their friends and family. The wedding guests can then choose among the suggested gifts, and then simply click to donate.

Another way to give a gift of charity is the I Do Foundation Gift Registry. By creating a registry, you offer your guests the convenience of picking the perfect gift at one of its partner stores while donating up to 8% of gift purchases to your chosen charity. Several stores partner with the I Do Foundation, including Amazon.com, Gaiam, Linens ‘n Things, Mikasa, Sur La Table, The Home Depot, Target, REI, Macy’s, JCPenney, and Cooking.com.

African Dowry helps to transform the lives of African farmers as part of your celebrations. It's a wonderful and unique way to celebrate your marriage while also making an incredible difference to some of the poorest people in Africa. It really will make your special day even more memorable! There are loads of fantastic ideas, from seeds to shallow wells, and from chickens to starter kits for village vets.

Charity donation shopping sites are another means for shoppers to donate a percentage of their gift purchase price to the cause of your choice. You might wish to direct your guests to one or more of the following sites:

BuyforCharity.com
A donation of up to 35% of purchases is made to your chosen charity while shoppers choose from over 350 online stores.

GreaterGood.com
Up to 15% of purchases at over 100 leading online merchants automatically goes to your selected local and national charities, the nation's K-12 schools, and college and university scholarship funds.

iGive.com
A portion of purchases, up to 26%, will go to your designated cause. There are over 100 stores and 15,000 charities to choose from – or you can add your own.

JustGive Charity Malls
Every time a gift purchase is made through CharityMalls.com, your favorite charity will benefit, with up to 35% going to the charity of your choice.

MyCause.com
Choose from over 275,000 organizations, or add your favorite cause. When shoppers purchase from a retailer affiliated with MyCause, up to 12% of purchases will go to your chosen cause.

20/20 Vision
Purchases of books, magazines, green gifts, clothes, and Internet services from the 20/20 gift shop help support their mission of activism for a cleaner and safer world.

Uncommon Goods
Really cool gifts - and Uncommon Goods will donate a percentage of purchase prices to specially selected non-profit organizations.

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Earth and People-Friendly Gift Suggestions

Are your guests asking you for gift suggestions? Here are some ideas to put on your wish list that will help give back to the planet:

• Home delivery of organic produce and groceries. Search GreenPeople.org’s “organic food, coffee, and produce” link for home delivery in your area.
• A gift basket of sustainable household items such as organic cotton towels, nontoxic cleaning products, and compact fluorescent light bulbs. Co-op America's National Green Pages is a great resource for finding green businesses to help fill the gift basket.
• Organic gardening supplies including seeds, tools, and books from Seeds of Change, or packets of seeds from Native Seeds for growing corn, bean, and squash crops traditional to the cultures of the American Southwest and northwest Mexico.
• Experiences rather than things - park and museum passes or restaurant gift certificates. Check out the National Parks Pass or look into museum memberships via the USA Museums Database, the International Museums Database, or Museumlink. If a restaurant gift certificate is on your list, the Happy Cow searchable database will help locate vegetarian restaurants in your area.
• Gifts of your friends’ talents. Would your seamstress-friend like to brighten up your new home by sewing curtains? Would a mechanic-friend enjoy giving your neglected auto some periodic maintenance to make it run more efficiently? These are great ways for people who have more talent than cash to express their affection for you with gifts from their hearts and hands. Encourage this, because some folks are reluctant to suggest it.
• Subscriptions or donations to publications dedicated to green living such as E/The Environmental Magazine, The Green Guide, Grist Magazine, Plenty, and Yes!
• Make something good happen! Plant a tree, help save a rainforest, “adopt” an animal, or provide service to the disadvantaged. Here are some ideas:

  Trees for the Future’s certificates sponsor the planting of 450 trees, and their tree planting kit gives you the seeds to plant your own Moringa tree as well as finance the planting of 250 trees in Haiti, Senegal, or Ethiopia.

  Help save the rainforest with Nature Conservancy’s Adopt an Acre program, or help Rescue the Reef of Indonesia.

  The World Wildlife Fund’s Adoption Center raises funds through symbolic “adoptions” to help save animals in the wild.  Rather than supporting particular animals, WWF uses funds to fight the threats faced by critically endangered species, including global warming and habitat loss.

  The Seva Foundation’s Gifts of Service provide “compassion in action” to people around the world who are struggling for health, cultural survival, and sustainable communities.

• Ask for gifts purchased from vendors who support the Fair Trade Federation’s policies of “fair wages and good employment opportunities to economically disadvantaged artisans and farmers worldwide.” Here are some sources for fairly traded products:

  Fair Trade Federation – Retail Store Member Listings
  A list of FTF retail stores that carry primarily fairly traded items, either bought directly from producer groups or from fair trade wholesalers.

  Global Crafts
  You’ll find some interesting items here, many made from recycled materials.

  Global Exchange FairTrade Online Store
  This online store has lots of fun gift items, and promises to implement “the principles of socially and economically responsible business by operating according to Fair Trade Criteria.”

  A Greater Gift
  Lots of classy handmade fair trade accessories for the home, as well as food and jewelry.

  Ten Thousand Villages
  Fairly traded handicrafts from around the world, organized in their online store by price range and recipient category. There’s a “for the bride and groom” category that you’ll want to investigate. If you’re really lucky, you may live near one of Ten Thousand Villages’ more than 160 retail store locations in the USA and Canada!

  World of Good
  This store has a nice assortment of fair trade house wares, and features several reasonably priced smaller gifts. 10% of their profits are donated to the nonprofit World of Good: Development organization.

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Charity Gift Cards and Certificates

If you’re at the point in life where you have everything you need and feel that the perfect wedding gift would be a direct donation to a charity of your choice, charity gift cards and certificates make donating super easy for your guests.

CharityGiftCertificates.org
Givers send you a customized e-card to announce their donation to one of the charities you designate from the organization’s list.

Earth Share CharityGift Card
This gift card will benefit any or all of Earth Share’s member organizations’ efforts to protect the environment.

Just Give Charity Gift Certificate
Just Give offers gift certificates and a donation registry. Recipients redeem the gift certificate to support their favorite charity.

Special Kids Fund Gift Cards & Certificates
This children’s charity alliance of social service organizations, hospitals, camps and schools caring for developmentally disabled children and at-risk youth allows gift certificate recipients to donate to one of over 75 charities.

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Gifts for the Wedding Party

You have chosen some very special people to take part in your wedding as members of your wedding party. It’s important to honor them with a gift that expresses your friendship and gratitude, while also honoring the planet.

Finding eco-friendly and socially responsible gifts for bridesmaids and groomsmen may seem challenging. Synthetic t-shirts and tacky beer steins abound! But you’ll be happy to know that there are lots of green options out there, offering a multitude of opportunities to give some very special earth-friendly gifts.

• For Ladies

  There are countless green possibilities for bridesmaids’ gifts! The Fair Trade sites are brimming with accessories for women; and gift options such as natural soaps, soy and beeswax candles, and organic coffees, teas, and chocolates are easily found online, in boutique shops, and even in your neighborhood supermarket.

  Gift baskets are a nice way to present several small gifts. A personal approach is to put together gift baskets yourself with items you have selected. Start with unusual fair trade baskets and fill them individually with the special delights you have chosen for each bridesmaid. Tie each basket with raffia for a stylish natural look or a silk ribbon for sophisticated elegance.

  If you’re short on time and would like to find quality gift baskets already put together, Global Exchange offers a Women Around the World Gift Basket containing a collection of goodies that benefits women and girls worldwide in a campaign aimed at ending violence towards women and girls. They also have a wide selection of jewelry, bath products, and accessories that would make excellent bridesmaid gifts.

  A good source of personal care gift sets is The Enterprising Kitchen, a nonprofit social enterprise in Chicago that provides women with opportunities to work toward self-sufficiency and independence. They sell stylish gift sets containing their line of natural soaps, lotions, and bath salts, which may also be purchased separately.

  For trendy boutique items that also support projects that help women worldwide, try Global Girlfriend. What could be cooler than handmade beaded bags produced by rural women in Vietnam or organic cotton panties made at a non-profit employment program run by Franciscan nuns in India?

  A Greater Gift has such a fine collection of handcrafted jewelry and accessories, you’ll have a difficult time choosing! Unique bags, bracelets, earrings, hair accents, necklaces, pins, and scarves are available here.

  World of Good carries bags, jewelry, scarves, and shawls. They also have some beautiful eco-friendly journals hand-crafted from tree-free paper in India.

  And be sure to check out the “gifts for her” section of Ten Thousand Villages for beautiful jewelry, scarves, and bags.
   

• For Men

  Great gifts for guys are also available! Some ideas are wallets, belts, and cycling bags made from hemp; solar powered watches; key chains crafted from recycled materials; organic beers and wines; and drinking glasses made from recycled beer bottles. Search Co-op America’s National Green Pages – you’ll find an abundance of retailers who sell these items and many more.

  Gift baskets can also be a welcome gift for men. A Greater Gift offers some tasty food items that would fit perfectly into the fair trade baskets that they also sell. What guys wouldn’t appreciate receiving organic cashews and Brazil nuts, chocolates, coffees, and soup mixes? Or how about filling the basket with eco-friendly hobby and sport items? Eco Golf sells biodegradable golf tees and water soluble balls that break down in 96 hours. They also carry a line of hemp hats which can be personally embroidered. For the fisherman, take a look at Original Bottle Cap Lures, manufactured from recycled metal bottle caps, and 100% natural and biodegradable Berkley Gulp! bait. And backpackers will certainly appreciate a selection of healthy trail mixes, dried fruits, and organic freeze-dried meals.

  One of the best sources for men’s fair trade gifts is Global Exchange. You’ll find hemp wallets, belts, and duffle bags; hand-crafted silver money clips; picture frames; and sweatshop-free sneakers.

  The Nature Conservancy has a unique selection of men’s gift items, including baseball hats, tote bags, and “Ties to Nature” silk ties. Gift cards are also sold for use in their online gift store.

  Ten Thousand Villages has a collection of “gifts for him” that includes a Guatemalan camera bag and an onyx chess set.

©2006 Green Elegance Weddings

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