GIVE BACK GIFTS THAT

This holiday season, share the love with friends and family by shopping local! These Canadian companies support community initiatives and give back to charitable causes and efforts. From socks, to chocolate, and everything in between, these feel-good gifts are a great way to support important causes and bring some holiday joy to your loved ones.

MANITOBAH MUKLUKS

Manitobah Mukluks is an Indigenousowned Canadian company that produces the warmest, most comfortable winter boots–mukluks!

Manitobah Mukluks feature timeless designs shaped by the Canadian landscape—the same designs that helped our ancestors survive for thousands of years in some of the coldest places on earth. Manitobah Mukluks take pride in being a brand that actively participates in Indigenous communities, as board members, volunteers, and mentors, as well as providing scholarships and work opportunities to Indigenous communities. Their biggest give back is through managing and funding the Storyboot Project.

The Storyboot Project aims to revive the traditional arts by creating partnerships with elders and artisans who fashion mukluks, and moccasins. The moccasins, mukluks and accessories sold through the Storyboot Project are all created by Indigenous artisans. For every Storyboot sold, the artist receives 100% of the proceeds. The Storyboot Project also includes the Storyboot School, where people learn to make moccasins and mukluks of their own. Classes are free for Indigenous youth.

Shop the collection at manitobah.ca/collections/mukluks

CHEEKBONE BEAUTY X CHRISTI BELCOURT

Indigenous-owned beauty brand partners with Métis artist on sustainable lip trio.

This November, Indigenous-owned beauty brand Cheekbone Beauty launched a collection with celebrated Métis visual artist, Christi Belcourt. The collection features three new creamy shades, all housed in a custom-designed gift box decorated with Belcourt’s signature floral motif, meant to evoke customary Métis beadwork designs. This painting is called This Painting is a Mirror because it reflects to the viewer all the beauty that is already within them.

VEGAN AND PLANET-FRIENDLY

The lip trio has been created with the same practices as the brand’s recent SUSTAIN collection, featuring biodegradable packaging, sustainably-sourced ingredients, and vegan formulations. Each lipstick is made and hand-poured in Canada. Learn more about Cheekbone’s sustainability mandates and how to dispose of the biodegradable packaging in four easy steps by visiting cheekbonebeauty.ca.

BEAUTY FOR GOOD

Cheekbone Beauty will donate $5 from each purchase of the limited edition lip trio to support The Onaman Collective (pronounced ah-nah-min). The Onaman Collective was formed in 2014 by Christi Belcourt, Isaac Murdoch and Erin Konsmo. The goal of this Collective is to preserve and recover traditional knowledge, develop traditional art skills, and create new ways for traditional teachings in the arts to carry on within the next generations through the youth.

This limited-edition holiday collaboration is launching exclusively at CheekboneBeauty.ca, with shipping available in Canada and the U.S.

TRUFFLE PIG CHOCOLATE

What’s in a name? When Truffle Pig Chocolate first decided to create a truffle chocolate bar, they researched where the word truffle originated from. They found that truffles are a rare mushroom found in the forest—and pigs have an innate ability to sniff out these exotic treats!

Even though chocolate truffles and truffles have nothing in common, this fun fact led to the creation of “The Truffle Pig,” on a mission to sweeten the world with chocolate!

Truffle Pig takes fair-trade a step further, proudly sourcing cacao directly from farmers, creating strong personal relationships, and paying them a premium above world market prices. The cacao is grown wildly, beyond organic, without the use of fertilizers or pesticides. The cacao has been on their farms for centuries.

Half of Truffle Pig farmers are micro farmers, meaning the cacao grows wild on their small property, and is sold in small portions for very little. Truffle Pig aided in the purchase of two motorcycles to pick up their cacao, as some farmers have no means of transport.

Truffle Pig also helps farmers by teaching them how to properly prune trees and spread the empty cacao pods to selffertilize trees, as well as how to plant other tree species to encourage shade biodiversity and improve soil composition.

Truffle Pig goes above and beyond to make sure their chocolate is made as ethically and deliciously as possible!

Pick up something sweet at trufflepigchocolate.com

PROVINCE OF CANADA

Province of Canada is the ‘Made in Canada’ brand the world has been waiting for. From starting online with a humble t-shirt collection, Province of Canada has expanded over the last six years to include well-made sweatsuits, everyday basics and home accessories.

The brand’s name comes from a short period in time when Canada was called The United Province of Canada—a time when things were made locally and with care.

Province of Canada champions Canadian manufacturing by creating well designed, quality lifestyle products for your closet and your couch. Their mantra is, “It doesn’t have to look Canadian to be Canadian.”

BUY A SOCK, GIVE A SOCK

Did you know that socks are the least donated but most needed clothing item among Canada’s homeless population?

This is what led to the launch of Province of Canada’s 1 For 1 Sock Program. For every pair of Province of Canada socks purchased, they donate a pair to a Canadian homeless shelter. It’s a simple solution for a complicated problem.

Shop Province of Canada online, or at their first brick-and-mortar location in Toronto’s Leslieville neighbourhood. Welcome to Province of Canada, we hope you stay a while.

GOOD FOOD FOR GOOD

BIPOC Woman-owned, Good Food For Good is an organic food company with a philanthropic mission to do good for all people and the planet we share. Their award-winning portfolio includes Ketchup, BBQ sauces, and a range of home-made style vegan Cooking Sauces inspired by Indian and Mexican cuisine. All Good Food for Good sauces are USDA certified organic, sweetened only with dates, with no added sugar, gluten, refined sugars, soy, dairy or any kind of preservatives.

As a certified B Corporation, Good Food for Good is combating world hunger by donating one meal for every single jar of sauce sold through food banks and nonprofit organizations—they call it the Buy One, Feed One program!

1 in 9 people still go to bed on an empty stomach each night. This fact is the driving force behind Good Food For Good. With every product sold, Good Food for Good donates a meal to fight world hunger, through partnerships with Food Banks Canada, LA Food Bank and The Akshaya Patra Foundation.

Shop Good Food for Good across various retailers including Whole Foods, Walmart, Costco, Sobey’s, Loblaws, and Amazon.com & Amazon.ca.

While supplies last, buy any two bundles and get a free tote!

TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES

Ten Thousand Villages is more than a store. It’s a place where you can explore and connect with your global village!

From communities throughout the developing world, every inspired design is crafted with love using local materials (usually natural or recycled) and timehonoured skills by artisans we have known and worked with for years.

From fair trade foods to jewelry and accessories to home décor items and so much more, every purchase improves the lives of artisans by supporting their craft and providing a fair, stable income. Your purchase is a way for you to become part of the story, to shop your values, and give gifts with meaning.

With the sad news of the national closure of Ten Thousand Villages Canada in the spring of 2020, only seven stores have carried on the mission across Canada, four of which continue as “Ten Thousand Villages.” The store in Cobourg, ON is the last remaining Ten Thousand Villages store in Eastern Canada, and you can shop the online lookbook at fairisfairtrade.org

HAPPINESS IS...

Happiness Is Inc. is a Canadian casual clothing company inspiring gratitude, connection, and of course, happiness. Busy lives and challenging times deserve a moment to reflect and connect to the moments that make us smile, the places we love, the activities we live to do, and most importantly, to each other. Working to do the right thing, the Happiness Is Inc. team of women is dedicated to making you feel happy about your purchases.

Made in Canada, with eco-conscious supremely soft fabrics, is just a start. During the spring health crisis, a shirt was donated to a healthcare worker for every item sold, bringing smiles to their stressful days. “Happiness is…our planet” is designed by high-school students from their Youth Council mentoring program, and gives $10 from every sale to the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

It’s easy to bring happiness to someone on your list! Shop for men, women, and kids at www.happinessisinc.com and follow @happinessisinc on Instagram.

CUDDLE+KIND

cuddle+kind was started by a family of five on a mission to help feed children in need. Their collection of stylish, award-winning hand-knit dolls make an impact—with every doll sold, they give 10 meals to children in North America and around the world. To date, cuddle+kind has donated over 14 million meals to children in 66 countries! Every doll is lovingly handcrafted in Peru and helps empower 750 talented artisans with sustainable, fair trade employment, making a positive impact on their families and communities. Best of all, their dolls are knit with premium cotton yarn that’s certified nontoxic and safe for even the littlest of littles. Shop the cuddle+kind collection at cuddleandkind.com