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Phil’s Holiday Gift Guide 2007
By Phil Good
Dec 10 | archive | subscribe
Phil wants to help make this holiday season the most green, good and giving yet. To that end, he’s prepared an assortment of gifts that are good, eco-friendly and ones with a philanthropic edge. There are many ways of giving -- sharing time, preserving memories, and buying gifts. So if you have to shop, Phil says spend wisely.
Green
Flip and Tumble Bag
$15. The Flip and Tumble Bag is a reusable bag that is the size of a tennis ball and turns into a large grocery bag in seconds! flipandtumble.com
Cargo Cosmetic’s PlantLove Collection
$20. A lipstick tube made entirely out of corn - a renewable and abundant resource. The outer carton is made of flower paper embedded with real flower seeds. Simply moisten, plant, and wait for a bouquet of wild flowers to grow! sephora.com
WattStopper Occupancy Sensor
$30. Turns lights on automatically when you enter a room and off when you leave, reducing energy use by an estimated 50%. beverlyhillselectric.com
HYmini Wind Power
$49.99. This handheld, universal wind-powered charger is perfect for cell phones, MP3 players, iPods, PDAs, digital cameras or many other 5V devices. Fastened it to your car or hold it while you run, ski or sail. hymini.com
Pretty Plates
$98 set of four. Perfect for salads or appetizers, these recycled glass triangular plates are 7 inches in diameter and have a matte finish. Viva Terra specializes in earth-friendly housewares,
clothing and gifts. vivaterra.com
Streamgarden
$150. Streamgarden is a small personal garden for your home or place of work. Hydroponics gives a magnificent and fast growth of plants. At the same time it is using water and nutrition in an efficient way, which can be perfect for a frequent traveler. scandinaviandesigncenter.com
Good
Smells Great
$12 set of 10. These pencils sharpen like regular No. 2s, but they're made from rolled-up newspapers! And surprise -- they smell good! Scents last two years and include bubble gum, root beer, orange, cherry, grape, fruit punch, pineapple, watermelon, cinnamon and peppermint. wishingfish.com
Trees for Israel Certificate
$18. By planting a tree in Israel -- part of a National Jewish Fund program -- you can honor a loved one or a specific occasion such as Hanukkah. Choose from a variety of them, including olive, almond, sycamore and cypress. jnf.org
Water Buffalo
$25 to $250. A gift of a water buffalo can lead a hungry family out of poverty and give them a chance for a bright future filled with hope and free from hunger. heifer.org
Tree Tribute
$50. Designate your gift as a Tree Tribute. Friends of the Urban Forest will invite you and the honoree to join in a planting event. They will send a card on your behalf to whomever you indicate. FUF plants more than 1500 new trees every year in San Francisco. fuf.net
Carved Chess Set
$145. Traditional Vietnamese figures populate this Traveler’s Find hand-carved Soapstone Chess Set by Ten Thousand Villages. They’re a founding member of the International Fair Trade Association, focus on ethnic minorities, street children, and people with disabilities around the world. tenthousandvillages.com
Giving
Kiva Wristband
$5. Wristband is green with "I'M A LOANER" on one side and the Kiva logo on the other. Fits most peope with wrists. 100% of the profit from this item is donated to Kiva to help cover their operating expenses. Kiva.org
A T-Shirt for Fenway and Ginger
$13.99. Cafe Press is selling Architecture For Humanity-related goods: Shirts for the whole family, as well as mugs, stickers, and sketchbooks. The nonprofit seeks architectural solutions to humanitarian crisis. architectureforhumanity.org
Instant Karma T-Shirt
$18.95. Featuring an evocative portrait of John Lennon on the front, this t-shirt will turn heads and inspire action. All sales of Amnesty International merchandise help support our life-saving human rights work. amnestyusa.org
Gap (PRODUCT) RED™ word T
$28. 100% authentic African cotton t-shirt, made in Africa with an organic look and feel to reflect the continent's land and spirit. Half the profits from Gap (PRODUCT) RED™ styles go directly to the Global Fund to help fight AIDS. gap.com
iPod (PRODUCT) RED™ Nano
$199. By choosing (RED), you help fund the purchase and distribution of anti-AIDS medications in Africa. apple.com
Gift Cards Get Giving
More than half of all consumers plan to buy gift cards this year, several groups are offering charitable gift cards that allow the recipient to choose the organization that will receive the money given in his or her name.
Charitygiftcertificates.org
The group has been offering online gift-card buyers the option of letting the recipient choose where the money goes since 2004. Offers screened list of charities. charitygiftcertificates.org
TisBest Philanthropy
TisBest Charity Gift Card hit the market on Nov. 1. They chose not to offer plastic cards for environmental and economic reasons. Offers screened list of charities. tisbest.org
Network for Good
Introduced the Good Card over Thanksgiving weekend, good at one million federally registered nonprofit groups in the United States. networkforgood.org
JustGive.org
Another group that offers an electronic Charity Gift Certificate, good at one million federally registered nonprofit groups in the United States. justgive.org