It’s that time of year again. As the weather turns cooler and the leaves change color, we gear up for the holiday season, which means gifts for loved ones, clients, business partners, and team members. 

With every purchase, we can support great businesses and worthy causes, spending dollars with organizations committed to serving people and the planet. As a certified B Corp ourselves, Ad Victoriam Solutions (AdVic®) takes this responsibility seriously, and we wanted to share some of our favorite corporate gift options with you. 

Whether you’re looking for one-off gifts for your team or clients, something fun for someone special on your list, or a great nonprofit to donate on someone’s behalf, we’ve got you covered. 

Sweet Treats

The closest thing to a sure thing, just about everyone loves something sweet. And there are some great options from some wonderful companies for you to find the perfect gift. 

One of our go-to employee gifts comes from Yonkers, NY, a company that became famous for its innovative open hiring model. Greyston Bakery makes some of the best brownies you’ll ever eat, and we recommend the Indulgent 8 box, which features some of their most popular brownies. 

Another sweet treat to add to your list comes from another mission-driven B Corp, The Lancaster Stroopie Company (Stroopies). They employ female refugees, offering meaningful employment, English classes, and transition services as they adjust to life in a new country. Order a Deluxe Pack (and try the Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel) and enjoy a cup of coffee from one of our recommendations later in this blog. 

One final amazing sweet treat comes packed with a double benefit, delicious chocolate, and helping a community ravaged by Hurricane Helene. Based in downtown Asheville, French Broad Chocolate was badly flooded and their downtown tasting room remains shuttered. From their bonbons to their chocolate bars, you can’t go wrong with anything from this B Corp, but our choice is their incredible hot chocolate mix. 

Coffee & Tea 

Just like sweets, coffee & tea are generally a safe bet for most of the people on your list. And some great companies are doing incredible work throughout their supply chains. They also happen to brew some really tasty beverages. 

Here in our home state of Georgia, we are lucky enough to have two amazing B Corp coffee roasters, Thrive Farmers and Cafe Campesino, who started one of the first coffee-buying cooperatives. Both companies pay fair market value to farmers around the world for some of the best coffee you’ll ever drink. We recommend Cafe Camepsino’s Historic Grounds blend, whose proceeds support the creation of the Americus Civil Rights Museum. 

Outside of Georgia, there are also a couple of great Black-owned, certified B Corp, midwestern coffee companies doing incredible work. BLK and Bold, with new investor Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders, makes a delicious Cold Brew. And Last Mile Cafe, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, donates 10% of all revenue to charity. Our pick is God’s Gumbo, a yummy blend from Ethiopia, Honduras, & Colombia. 

And for the chai tea lover on your list, check out Sachai Tea, a B Corp out of Birmingham, Alabama. Their team works directly with their farmers in India to deliver a delicious variety of loose-leaf and chai concentrate options. With their original, harvest, and decaf concentrates, we recommend their sampler pack. 

Potent Potables

For someone on your list who wants something a little stronger, a couple of amazing B Corp distilleries also made our list. 

For the rum drinker on your list, there is a woman-owned distillery in Crested Butte, Colorado making award-winning rum. And yes, they ship throughout the US (to 38 different states), Check out their entire selection on their website and support this B Corp that won a Best For The World award in 2021. 

And if rum isn’t your recipient’s thing, check out our go-to for client and community partner appreciation gifts, Makers Mark distilled bourbon. You can even get a custom label printed for that special someone on your list while getting them something they want. And you can feel good about your purchase–not only is Makers Mark a B Corp, but they’re also the first distillery to become Tier 3 Certified Regenified–read more about their sustainability commitments here.  

Gift Boxes

If you’re looking to give a little bit of everything, gift boxes can be a great option. And our friends at Better Made Easy have you covered–they even offer a B Corp-themed gift box that includes two of the gifts we already mentioned, Sachai Tea and Greyston Bakery brownies! The site has a variety of standalone gift options as well, so there will be something for everyone on your list. 

And if you’re in Georgia, check out Retaaza, a B Corp out to end produce waste in the Peach State. They have a “produce as a perk” option for fresh produce deliveries year-round! Order as a gift for a client, a new company-wide perk, or a treat for an important business partner. 

Charitable Giving

For the minimalist on your holiday list, give them the gift of charity. Donating is an easy and impactful way to give a meaningful gift. 

After the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene on western North Carolina, our B Corp community has been stepping up to help those affected by the storm. The planning team behind BLD Southeast has organized a small business relief fund for B Local Asheville and you can contribute here. This is tax-deductible, and all donations will be distributed to locally-owned small businesses in the region. 

In Georgia, there are three charities we have been supporting for many years now. Working to address the lack of diversity in the Salesforce ecosystem, Tech Forward continues to scale its impact as it provides CRM career training and job placement in our industry. In Atlanta, HYPE provides STEM education to girls of color in metro area middle and high schools, cultivating a pipeline of diverse talent for the tech industry. And last but not least, there’s our own B Local Georgia, which we helped launch in 2018. Through their all-volunteer board, they use any money raised to host free community events for B Corps, purpose-driven organizations, and students across Georgia. 

We’d like to thank Profitable Purpose Consulting‘s Nathan Stuck for his help compiling our 2024 AdVic Holiday Gift Guide.

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2. Sustainable Boutique Hotel Stay Booked in Advance: 2020 is ending and a vaccine is on the way and we’ll all soon be looking for an excuse to take a trip. With properties in Florida, Colorado, and New Jersey, we recommend fellow B Corp Legacy Vacation Resorts as a great option for that first trip. 

3. Locally Made Goods from Locally Owned Stores: It is always a good idea to support local businesses, but more than ever in a time when big-box retailers will dominate with high cost advertising. Focus locally: local bookstores, local makers, local everything! It means that much more when you take your business to “the small guy,” and more often than not the extra care and attention will improve your buying experience.

4. Support Black Owned Businesses: The 2018 Annual Business Survey (ABS) found that black-owned businesses accounted for only 2.2 percent of all U.S. employer businesses. One great option to explore is Origyn, a community of BIPOC, woman-owned and LGBTQIAA+-owned brands who believe that anything their communities need, their communities can provide. If you need further inspiration, Forbes also has a wonderful list of 100 black-owned businesses to support. 

5. Find Something Uncommon: Another B Corp we love to support is Uncommon Goods. Their team scour the world for creative crafts and unique products from environmentally friendly sources. The online marketplace also partners with non-profit organizations, donating $1 of every consumer purchase to a partner of your choice. Provide gifts to your loved ones and support to those who need it with an uncommon good! 

6. Give the Gift of B Corp Drinks & Sweets
2020 has seen a surge in demand for companies seeking to certify as B Corps. One great option is Tony’s Chocolonely, who can satisfy your sweet tooth and allow you to proudly bite into an ethically sourced chocolate knowing you have helped them further their vision of making 100% slave-free chocolate a reality.

For fans of Yerba Mate, the caffeine-rich infused drink of South American origin, Guayakí, is another wonderful B Corp to look to for gift-giving inspiration. Introduce someone to one of the fastest growing beverages in the world while helping Guayaki to continue their regenerative agriculture push to protect the Atlantic Rainforest. 

7. The Toms: Those who know a Tom that they consider to be a special someone, and equally for those that don’t, may find the perfect gift with a B Corp namesake. The Toms (Tom’s Shoes, Tom’s of Maine and Tom Bihn) are three wonderful, conscientious organizations with sustainability in mind.

Probably the most well-known of the group, Toms, the footwear company, provides a great range of not only footwear, but also sunglasses and various accessories. What’s more, for every $3 they earn, they donate $1, on top of their reputation as the original one for one company, providing a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair purchased by a customer. 

For the anti-consumer on your list, everyone needs toothpaste, mouthwash, and deodorant. Tom’s of Maine provides personal care products from naturally sourced and naturally derived ingredients, striving to implement and follow sustainable business practices. They donate 10 percent of product sales to nonprofits who work to support health, education, and nature. 

The final Tom, Tom Bihn, is a baggage manufacturer, selling a range of products from backpacks and laptop bags to travel accessories. They’ll also help you feel better about shipping that present, as they have offset over 560 metric tons of CO2e emissions through their participation in the UPS Eco Responsible Packaging Program. .

8. Support that Destination You Love: What makes travel so special? Oftentimes it’s shopping at those places you love in the destinations that you always end up in that allow you to discover the perfect gift when you’re not even looking for it. Be that Wander North Georgia, the locally owned outfitter store in Clayton, GA, who have already donated almost $30,000 to nonprofits in 2020, French Broad Chocolates, the lounge and factory in Asheville, NC, who utilize a number of energy efficient architectural components, or AdVic favorite, Creature Comforts in Athens, GA, who donated over $400,000 to their Get Comfortable community fund in 2019.

9. Plant A Tree or Three: Sustainability and environmental impact does not need to be left to the organizations you shop with. The average carbon footprint in the U.S. is 16 tons, one of the highest rates in the world (global average is approximately four tons). You can calculate your carbon footprint with this tool and then work to offset it by planting trees. Carbonfund provides a wealth of information about the benefits of planting trees as well as actionable links to purchase your own or for others.

10. Support a Great Cause: For many of us, 2020 was a year of reflection on how we can be better allies for our BIPOC brethren. At AdVic, we’ve pursued new partnerships and found organizations doing JEDI work worth supporting. So consider making a donation to one of our favorites, which include HYPE (Hope for Youth through Providing Education), who provide 21st century skills and technical training to girls of color, HBCUforce, an organization that partners with HCBUs to implement programs that provide early access to cloud computing careers, and HCBUvc, working to diversify a venture capital ecosystem that sees one percent of funds go to minority business owners. 

11. Gift Those Credit Card Rewards: For those who have banked frequent flier miles and credit card rewards over the course of the past year and have so far not had need for them, the holiday season is the perfect time to use them for good! A growing practice of donating frequent flier miles and unused credit card rewards – supported by many credit card issuers, major airlines and hotel loyalty programs – allows customers to support multiple charities that use them to fly and house patients and their families to medical facilities, make wishes come true, and much more! 

As a B Corp, Ad Victoriam makes sustainability and community involvement a priority, and we aspire to extend those values to those around us. Our hope is that we’ve made the case for you to take this opportunity to also showcase those values with your friends and family. And, hey, we hope that we’ve successfully sparked some gift-giving ideas for you as we move closer to the holiday season.

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With holiday spending increasing every year, we are also seeing an increase in conscious consumerism where people are choosing products that are also good for the environment and communities. In an article featured in VOX, the authors referenced a Nielsen study that projects the sustainable product industry being worth over $150 billion by 2021. In fact, sales have risen by 20 percent in just four years.

And when markets grow and consumers follow, companies aren’t far behind. That can lead to some major confusion for shoppers, as everyone seems to be marketing their items with generic, benevolent-sounding claims like “sustainable” or “green” or “earth-friendly.” What do any of these terms mean and how does the average shopper know what’s what?

Help is on the Way

In an attempt to break through the greenwashing, Ad Victoriam is excited to release our 2019 Shopper’s Guide of products and services sold by certified B Corps. B Corps are for-profit businesses that undergo a rigorous assessment. They are graded on their environmental impact, community involvement, supply-chain, worker relations, and governance. Audited and certified by the non-profit B Lab, these companies meet the highest standards of corporate social responsibility.

Ad Victoriam is proud to be a B Corp. We make it a priority to buy products for our business and our personal lives that come from other B Corps. Here are a few of our favorite brands and some of their products on our list this holiday season:

Yummy Sweets

Divine Chocolates: Divine started back in the 90s as one of the first cocoa-producing co-ops in Ghana. Certified as a B Corp since 2016, this female-owned chocolate company contains deliciously rich Fairtrade cocoa, no palm oil, and no GMOs. Our holiday tip is Divine’s Advent Calendar Variety Pack that includes (3) Milk Chocolate and (3) Dark Chocolate Calendars.

French Broad Chocolates: Started by Dan and Jael Rattigan in the mid-2000s, French Broad, based in Asheville, NC, offers everything from bonbons to brownies, with ingredients sourced locally around the fertile Appalachian valley. Take our word and order The Pick Me Up Bundle, featuring six brownies, two dark chocolate bars, and two packages of their delicious chocolate-covered coffee beans.

Lancaster Stroopie Company: One of AdVic’s favorite source for employee treats, this amazing business makes and sells traditional Dutch Stroopwaffeln. And who doesn’t want a caramel-filled cinnamon waffle cookie dipped in chocolate? The best part of this business is that they are female-owned and hire female refugees new to the United States. Trust us and order someone on your list the 12 count Stroopie Gift Tin.

Delicious Coffee

Cafe Campesino: A trailblazer and founding member of Cooperative Coffees, an organization committed to fair trading relationships between farmers and roasters, Cafe Campesino offers wonderful coffee from all over the world, lifting up their trading partners and their local communities. We recommend ordering the Single Origin Sampler, which includes (4) 4 oz. bags of coffees from Colombia, Guatemala, Peru, & Honduras.

Thrive Organic Farmers: Thrive, whose slogan is You Drink, Farmers Thrive, buys their coffee direct from farmers. Through their nonprofit foundation, ThriveWorx, they also give back to these local communities, empowering their farmers to tackle the tough economic, social, and environmental challenges facing them and their communities. Trust us and order Thrive’s delicious Horizon Organic blend. Organically grown in Guatemala, this medium blend is fruity with hints of toasted cereal and chocolate.

Your Amazon Alternatives

DoneGood: All brands on this shopping website pay fair wages and use eco-friendly practices. They also allow you to search for brands that “do good” on other issues you may believe in, like upcycled goods or products from female or minority-owned businesses. Check out this gift-set of three locally produced, all-natural, and non-toxic soap bars made by fellow B Corp, Meliora.

Uncommon Goods: After visiting a craft show in 1999, founder Dave Bolotsky was inspired to connect makers and their unique creations with customers looking for unique products. One item on our shopping list is the Gather and Grow gift set that includes pine-scented soy candle, a wooden pinecone ornament, and everything you need to grow next year’s Christmas tree!

Clothing & Apparel

Patagonia: Known throughout the world for their jackets and outdoor gear, this leading B Corp made its first Black Friday splash in 2011 when they ran their infamous Don’t Buy this Jacket ad in the New York Times, encouraging consumers to buy only what they need. We’ll stick with this theme and recommend the Patagonia Business Library, a set of books that includes Let my People go Surfing, The Responsible Company, and Tools for Grassroots Activists.

Cotopaxi: With a motto as simple as “Do Good,” Cotopaxi leads by example in everything they do, producing their products in Fair Trade certified facilities and donating one percent of all profits to their charitable foundation that aims to eradicate poverty. For the active traveler on your list, we suggest their ALLPA Travel Pack from their Del Dia collection, made completely from scrap fabric left over from previous production runs!

Bombas Socks: What’s not to love about Bombas, who donates a pair of socks for every pair sold. Like their slogan says, these are the most comfortable socks you’ll ever own. But don’t take it from us, buy some for yourself. Help unleash someone’s inner child this holiday season and send them a pair from their Sesame Street collection.

Athleta: One of Gap’s successful B Corp brands (along with Bath and Body Works), Athleta believes in selling sustainable products that allow women to pursue an active lifestyle and unleash the #powerofshe. Check out their Top 10 gift ideas online or at one of their brick and mortar locations across the country.

Toms Shoes: While we’re wearing and giving away comfortable socks, let’s cover them up with some amazing B Corp shoes. In fact, Toms has already donated 60 million shoes to children around the world. And for the Star Wars enthusiast in your life, look no further than Toms Star Wars collection because let’s be honest, who doesn’t need leather Darth Vader loafers in their life?
Bedding

Leesa: 2019 Best for the World: Community honoree, Leesa donates a mattress to a shelter for every mattress sold, focusing on shelters that serve children and teenagers. If you’re shopping for a new mattress this year, take a look at their Legend series, a hypoallergenic mattress made with organic cotton and merino wool and recycled materials.

Green Avocado: Currently a member of one-percent for the Planet and going through B Corp certification process, Green Avocado started five years ago out of a need to break through the greenwashing to find a mattress that was truly non-toxic, and green, and all-natural. They can sell you everything from comfortable mattresses to the bed frame it sits on and the sheets that go on top of it.

Travel

Taos Ski Valley: Looking to surprise the family with the gift of a ski trip this winter? Look no further than Ski Taos. The first certified B Corp ski resort, they can handle everything from your accommodations to your lift passes. So grab your board and hit the slopes, sustainably.

Legacy Vacation Resorts: Further up the Rocky Mountains, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, lies another B Corp resort to base your ski trip from. And if the snow isn’t your thing (or you’re trying to escape it for a few days), head to beautiful Florida, where Legacy has four different properties to choose from. Check out their specials here.

Beauty Products

Badger Balm: A family-owned business in its second generation, Badger carefully sources every aspect of their product line, which offers everything from organic lip palms to all-natural bug repellents. Our pick is Badger’s Sore Muscle Soothing Gift Set, a combination of Ginger Deep Tissue Massage Oil, Sore Muscle Rub, and Sore Joint Rub.

BeautyCounter: A company that has a “Never List” of over 1,500 ingredients they will never use in their makeups, BeautyCounter believes that “beauty should be good for you.” Find holiday gifts for her and him on their website.

Ethique: With a goal of reducing the more than 80 million shampoo and conditioner bottles disposed of every year, Ethique makes soap-like bars of shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, and you guessed it, soap. New Zealand’s highest-scoring B Corp bars are plastic-free, plant-based, cruelty-free and sustainable. They offer six different holiday gift bundles for under $29.

Potent Potables

New Belgium Brewing: What’s not to love about a company that is 100 percent employee-owned, awards an anniversary bike to every employee after one year, and has been a sustainability leader in the brewing industry for over two decades? Oh, and they brew great beer! With locations in Fort Collins, CO and Asheville, NC, New Belgium are definitely worth supporting. Pick up a winter variety “Folly Pack” on the way to your next soiree and be the hit of the party!

Fetzer Vineyards: Celebrating 50 years of making great wines in Mendocino County, Fetzer has publicly reported their greenhouse gas emissions since 2005, treats their own process water, and is proud to be the first TRUE Zero Waste winery in the country. While you pick up that 12 pack of New Belgium, grab a bottle of their Valley Oaks Sweet Rosé for the non-beer drinkers on your list.

A to Z Wineworks: If Oregon wines are more your thing, A to Z offers an incredible selection of wines and was founded on the principle of “business should be conducted as if people and places matter.” From this five-time Best for the World honoree, let us recommend a bottle of 2016 The Essence of Oregon Pinot Noir, a blend selected to offer a darker profile perfect for those cold winter months.

If you would like to learn more about how your company can become a Certified B Corp, AdVic’s recent three-part blog series has all the information you need to succeed: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3. You may also find this recent AdVic B Corp/Corporate Social Responsibility webinar helpful, too.

If you have any questions, we invite you to contact us here.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Ad Victoriam Solutions!

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