Shop Online for Charity
Whether you're looking for handknit sweaters or designer jeans, you can shop online and support charities.
Women all over the world are struggling to control their pocketbooks as they discover a fantastic excuse to shop online: supporting charities! A growing number of worldwide charities maintain online stores, online auctions, or affiliate programs, which means that anytime you purchase something, you're actually making a donation to charity. Now you can feel extra-good about yourself while you wait for that brand new purse to show up in the mail.
So Much Shopping, So Little Time
Depending on your personal preferences, there are many different online shops you can patronize. If beautiful handcrafted items are your thing (and since you're a knitter, they probably are), you'll probably find your best opportunities to shop online at stores that offer fair trade items.
That means that instead of buying someone's second hand Gucci scarf and sending the proceeds to charity, you can actually buy a product lovingly created by someone in a developing nation -- and they get the profits!
One of the best of online charity stores is the British organization Oxfam. Many Europeans know Oxfam for its second-hand shops, but Oxfam does far more than that. They use their proceeds to champion change in three ways:
-putting pressure on leaders for change
-working to help eliminate poverty across the world
-responding to emergencies
And Oxfam's extensive online store has heaps of merchandise. But if you're interested in those hand-knits and other creative products, you'll definitely want to check out the Gifts and Fairtrade Food section of the site. You'll be able to shop online and make a difference, all in one swoop!
Other Great Charity Shops
Now, there's only one thing I love more than knitting, and that's -- you guessed it -- shopping! So obviously as soon as I heard about these charity shops, I sprang into action, giving my credit card a real workout. Here are some of my favorite charitable places to shop online:
-Buy beautiful handmade rugs from Ten Thousand Villages
-Find hundreds of fair trade and organic gifts at the Ethical Superstore
-Have fun while you shop online at Global Exchange
Keep in mind too, all my knitting friends, that many secondhand or charity shops would be more than happy to accept your donations of handknit items. So go ahead and shop online -- now guilt free!