Gift ideas for Christmas that are good for us and the world

Spielköpfe – gender-appropriate, sustainable card games

Playing cards belong in every household and bring joy to almost everyone. The startup Spielköpfe from Kiel produces playing cards that are gender-appropriate, diverse and sustainable. We believe that this is a great idea to avoid stereotypes in our everyday life. 

Goldeimer – The social toilet paper
The second Lockdown is here. For those who feel more comfortable with an extra supply of toilet paper at home, here is a special gift idea. The toilet paper from Goldeimer forms part of a campaign against right-wing radicalism. With every pack of toilet paper sold, one euro is donated to projects against racism. At the same time, the toilet paper offers a lot of space for information and education about the forms racism takes and what we can do against it.

Goldeimer’s current crowdfunding campaign on Startnext comes just in time for Christmas: https://www.startnext.com/toiletpaper

The Generation Forest – The Natural Climate Solution
The Hamburg-based cooperative enables you to equip your loved ones with their own piece of climate protection forest! Unlike the many “donate a tree” initiatives, The Generation Forest cooperative does not take donations. You buy a  share in the cooperative in thereby become a co-owner of the forest, forever. The forests are reforested where they have the greatest CO2 and biodiversity protection effect: in the tropics. Only native tree species such as rosewood are planted there. Thanks to a sustainable forest management, selected woods are harvested in order to cover the costs and achieve a moderate financial return.

Africa GreenTec – Sustainable power production
Are you a fan of the solar industry? Then you may consider to participate in the Africa GreenTec crowdfunding campaign and take the shares as a Christmas present. You can find out exactly how to do this here.

The solar company founded by Torsten and Aida Schreiber is one of the big pioneers of the solar industry in the French-speaking part of Africa, especially in Mali, Senegal, Niger and soon probably also in Madagascar and Chad. The “solar containers” not only help to electrify smaller villages. They empower local communities to use the electricity to improve their livelihoods. The integral schemes include features such as internet connectivity or cooling units.

Conflict Food  – The taste of peace
The Berlin-based start-up Conflict Food wants to promote peace through online trade of agricultural products that are typically produced in the country. The product range consists exclusively of fairly and directly traded fine foods from conflict regions: Saffron from Afghanistan, tea from Myanmar and much more. The trade secures an income for people in crisis regions that are largely cut off from world trade.

War Child – Aid for children in and from conflict areas
There are many great child protection organisations to support: SOS Children’s Villages, UNICEF, Plan International, or World Vision. Here we would like to introduce an organisation that has only been active in Germany for a few years and is dedicated to a particularly vulnerable target group – children in and from conflict areas: War Child

War Child Germany is being developed under the leadership of Dannie Quilitzsch, who has already contributed to initiatives such as Goldeimer (via the initiator Viva con Agua) or The Generation Forest cooperative (via the Hamburg Social Impact Lab) to take off successfully.

Teethlovers – Organic dental care
There are several companies active in the field of dental care with organic products, such as Hydrophil. We were lucky to meet the founders of the to-date still little-known start-up teethlovers, who are rethinking toothpaste: as a powder made locally from high-quality, organic ingredients and sold in environmentally friendly jars (currently in 17 cities in Germany). The product is not only ecological and plastic-free but also has a positive healing effect. We have tested it and found it to be really good. Children also find their favorite flavours. There are four varieties of teethlovers: peppermint-lemon, lemon-ginger-turmeric, lemongrass-rosemary-thyme and mandarin-vanilla-camomile.

Chill Choc – The healthy hemp cocoa
Is cocoa healthy? This one is! The drinking chocolate Chill Choc is enriched with cannabinoids of hemp (CBD) extracted via a special process and has a relaxing effect on body and mind. It reduces stress, has an anti-inflammatory and decramping effect. Due to these manifold positive effect patterns, CBD is a real superfood and makes life easier in many ways. In stressful situations and with inner turmoil, CBD can lower the stress level. For athletes, it helps loosen muscles after a workout and prevents muscle soreness. The drink is medically safe. The intoxicating THC of the hemp plant is not present in the drinking chocolate.

Bee Good – Learning through playing
Bee protection as a board game. Bee Good is a cooperative game that addresses the acute endangerment of bees across age groups. In a playful way, the game teaches about the tasks of bees as well as the background of their endangerment. Suitable from the age of 6.

Those who want to buy online during the lockdown can do so via social-ethical suppliers. It is available at Good Buy and the Avocado Store, among others.

Grome – Green Health Management
The social start-up Grome connects urban gardening initiatives with associations or companies. A great gift for employees, for example. At Grome, you harvest, cook and eat together, assuming lockdown relaxation.