Behind the Gift: 10 Gifts That Employ With Purpose

A B Corp Gift Guide for Products and Services from Companies with Positive Employee Practices

The people who make up a business serve as its foundation. The workers who create, package, communicate, and distribute the products and services a business provides are critical for any Certified B Corporation to achieve its mission. As a key stakeholder, employees at B Corps are often empowered into decision-making roles, including through cooperatives and other employee-ownership structures. As businesses look for new methods to engage employees, the ways these companies are providing flexibility, living wages, benefits, and control can serve as a model. Plus, they make some amazing products. We highlight 10 B Corps taking care of their employees and creating beautiful and useful gift options for the people on your list.

A to Z Wineworks Pinot Noir

By A to Z Wineworks | United States

Price: $20 USD (Only available in the U.S.)

A to Z Wineworks believes in combining commerce with conscience to leave a place better than it was found. The winery pays its workers above the local living wage and pays 100% of full-time employee health benefit premiums. Over 50% of A to Z’s management are women. In addition, the winery’s grape production and fermentation are done with the environment in mind, incorporating carbon-neutral direct-sales shipping and wind power. This 2018 Pinot Noir is a true expression of Oregon Pinot Noir — racy, with bright red fruit and fine tannins in harmony — and a great gift for the wine aficionado in your life. It is a delicious example of the benefits of working with fruit grown in the remarkable valleys of Western Oregon.

Variety Beeswax Food Wrap: Set of Three

By Abeego | Canada

Price: $18 CAD/ $18 USD

Since 2019, all Abeego team members have received a living wage (as defined by Living Wage Canada), as the B Corp believes its people are its top resource for sustainability. Employees are also offered counseling services, remote working options, and flexible hours. In addition, Abeego embraces pay transparency to help employees better understand the logical, equitable, and justifiable method to compensation and reduce the potential stress and animosity that stems from secrecy or closed-door policies. This food wrap set — a great gift for foodies and busy families — keeps food fresh longer as the beeswax wrap protects and breathes, mimicking nature’s peel.

Cabot Cheddar Sampler

By Cabot Cheese | United States

Price: $18.95 USD

Cabot was the first dairy co-op to become a B Corp in 2012, and the company continues to strive to not only make the world’s best cheddar but make it in a way that is best for the world. Cabot is owned by hundreds of member family farms across New England and New York. The co-op sources all of its milk from its member-owners and works to source other cheesemaking products locally. Co-op ownership means every member-farmer gets a vote, ensuring that perspectives of all the members are equally represented. This cheddar sampler is a delicious gift showcasing the range of great cheddars offered by the farmer-owners of Cabot. Mild, Smooth Sharp, Extra Sharp, and Seriously Sharp 8-ounce bars provide the perfect introduction to the world’s best cheddar.

House of Doolittle Weekly And Monthly Calendar, 7-Day Planner

By Dolphin Blue Inc. | United States

Price: $24.22 USD

This great planner is made with 100% post-consumer recycled paper, printed with soy inks, and produced in the United States. Dolphin Blue features products from small businesses, and the B Corp strives to offer only items manufactured in the U.S. to minimize the carbon footprint and sustain a healthy and vibrant national economy. This 12-month planner includes reference pages for long-range planning, note space for future planning on monthly and weekly spread pages, a double-sided storage pocket, and day-to-day planning pages with hourly appointment increments. The cover has a black embossed simulated leather finish and strong wire binding (the book covers are 50% recycled materials; the wire is 90% recycled materials).

Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, 5 Lb.

By King Arthur Baking Company | United States

Price: $5.95 USD

King Arthur Baking is a 100% employee-owned company, where every worker’s voice is heard and every decision results from openness, collaboration, and communication. The B Corp’s collective ideas and decisions are woven into its brand: a company run by bakers, for bakers. An essential ingredient for every baker, this unbleached all-purpose flour works in any recipe calling for flour or all-purpose flour and yields exceptional results. It’s a basic pantry ingredient that King Arthur’s has perfected and tested with the strictest specifications in the industry, so you can rely on it for holiday cooking and baking needs.

Real Food Bars

By Made With Local | Canada

Price: $39.50 CAD / $38 USD (for a pack of 12)

Real Food Bars are handmade in Canada at social enterprise bakeries, providing work and training opportunities for people living with barriers to the mainstream workforce. Supporting Made with Local helps change lives by providing people with meaningful and fulfilling work opportunities. Made With Local sources ingredients from local farmers and food producers, creating decadent and nourishing snacks that have a social impact baked-in. Real Food Bars are soft-baked granola bars made using simple, nourishing ingredients like organic oats, creamy nut butters, and local honey. Give flavors like Peanut Butter Brownie, Blueberry Grunt (a classic Nova Scotian flavor!), or the newest — Chocolate Mint Chip. With a combination of healthy fats, protein and fiber, these filling bars provide fuel for busy days.

MBTIonline

By The Myers-Briggs Company | United States

Price: $49.95 USD

The Myers-Briggs Company believes that by focusing on people, companies can make a positive impact for employees, customers, and communities. The B Corp promotes healthy work-life balance among its staff with flexible work hours, time off to volunteer in communities, and a commitment to an organizational culture where every voice is heard and valued. This includes the formation of a 25-member committee to ensure education, training, and volunteer opportunities are part of the learning journey of all employees related to diversity, equity and inclusion. The MBTIonline program — a gift for others or yourself — connects individuals with beneficial employee practices through an understanding of self and personal preferences, including communication and work styles. MBTIonline helps individuals explore their personality and increase their self-awareness to enhance interpersonal relationships and personal well-being, as well as greater cooperation in the workplace and other areas of life.

Topanga Bucket Bag

By Parker Clay | United States

Price: $248 USD

Parker Clay hires at-risk Ethiopian women, pays living wages and benefits, and provides skills training, career advancement, and financial literacy opportunities to all its employees, who create leather goods. The B Corp also partners with the Ellilta Women at Risk (EWAR) organization with a goal of restoring independence to Ethiopian women who have been exploited through prostitution. EWAR has graduated more than 1,000 women through its program, with over 90% of the graduates being able to remain free from prostitution. The Topanga is a unique, textured approach to an everyday bucket bag, featuring rich suede and pull-up leather accents. It has a spacious interior, frontside slip pockets, and an adjustable shoulder strap. Each bucket bag purchase provides three hours of employment to the Parker Clay team in Ethiopia.

Marbella Collection

By Prosperity Candle | United States

Price: $34 USD

All Prosperity Candle products support women relocated to the U.S. from refugee camps. Prosperity Candle also helps provide food, medical care, and critical assistance to refugee and displaced families around the world through partners like the International Rescue Committee and International Medical Corps. Reminiscent of decorative Spanish interiors, the Marbella Collection offers wonderful textures in neutral colors that inspire any home with warmth. And the Marbella candle holder can be used as an elegant planter pot once the candle is finished. Each ceramic candle is hand poured to order and arrives gift boxed with a story card about the woman artisan who made it. The reusable candle holder makes a perfect gift for the environmentally conscious. Select from nine scents or go fragrance-free.

Leela Full Pants

By Sudara | United States

Price: $59 USD

At Sudara, a core value is economic equity and freedom through skills training and living-wage jobs. The B Corp offers job skills training and placement, including jobs in its sewing centers to create its products, as part of its effort against sex trafficking in India. As a supplement, Sudara’s foundation provides wraparound services to ensure Indian women are supported on their path to autonomy, economic inclusivity, and freedom. The Leela punjammies print pants — with pockets — feature white peonies on warm taupe cotton trimmed with an elegant Banarasi border of interlocking ivory and gold.