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Giving Back


 

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How to Give Back with a Volunteer Vacation
Get the scoop on your volunteer vacation options, including popular destinations, causes, prices, pitfalls, tips and resources to help you choose the right kind of volunteer vacation for you.

A Buffalo Helps a Mom in Nepal Pay It Forward
Half the population is unemployed in Nepal, and only one in three women is able to read. Yet, Sabitra overcame the odds and is now helping others in her community with help from Heifer International and a buffalo.

Volunteer’s Solar Know-How Lights Up Learning In Rwanda
Electrical engineer Brian Dempsey helps people turn sunlight into electricity every day. But he says his most brilliant work was turning sun power into power learning for 400 orphaned children in Rwanda.

30 Ways You Are Saving The Earth
Gaiam Life members share what they're doing to reduce their impact on the environment and making a difference by fighting climate change, reducing their waste and helping others join the cause.

5 Best Ways to “Green Out” Your Town
Weekly recycling, home composting, grocery shopping at the farmer’s market – you’ve made some good changes to live greener. So what’s next? It’s time to take your eco-friendly inspirations out into your local community.

How Fair Trade Turned Life Around for a Family in India
A story of one woman artisan who's among the extraordinary survivors across Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and India, where livable wages from fair trade work offer a way out of the cycle of poverty.

Steve Peifer's 'Mission: Impossible' with Kenya Kids
He's feeding 11,000 kids in Kenya a school lunch every day, building solar-powered computer labs, and trying to 'break the back of poverty in Kenya in 15 years.' How he did it, and how you can help.

Ryan's Well: How a 6-Year-Old Started Changing the World
Ryan Hreljac was only 6 when he started saving his chores money to pay for a well for a Ugandan village. His can-do attitude grew into a nonprofit that's built more than 300 wells in developing countries.

Van Jones: Green Jobs Are His Mission
Yale Law grad Van Jones and his nonprofit catalyzed the Green Jobs Act, providing $120 million a year to train workers for jobs in solar and renewable energy.

5 Fair Trade FAQs + Buying Guide
A 101 on what makes something fair trade, and how to shop smart to ensure that the person who created that fabulous product is receiving a fair wage in return.

Climate Change: 25 Things You Can Do
An action-inspiring list from “An Inconvenient Truth” producer Laurie David. These 25 steps will help you reduce your carbon footprint and help mitigate climate change.

Making Cotton, Doing Good
A family-owned business, this manufacturer uses pure organic cotton, makes its own nonpolluting hydroelectricity, and gives a portion of all proceeds to the World Wildlife Fund.

Communities Win with Fair Trade: 3 Stories
Three artisan groups, worlds away from each other, are earning fair wages, rebuilding sustainable livelihoods for their families and communities, and reviving traditional local handcraft skills. The story behind three programs that supply a few of Gaiam's artisan-made and fair trade offerings, from clothing to quilts to unique contemporary iron bathroom fixtures.

Go Zero: One Simple Way Anyone Can Help Stop Global Warming
Feeling overwhelmed in the fight against global warming? This innovative carbon-offset program by Gaiam and The Conservation Fund makes you part of the solution.

Organic Farming Changes Everything: Part 2, Escaping the Chemicals
The local ecosystem and the religious beliefs of a community of cotton farming families in rural India called for unique solutions to some universal agricultural challenges. Organic farming methods proved to be the solution on all counts.



All Videos

Did Organic Agriculture Save This Community?
Chemical costs, health issues, dwindling crop yields and spiritual conflicts with pesticide use were threatening welfare and quality of life in this farming community in India. We talked with these soulful, hardworking people on why organic works.

Gaiam 'Go Zero' Team Plants Trees to Fight Climate Change
Gaiam customers are taking action! A team from Gaiam, The Conservation Fund and the National Wildlife Refuge breaks ground at the first reforestation site funded by Gaiam and supporters of its Go Zero program to help fight climate change.

Aiming for Zero Waste: Gaiam Goes Beyond Recycling
With a goal to reuse, recycle, compost or rethink all materials that otherwise go into landfills, zero waste is the new evolution of recycling. See how Gaiam got started on a zero waste goal with help from Boulder-based EcoCycle.

Summer Rayne Oakes: Know Your Style Story
Eco-fashion model and consultant Summer Rayne Oakes used to weird out her friends with her tree hugging leanings. Now she's blissing out the masses, making eco apparel and cosmetics as easy on the eyes as on the planet. She says it's all about the story behind the style.

Change Agent: You
Tom Szaky, cofounder of eco-friendly fertilizer company Terracycle, on the most powerful thing you can do to persuade big businesses to give you more green and responsible product choices.

Happier You, Cooler Planet
Global Brain author Peter Russell explains one way to change your happiness quotient and your eco footprint.

How Van Jones Is Creating More Green Jobs
Why the Ella Baker Center and the Green Jobs Act are Van Jones' biggest wins since graduating Yale.

How You Can Shine New Light for Women in Nepal
See how Heifer International's New Light Women's Group program helps women in Nepal find sustainable paths out of poverty and hunger, and how you can help through Gaiam's Thoughtful Tees program.


FEATURED PRODUCTS
Recent Gaiam.com Bestsellers
Fair Trade Organic Tea Set
This organic fair-trade tea set is filled with extraordinary flavors tea lovers won’t find elsewhere. Fair trade...

Silk and Cotton Scarf
Crafted by women artisans in Thailand, this butter-soft, luxurious cotton scarf accents your favorite sweater or jacket or makes a wonderful shawl for a strappy cocktail dress....

Rusted Iron Chandelier
Recycled out of iron, this hand-forged chandelier is an illuminating accent in a bedroom or dining area. Its seven green candle holders are cut from recycled glass bottles....

Manika Necklace
A colorful accent for any outfit, our beaded necklace is created by fair-trade artisans in Delhi. Handmade glass, ceramic and wood beads are strung on hand-knotted cotton thread. India....

The Way We Eat - Why Our Foods Choices Matter
Eating is a lot more complicated than it used to be. Is it better to buy fair trade? Go organic? Eat local? Avoid animal products? Meticulously researched, this landmark book resolves today’s dietary dilemmas....

Paisley Wool Shawl
From a Fair Trade Group. A modern rendition of the traditional jamawar cloth – a luxury fabric from Kashmir. Woven on a handloom. 100% wool. Imported. A Gaiam exclusive....

Hope Pendant
From a Fair Trade Products Group. A hand-forged sterling silver talisman to remind you of the power of hope. Supports village artisans in Moradabad, India. 21½" long cord. 1¹/8"H pendant. Limited quantity. India....

Go Zero Plant-a-Tree Charitable Contribution & Certificate
Erase the environmental impact of shipping your Gaiam order, and do something simple yet significant to help slow global warming. Your Go Zero contribution of just $2 enables our partner The Conservation Fund to plant a tree that, over its lifetime, will absorb more than one ton of carbon dioxide...

Double Tree of Life Wall Sculpture

Natural Cotton Flower Throw

Silk Koko Quilt

Heart, Star and Tree Ornaments (Set of 3)

Union Necklace

"One World" Collection Features Fair Trade Gifts


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