The way that we choose to purchase has a significant impact on our economies and communities. Whether we choose to support small or big, independent or big box, diverse or not, we’re putting our money towards the economic system we wish to support. We are voting with our wallets.

This year has been challenging. Lockdowns. Economic uncertainty. Many of our beloved small and independent businesses are being forced to shut their doors. 2020 has not been a pretty year for many of us, and we have seen the ripple effects in our economies and communities. To the small and independent businesses hanging on in our communities, the last two months of the year are crucial. For those of you who are in a position to spend this gifting season, your dollars are critical now more than ever. Here are some ways you can shop your values in 2020.

Support BIPOC-owned businesses:

As this has been brought more to the forefront throughout this year, we cannot credibly build an inclusive economic system without addressing the fundamental injustice, inequity, and violence that disproportionately impact Black people, Indigenous people, and other People of Colour. As we look to #buildbackbetter, a direct and tangible step that each of us can take is to support Black-owned and Indigenous-owned businesses. Business ownership is a proven path to wealth redistribution and job creation. When we support Black-owned and Indigenous-owned businesses, we’re taking one step forward towards disrupting and remedying the status quo. Changing how we spend, and who we spend with, is the key to building an economic system that is inclusive and provides an opportunity for all.

Here are a few suggestions for supporting BIPOC-owned businesses this gifting season:

• Raven Reads is a curated subscription box showcasing Indigenous literature and giftware. Every three months, your lucky gift-ee will receive a box featuring different Indigenous writers, creators, and entrepreneurs. They also have an option for kids!

• SheNative Goods provides leather handbags, apparel, and accessories that seek to instill inner strength and unwavering confidence, using teachings that come from Indigenous Nationhood. From design to production and manufacturing, SheNative employs Indigenous women and women from underserved communities to increase economic opportunity and drive change in their communities.

• Cheekbone Beauty is an Indigenous-owned cosmetics company dedicated to creating a space in the beauty industry where Indigenous youth feel represented and seen. We love their new “Sustain” lipstick collection, which are not only vegan, sustainably-sourced, and made with biodegradable packaging, but are each named after the earth or land in one of the over 7000 Indigenous languages. These lipsticks will be making their way into all my family’s stockings!

• Karibu Soaps is a Black-owned small-batch soap maker out of New Westminster. Using locally sourced natural and plant-based ingredients, we love that they repurpose recyclables to use as their soap molds!

• AfroHub Marketplace is a digital marketplace connecting consumers with local, Black-owned businesses. Whether you’re looking for food products, clothes, or gift cards to a local restaurant, we love what AfroHub is doing to amplify Black-owned business! 

Support Local businesses:

Another great way to vote with your dollars is to support local, independent businesses. As a small business ourselves, we understand the importance of strengthening local economies through our purchases. We love the great work of LOCO BC to showcase the importance of buying local. According to their research, local businesses provide good jobs, purchase goods and services from other local organizations, recirculate capital back into our local economies, and strengthen the social fabric of our communities. In fact, LOCO BC projects that a 10% shift of spending from chains towards local businesses in BC would create over 14,000 local jobs and generate $4.3 billion for B.C.’s economy. Now those are some numbers we can get behind!

Here are a few suggestions for supporting local businesses this gifting season:

• 49th Parallel is a great option for the coffee lover on your list, with a range of Direct Trade “Crop to Cup” brews. With WFH limiting the amount we go out to our local cafe, purchasing some beans to grow at home is a fantastic way to continue supporting local roasters from your home.

• Saul Good Gifts is a certified B Corp and community builder dedicated to -- promoting local! They offer a range of gift baskets containing exclusively BC-based products. (They also offer a basket in Toronto, containing exclusively ON-based products, if that’s more your geographic jam). They also work with a variety of local social enterprises, such as our next recommendation…

• East Van Roasters is an award-winning bean to bar chocolate roaster and cafe. With organic drinking chocolate, hand-rolled truffles, single-origin chocolate bars, and more, there’s something for just about everyone on your list. They’re also an incredible social enterprise providing job opportunities to women re-entering the workforce in Vancouver’s DTES. 

• Massy Books and Iron Dog Books are two Indigenous-owned local bookstores that are a great option if your gifting includes as many books as mine does! Tips for book shopping during COVID-19: do your research online so you know what you’re going in for, choose less busy times of the day (like morning or mid-afternoon), and shop as early in the month as possible.

• Gift cards to local restaurants - this isn’t just one recommendation, but with some of our favorite restaurants getting hit the hardest this season, we couldn’t help but give them an extra shout-out. Replace all the holiday dinners you would have had this year with gift cards, and celebrate with your loved ones as soon as it’s safe! Some of our top locally-inspired faves are Chambar, The Acorn, and the Farmer’s Apprentice.

Support Impact-Aligned businesses:

Our final lens for shopping your values this gifting season is impact alignment! Look for brands with verified social or environmental impact, including social/environmental certifications, 1% for the Planet, or B Corp! B Corp certified companies are verified to be creating positive values through their business operations, with better-for-the-world practices like positive worker practices, community give-backs, environmental initiatives, and more. These ventures are dedicated to using their business as a force for good, and that’s something we can support (every day of the year)!

Here are a few impact-aligned choices for your stockings this year:

• Aisle is a founding Canadian B Corp, with a steadfast commitment to transparency, sustainability, and inclusivity. We love them for their range of sustainable, reusable period products (which make a great gift for menstruators in your life), and have also brought their eye for design for facemasks during the pandemic. For every mask purchased, Aisle donates a mask to a frontline worker in the DTES. Win-win-win.

• Pela Cases is on a mission to make everyday products without everyday waste. Using a blend made from Canadian flax, they offer 100% compostable phone cases and sunglasses, based in Kelowna, BC. They’re B Corp certified, and a member of 1% for the Planet, meaning your purchase contributes to environmental activism, too.

• Allbirds is a B Corp certified shoe company inspired by the high performance of materials found in nature. Using natural materials like merino wool, eucalyptus trees, and sugar cane, they encourage us to consider the life cycle of our everyday products. We love their Sole4Souls takeback program, and their transparent carbon reporting.

• Nada is a package-free grocery store driving change in our food system through purchasing, advocacy, and education. They not only supply package-free groceries but have everything you need to commit to a lower-waste 2021. 

• Upfront Cosmetics makes nutrient-rich, sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner bars manufactured in Fredericton, New Brunswick! Focused on transparency, traceability, and sustainability, these bars remove the need for packaging and water weight and were just awarded Shampoo Product of the Year by the Beauty Innovation Awards. Upfront is a member of 1% for the Planet and One Tree Planted.

Festivus Feasts:

Let’s not forget about our Festivus Feasts! The holidays are defined by excellent food and even better company. While we might not be able to gather with all of our loved ones this year, we can still treat them with foodie gifts that also give back to our community of local purveyors:

• Very Good Butchers Add a little Dr. Suess joy to your holiday table with Very Good Butchers’ Roast Beast, the perfect plant-based centerpiece to a holiday feast. 

• Blue Heron Creamery offers a variety of solutions to help you get (plant-based) cheesy this holiday season. From their “Vegcuterie” to their “Feed that Vegan”, Blue Heron has you covered for any appie needs.

• Summerhill Pyramid Winery is B.C.’s first B Corp certified winery, with some seriously tasty organic and biodynamic wines. Poke through their website to learn all about biodynamic farming practices, then pick up a bottle or six of Cipes Brut bubbly to ring in the season. 

• Persephone Brewing is a B Corp certified farm brewery on the Sunshine Coast. Supporting local food security, regenerative agriculture and amazing beer, they always get a place at our holiday table. 

• Odd Society Spirits is a small-batch craft distillery in East Vancouver, with a true focus on local. Most of the grains that make their way into the spirits are grown in BC (think Prince George barley, Dawson Creek rye, and Sunshine Coast-grown Salal gin. We love their vermouth. Yum).

Each time we make a purchase, we cast a vote for the economic system we wish to support. As we close out 2020, let’s do what we can to shift that economy just a little bit more inclusive, sustainable, and stronger. So let’s all raise a glass to voting with those dollars!