Happy returns

Embrace the true spirit of Christmas by choosing gifts that give back. By Samantha O’Brien.

1. Nice save

Bulgari’s “Save the Children” collection (bulgari. com) includes a silver and ceramic ring (pictured, from $760), bracelet and necklace with pendant. The pieces support the global charity (savethechildren.org.au), with $120 from each sale being donated to the organisation.

2. Wild card

A $98 greeting card might sound outrageous but not when you know it’s helping families in Rwanda. That’s the promise of Oxfam’s Three Christmas Pigs card, which enables the organisation (oxfam.org.au) to donate three pigs to people in need. If $98 is too steep, you can give a goat for $39 (pictured) or a chicken for $10.

3. Game changer

The striking designs of Park Social Soccer Co.’s footballs (parkssc.com) will turn heads on the field, whether you score a goal or not. What’s more, for every ball sold (from $40), an identical one is donated to kids in need, with 5000-plus balls reaching children in 20 countries so far.

4. A step up

Shoes, sunglasses, bags… Toms (tomsaustralia.com.au) is a one-stop shop for gifts. And thanks to its One for One commitment, every purchase of a Toms product (“Trvl Lite” canvas sneakers, $120, pictured) helps someone disadvantaged. Since 2006, Toms has donated more than 86 million pairs of new shoes globally.

5. Good reef

Tiffany & Co.’s white-gold “Tiffany Wave” pendant (tiffany.com.au) is a real dazzler, its curvaceous design studded with round sapphires ($2700). Profits from every sale support the Wildlife Conservation Network’s (wildnet.org) efforts on the Great Barrier Reef.

6. Small wonders

Good things come in small packages, including Charity Pot Hand and Body Lotion from Lush (au.lush.com), which nurtures your skin and your conscience. The pots are priced from $15 and all proceeds go to grassroots organisations involved in conservation, animal welfare and human rights.

7. Pearls of wisdom

No jewellery captures Australia’s north-western coast quite like Paspaley’s “Kimberley” bracelets, priced from $680 (paspaley.com). The piece pictured features round pearls and sandalwood and onyx beads ($5980). Twenty-five per cent from each sale goes to the Garvan Institute of Medical Research (garvan.org.au).