Ethical, Black-Owned Valentine's Day Gift Guide
With Valentine’s Day coming up, you may be starting your search for the perfect gift for your loved one. This Valentine’s Day, we encourage you to practice gift-giving that advocates for others by supporting ethical, Black-owned shops. Supporting Black-owned businesses is an important way in which you can use your privilege to enhance your journey as a conscious consumer and be actively anti-racist, as it helps to lessen the racial wealth gap, promote Black representation and uplift Black culture.
We’ve put together the perfect ethical, Black-owned Valentine’s Day gift guide to help you support small businesses that use ethical and sustainable practices, give back to their communities and uplift Black creators as you search for the perfect Valentine’s Day gift this year. Consider purchasing from some of the Black-owned businesses below this holiday season!
Natural Annie Essentials
Natural Annie Essentials, a soy candle company, is Black woman-owned and family-operated in Bridgeport, Connecticut, producing 100% vegan, 100% eco-friendly and 100% recyclable candles! Candles are the perfect Valentine’s Day gift, so what better place to shop than a sustainable small business?
Jungalow
Jungalow is a great place to purchase some bohemian-modern home decor this Valentine’s day if you’re looking to help spruce up someone’s home and give back at the same time! Not only does Jungalow incorporate natural, recycled, recyclable and compostable materials wherever they can and work towards being single-use-plastic-free by 2022, but they also routinely make charitable donations to non-profit organizations such as the ACLU, Black Lives Matter, The National Organization for Women, The Downtown Women's Center and the Southern Poverty Law Center, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services.
So, when you buy from Jungalow, you help fund initiatives that serve to help and empower marginalized communities across the country. You also plant at least two trees with every single order, thanks to Jungalow’s “Trees For The Future” initiative, which has planted over 40,000 trees, helping ensure the communities that rely on the trees in Africa have food security and a steady income. Shop in alignment with your values this Valentine’s Day by supporting Jungalow, an ethical and sustainable Black-owned business.
Nolaskinsentials
Nolaskinsentials creates beautiful plant-based products for all different skin tones and types, especially for Black women whose skin is often not catered to by mainstream skincare lines. The vegan and cruelty-free brand combines that love for the environment and their love for Black women to create the perfect skincare gift this Valentine’s Day!
Omi Woods
Omi Woods makes beautiful handmade jewelry—much of which is made with fair trade African gold and globally sourced conflict-free fine metals. Omi Woods shares Dressember’s conviction that people should be paid fairly for their resources, time and labor, so they promote the well-being of miners and their communities by paying miners a fair wage. They also contribute to improving the health care, education, safety and living conditions for small-scale artisanal miners in Africa. Not only does a contemporary heirloom from Omi Woods say “I love you” this Valentine’s Day, but in supporting this Black-owned business, you get to practice conscious consumerism and support the ethical treatment of employees.
Tree Fairfax
Tree Fairfax sources local, high-quality leather to make hand-cut-and-stitched leather goods—the perfect ethical and sustainable gift for someone you love! Tree Fairfax incorporates leather hides with natural imperfections into each piece, giving you a one-of-a-kind bag while also reducing waste. These products are the ideal gift for a conscious consumer hoping to make this Valentine’s Day special and unique!
BLK + GRN
BLK + GRNis an all-natural marketplace by Black artisans, with products carefully chosen by Black health experts. BLK + GRN is the perfect place to find a gift for skincare lovers that connects Black people with natural lifestyles to high-quality, toxin-free brands. This Valentine’s Day, support Black artisans and shop with BLK + GRN’s values of “health, wellness and community cultivation” in mind!
About the Author
Layla Nath is in her sophomore year at American University where she studies political science and journalism! Due to her love of advocacy and academia, she is involved in her college community as a teaching and research assistant. Her desire to help others through writing and research, alongside her passion for sustainable fashion and social justice has led her to this team as an Editorial Intern!