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Skip Black Friday and shop discounts at these companies making a positive impact on the world

Michelle Gant
11.27.19
Courtesy of DoneGood

While Thanksgiving is meant to celebrate all we have to be grateful for, it's also the unofficial kick-off to the holiday shopping season. Last year, Americans spent about $1 trillion on gifts. What if we all used that purchasing power to support companies that reduce inequality, alleviate poverty, fight climate change, and help make the world better?

Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the coming days will have spending on everyone's brains. But in an effort to promote the companies doing good for the world, DoneGood founder Cullen Schwarz created Shop for Good Sunday (which falls on December 1 this year.)

Dubbed the "Alternate Black Friday," Shop for Good Sunday is dedicated to encouraging people to shop brands that do good for people and the planet. It also serves as a reminder to support local businesses making a positive impact in their communities.

While Shop for Good Sunday technically falls on a single day, this year, participating ethical and sustainable brands are running discounts for the whole week prior.

Where you invest your dollars matters, and there's great potential to put that money to good use if you know how. Check out these six brands that sell amazing products while also making a positive impact on the world. You'll not only be getting your loved ones meaningful gifts, but also making the world a brighter place along the way.

Isn't that what the holidays are really about?

Functional outdoor gear

Parque Rain Shell

Cotopaxi makes unique, sustainable outdoor gear, like this Parque rain shell, while keeping ethics at the core of its business model. The company gives 1% of its annual revenue to organizations that fight poverty and improve the human condition.

Modern furniture

Simbly Coffee Table

Simbly is a direct-to-consumer furniture company that sells modern, sustainable products built in the U.S. made of FSC-certified wood. And for every product sold, the company plants a tree.

Beautiful jewelry

Tho Bar & Geo Buffalo Horn Earrings

Hathorway is a jewelry company that handcrafts its accessories with materials like ethically-sourced up-cycled buffalo horns and handwoven rattan. Each item is designed and assembled in the U.S. with thoughtfully selected materials sourced from Vietnam, Thailand, and South Korea. A portion of the company's profit goes to initiatives that empower young, underprivileged women.

Luxe linens

Bamboo Charcoal Sheet Set

Ettitude crafts its home textiles from CleanBamboo fabric, a unique material made from 100% organic bamboo, the most resource-efficient plant on the planet. It also requires significantly less water to grow and produce than traditional cotton textiles. The products are also ethically made and come in packaging made from extra pieces of fabric.

Unique wood wares

The Charcuterie Board

Would Works creates and sells beautiful household wood products handcrafted by people experiencing homelessness or living in poverty. The company works with its artisans to provide job skills, financial literacy, and an income so they can reach their financial goals.

Empowering candles

She Inspires Candle

Prosperity Candle products are created by women refugees building a brighter future for themselves and their families. Each candle is made of soy-blend wax with essential oils hand poured in a well-designed container that is easily refilled or repurposed.

Find more of these great deals at DoneGood!

*Upworthy may earn a portion of sales revenue from purchases made through affiliate links on our site.

black fridaycyber mondayshop for goodsustainability
Business

Dog mom reads fake letter loaded with pup's favorite words, and his reactions are priceless

It was "written" by his cat sibling.

Photo credit: Canva, hwanas99 from pixabay (dog photo) / Jonathan Welch from jdwfoto (text box)

A golden retriever hears all his favorite words in a fake letter, and he reacts adorably.

For pet parents, there are dozens of universally adorable situations. When your cat cozies up in your lap and starts "making biscuits," you will likely react with an almost-involuntary "aww." Plus, we all know that any time your dog stretches after a long snooze, you’re legally obligated to announce, "Big stretch!" Why do we do these things? Don’t overanalyze it—pet love goes beyond logic.

But the ultimate cute-dog moment is probably when your pup recognizes a word and immediately, eagerly tilts their head as if to communicate, "Really?" or "What are you on about?" And one excellent viral video expertly builds on this premise, as a "dog mom" content creator reads a fake letter—one loaded with obviously familiar words—to their golden retriever.

Dog mom reads a "letter" to an adorable golden retriever

Subtitled "No, this is literally our fav trend," the clip shows our protagonist pup suitably enthusiastic about a note labeled in large block letters. "Hi, Ollie. It’s your friend," the letter begins, before Ollie runs off to the window, excitedly looking for his pal. "It’s your friend from the park. Do you remember?" the greeting continues. "We played frisbee and ball. I wanted to know—do you want to go outside later and go on a walk? By the way, where is your daddy?"

That latter word seems particularly exciting for Ollie, who runs off once again to the window. "He usually brings us food," we learn. "Food and water. I’ll talk to you later. Your friend, Cilio." The video then cuts to a shot of the family cat, Cilio, before Ollie grabs the letter and cutely stomps around. Their associated YouTube account features a similar reaction video—this one featuring all of those beloved words, along with "treat" and "bone," packaged in a fake email.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

You can’t fail to draw a reaction with a creative cute-dog video, and people naturally shared their collective "awws" in the Instagram comments. Here are some examples:

"The little head tilt❤️❤️❤️❤️"

"He’s literally a human being 😭😂"

"😂😂 see his expressions - he’s listening to each and every detail😂😂😂😂"

"I can’t with his headtilts 😭"

"BRING HIM DAD IMMEDIATELY"

"Not my dog tilting her head next to me over the words as I played this reel"

"Take him out to the park now 😂"

"Cilio just chilling like... what?! What did I do? 🤣🤣"

Why do dogs tilt their heads anyway?

Dogs are smarter than a lot of people realize, and that includes their ability to recognize a lot of what we tell them. As PetMD notes in a 2022 study of 165 adult dogs published in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science, researchers found that—according to pet parents—the ruffs in question knew an average of 89 words, with an overall range of 15 to 215.

As for that classic doggy head tilt? In 2023, Scientific American explored this beloved movement, interviewing a number of experts. Andrea Sommese, an animal cognition researcher at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, remarked, “In humans, when you remember a story or something, you tilt your head to the side, and you have this mental image of something in your mind. Probably it’s the same for dogs."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

dog intelligencegolden retrieversinstagrampet parentsviral videodog momdog head tiltcute animalscute animal videosanimals
Pets

Generation Jones and Gen X reminisce about taking dreaded typing classes that totally paid off

"That one class better prepared me for the future than any other class in high school."

Image via Reddit/Ebonystealth

Generation Jones and Gen X discuss taking typing classes in school.

Generation Jones (those born from 1954 to 1964) and Gen X (those born 1965 to 1980) shared a similar childhood rite of passage at school: taking typing classes. Back then, they were learning to type on typewriters—both manual and electric.

Both generations have fond (and frustrating) memories of taking typing classes on typewriters in school. They recently shared those nostalgic experiences on Reddit, swapping stories about learning to type the old-fashioned way.

Here are their most memorable moments:

@hotforhistory

Who remembers typing in schools. in the 1940s, 1950s, 60s and even into the 90s they were school classrooms that had typewriters to teach people how to type.. Do you remember or have a story from your typing class? #Typing ##typingclass#1#1950sV#Vintageo#oldschools1#1960sb#boomers#secretaryh#historyh#historytok

Generation Jones

"I took one in 8th or 9th grade. It's where I learned to type. It was on a portable typewriter, not an electric, with a piece of paper taped over the keys. I'm glad I took it. I've used it a lot in my life." - lontbeysboolink

"We had great fun in there. Our teacher knew we had sh*t machines to learn on and gave us lots of leeway as long as we put in a little effort to try. It was a fun class, but not one where I learned much more than home keys." - soonerpgh

"I didn't want to take it. I wanted to do Ceramics. Mom made me take typing instead, and I'm glad she did!! The only thing I hated about class was the teacher's metronome. I don't understand why she thought it would help us." - Salty_Thing3144

"I am also a 'mom forced me to take the class' typist. That one class better prepared me for the future than any other class in high school. I had to take remedial English and math classes in college, but being a touch typist has paid huge dividends my entire life." - SciFiJim

"My typing class was next to worthless for me. I had been typing for many years at that point and had developed horrible habits I could not break. Switching to Dvorak and a blank keyboard set me straight." - Procrasturbating

@mischiefandmeaning

Typing class in the 80s. Every Gen X classroom had this sound. Obedience disguised as skill.#mischiefandmeaning #unspokenatthetable #genx #80sbaby #nostalgia

"Yep. I had to take typing class OVER THE SUMMER which about killed me, obviously. But my god did it prepare me for college life. Thank you, Mama. :)" - suzepie

"Business typing at my HS. Best class I took to prepare me for college and a career in software engineering and IT." - bigredthesnorer

"'Personal Typing' back in the day. So long ago my first typewriter was a manual (non-electric). One of the most valuable high school classes because it taught me the keyboard which I still use today 45 years later." - DadofJM

"I remember my typewriting teacher's name was Mr. McGuire. I quickly learned that trying to correct a typo by typing over it several times was a huge no-no. A friend of my parents who worked as a secretary back then said that the best typewriters were made by Underwood. I still have that Underwood typewriter which is over 40 years old now. My kids grew up with word processors on their computers so my Underwood typewriter looks like ancient history to them." - MuchBiscotti-849516

"So I loved typing class. IBM Seletric ftw. I ended up typing 120wpm. Got me my first job from which the sky was the limit." - ObviousIntention8322

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Gen X

"The most useful thing I learned in high school." - CaptainMeathook

"I graduated H.S. mid 80s. My mother was FURIOUS with me when I signed up for typing because she didn't want me to be 'just' a secretary. (Yes, I know that's a derogatory attitude). I went on to get a b.s. in Computer Science and told my mother that my most helpful class of ALL time for my degree was my typing class." - hdmx539

"My parents convinced me to take the typing elective because they thought it would be a useful skill for writing papers in college. I was the only boy in class, and all the other students were in the secretarial training program. I think they thought I was a little weird." - JerryVand

"Literally helped leverage my start into a career as an IT engineer. Started with data entry because of being able to type so well and now have worked 20+ years in IT with no degree. I always joke it was because I took typing in High School." - LeathalWaffle

"Agree with this so much. Same timeframe, too. Our typing class didn’t have quite enough electric typewriters for everyone so 4 or 5 would get stuck with even older manual typewriters. It was a real pinky workout to get enough pressure to ink the page. Got into the workforce and realized how many older guys were way behind with hunting and pecking on the keyboards." - Motomegal

"I went to a rural school and we had only manuals with one amazing electric typewriter that we took turns using. It was glorious. I remember being scared I couldn't type 35 wpm on the manual, which is what was needed to pass the class. My tiny hands struggled, my pinkie reaching for the far keys hoping to strike hard enough to leave a dark impression. I later became a secretary and can type 100 wpm on a computer keyboard. So much easier!" - raisinghellwithtrees

"The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog." - Blew-By-U

"Mrs. Larsen, 7th grade. She'd walked up and down the aisle as she was dictating to make sure everyone was typing with ALL fingers. I'd wait until her back was turned and start hunting and pecking. She'd notice change in the sound and say, 'ALL FINGERS, JIMMY.'" - Reeberom1

"Have to? It was an elective and I grabbed it, thinking it would come in handy for typing up college papers. Little did I know I'd be using it everyday at work on computers." - radiotsar

1970s1980selectric typewritergen jonesgen jonesersgen xgen xersgeneration jonesgeneration xhigh schoolmanual typewriternostalgic experiencestypewritertypewriterstyping classtyping classestyping
Joy
Animals & Wildlife

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Loose goat in Detroit causes delightful chaos you have to see for yourself

"Mom brought a knife to a goat fight!"

Photo by JC Gellidon on Unsplash

A black goat on the road.

Buckle up, because this story is about to take you on an outrageous, bonkers, and absolutely adorable ride. Dae'lan Scott, a resident of a neighborhood in west Detroit, was just minding his own business when a very energetic goat began chasing him. He screamed a high-pitch squeal, which many commenters have described as the "screams of a lady," while seeking higher ground atop the roof of a car.

And the whole thing was caught on video surveillance camera. Reporter Jessica Dupnack shares the coverage on the Fox 2 Detroit Instagram page with the comment, "Pet goat runs loose in Detroit, forcing a 20-year-old man to leap onto his car for safety, in a now-viral video."

What happened was this: Dae'lan Scott spotted the goat, whose name we now know is Smokey (AKA Smoke), and believed it was charging at him. When Dupnack mentioned to him that a "lot of people thought it was a woman screaming," he laughed and said, "It scared the female out of me. Know what I'm saying?"

She reports that Dae'lan and his brother "Jupiter Star" (noting that's not his real name) were both pretty freaked out by the incident. Jupiter points out that he stayed safe while keeping an eye out. "Just looked through the window making sure he was okay." Then he adds a real West Side Story element, "And my mom running outside with a knife. But she's so scared of animals."

Dupnack shares, "With mom's help, Dae'lan made it inside their west side Detroit home." And when Jupiter is asked what he thought was going on with Smokey he theorizes, "The goat trying to hump us!"

goats, Detroit, viral video, goat, animals, funny herd of goats just hanging out. Photo by chris robert on Unsplash

But the story is far from over. Just down the street is a vegetarian café called The Psychedelic Healing Shack (because of course it is). Owner Robert Pizzimenti, AKA Dr. Bob, shares, "I kinda look like a goat. But you know, they're just gentle creatures. And they're biblical. And they're very healing." The Fox reporter adds "The 'doc' took in Smokey and Perfect and Angel." Of them, he says, "If it were up to me, they might be in the house, but my wife's not going for that."

Now the story does have Detroit on high alert regarding the proper paperwork to own goats or other "wild" animals, and Pizzimenti is reportedly working on obtaining the permits. But here's, quite possibly, the best part of the whole ordeal: The brothers, Dae'lan and "Jupiter," are now buddies with the goats. Dae'lan tells the outlet, "Smokey, here, is a neighborhood favorite" as he pets the silly, wild-eyed, precious little goat.

The comments are equally as hilarious and heartwarming. One Instagrammer writes, "Smokey is doing his best to look non-threatening and FAILING spectacularly." Another adds, "Omg the screaming, the mom, the knife, the old hippie. It’s all great!" And quite possibly the most perfect comment ever: "Mom brought a knife to a goat fight!"

According to a website dedicated to all things "goat," (aptly called Goat Journal), writer and animal welfare advocate Tamsin Cooper highly stresses that, like most beings, goats have individualized personalities. "Anyone who has spent time with a goat herd will notice the different individual personalities of herd members. We may characterize our goats as shy, nervous, curious, affectionate, or aggressive, for example. Some show more or fewer of each trait than others."

In the case of Smokey, it seems like he was just curious as to what Dae'lan was all about. Looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Pets

Gen Z soldier navigating an old school gas pump has everyone laugh-screaming, 'flip it up'

"I'm trying to pump gas, but this is not a button."

Photo credit: Canva

Gen Zer vs old gas pump has everyone laugh-screaming directions.

Listen: adulting is hard, especially when you were born into a world that already had smartphones and Google while relics of the past still hang around like analog boobytraps. It is not your fault if you don't know who Dewey is or why he has a decimal system; you simply reserve the book ahead of time online or listen to the audiobook like a person born in the 2st Century.

But those analog traps left by those of us who lived through the late 1900s are around every corner, waiting for an unsuspecting Gen Zer to encounter them. Antonia Lopez, a 25-year-old Army soldier, found herself staring down one of these old school relics while getting gas recently. The soldier should've suspected she was about to be transported to the 1900s when the pump didn't have Apple Pay.

Instead of using a card at the pump, she had to walk into the gas station and interact with other humans to prepay. Many of us, no matter the generation, would risk running out of gas trying to get to the nearest gas station that allowed pay at the pump just to avoid talking to the cashier. Clearly, Lopez was already doing hard things, so a vintage gas pump should've been easy.

gen z; old gas pump; gen zer gas pump; millennials; technology Empty gas station under a clear sky.Photo credit: Canva

It wasn't. She was struggling to figure out how to get the gas to come out of the nozzle, so she did what any Gen Zer would do and whipped out her phone to document it. Lopez uploaded the video to her socials, where it has started going viral. When the video starts, Lopez is dressed in her Army uniform, staring at the gas pump in a puzzled way.

"Please tell me I'm not stupid. I'm trying to pump gas, but the gas..." she trails off as she turns the phone around to show the gas pump. "Like this is not a button. Do you know what I mean? Like, I'm trying to...hello?" She says as she's aggressively pushing the yellow sticker on the gas pump that identifies the unleaded gas with a percentage of ethanol added.

gen z; old gas pump; gen zer gas pump; millennials; technology Fueling up for the day's journey ahead.Photo credit: Canva

Obviously, she was not having luck trying to use the sticker like a touch screen. Lopez then moves on to attempt to press where the pump indicates up is for on and down is for off. After having no luck pushing everything that could be a button, she reads the directions out loud several times while looking over the gas pump. Eventually, she gives up and goes to ask the attendant, who also sounds young.

The attendant confirms that she has already prepaid for $25 before adding, "These things were built like when Reagan was in office." He then demonstrates flipping the lever that the gas nozzle rests on up and down. According to the gas attendant, he sees people struggle with the pump all the time.

@retiredhotcheetogirly I was thoroughly confused 😃#oldgaspump #genz ♬ original sound - retiredhotcheetogirly

The amusing generational fight with the Reagan Era gas pump had people laughing and yelling at their phones, trying to send the soldier instructions. One person laughs, "I was SCREAMING, flip the handle up!!!!! Too funny."

Another writes, "I honestly felt for her; nobody likes being in a situation like that. But this did really make me smile. Him saying it was made when Reagan was in office made me snort. What really makes me feel old is that I remember when those were new, back when the numbers physically flipped over as you pumped; all analog, nothing digital."

gen z; old gas pump; gen zer gas pump; millennials; technology Hiding a smile behind her hand.Photo credit: Canva

Someone else admits that these pumps are no longer common: "I was literally yelling to flip the holder. I haven’t seen pumps like that in a long time."

Overall, most people were very compassionate, even though they found it amusing. One person reminded her that people learn new things all the time, writing, "You learned something new, that’s always a good thing. Congrats. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. There are people who think they were born knowing everything, forgetting they all had to learn it the first time."

Everyone has to learn something new at some point. The older generations poking fun have likely had to ask someone younger to teach them a technology they don't understand. Learning something new on your own or from others is something to be celebrated, and thanks to Lopez sharing her experience online, she just taught others how to work the same kind of gas pump. The more you know!

Humor
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