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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

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 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

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

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

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

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.

Business

A man went to get a coffee and his wife named their newborn. People are racing to his defense.

When the man returned he was "furious."

Image via Canva

A dad went out for coffee and his wife named their newborn baby

Most people believe that both parents have an equal right to choose their baby’s name and that this decision should be reached through agreement between both parties. That doesn't mean it’s always easy for both people to agree on the same name, but look, if you’re going to be a successful parent, you must know how to make compromises occasionally. Starting the job with your heels dug in does not bode well for anyone.

That’s why the following story is interesting. It shows what happens when a mother decides she can make the decision on her own and what the fallout is when her husband and his family find out. The story was recently shared on social media, and the commenters were shocked that she wasn’t sure if she was in the wrong. What's amazing is that the mother posted her story on social media without really believing she was in the wrong.

"So, my (32F) husband (33M) and I just had our first baby girl a couple of weeks ago,” she begins the story. “We’d been going back and forth on names during my entire pregnancy. I really wanted to name her Eleanor after my late grandmother, who basically raised me when my parents weren’t around. She was my hero, and losing her last year was devastating. Honoring her felt deeply important.”

Here's what happened

husband and wife, upset couple, fighting couple, parents fight, couple on bed. A husband and wife disagree over the naming of their newborn babyImage via Canva

The woman’s husband preferred modern names such as Nova or Ember, which the mother just “couldn’t connect with,” so they never compromised. “On the day our daughter was born, while my husband stepped out to grab coffee, a nurse asked if we had a name for the birth certificate. I know I should have waited, but I was emotional and felt this rush of conviction. I just blurted out, ‘Eleanor.’”

When the husband returned with the coffee, he was “furious.”

“He said I’d blindsided him, robbed him of having a say, and that our daughter would hate her 'old lady' name. His family is also calling me manipulative. I feel terrible about the timing and how it all went down, but it’s not like we hadn’t discussed Eleanor before. I just feel like I honored a name that truly mattered to me when he wouldn’t budge.”

The mother asked the commenters if the father was overreacting because “we couldn’t find common ground.”

Was the mother in the wrong?

The commenters overwhelmingly supported the father in the situation:

“You made a unilateral decision about your shared child,” the top commenter wrote. “You literally started her life by using her as a centerpiece for conflict with your husband. You also isolated her from your husband during the first major decision regarding her. What a terrible way to start her life.”

“‘…it’s not like we hadn’t discussed Eleanor before.’ You discussed it and he said no. Personally, I think the name Eleanor is lovely, but that’s not the issue,” another commenter noted. “You unilaterally made a decision —a decision you knew your husband disagreed with—about your—both of your—child. Your giving birth doesn’t make this child any less his. Your husband and his family are absolutely right. You blindsided him."

However, a few commenters believed whoever birthed the child had the right to pick the name, even if the father disagreed:

“This might be the only daughter you have and if he can’t make it meaningful for you when you just risked your life for this baby and let you have the win then idk,” one of the few supporters of the mother wrote. ”I would let him pick the middle name. Trendy names are overrated.”

A pregnant woman and a man point fingers at each otherImage via Canva

It's strange that the woman posted without a hint that she was in the wrong for naming the baby while her husband was absent. That's the kind of behavior that's a real red flag, because she probably lost a lot of her husband's trust. If you can be sneaky about naming the baby, what else could you be hiding?

The woman who posted her story has yet to follow up and share what happened next, but let’s hope she took the commenters’ advice and apologized to her husband and changed the baby's name. Most agree that it's not fair for him to call his daughter a name he doesn’t like for the rest of their lives, and it will always be a sore spot in their relationship. It’s best to bring a child into a family where everyone is on the same page and agrees on the things that matter most.

This article originally appeared last year.

agree on baby name agreement between parties am i wrong birth certificate choosing a baby name couple disagree fighting couple hospital late grandmothers honor manipulation newborn names parents equal right sneaky wife trust in marriage who chooses name baby names

Family

Childless woman cancels trip with mom friends because she's sick of hearing about babies

"It's not the weekend for me."

Photo credit: Canva

A group of pregnant women (left) Frustrated woman (right)

Friend groups naturally evolve as people hit different milestones. Some get married or have kids. Others lean into careers, travel, or independence. And while these shifts can strengthen a bond, they can also create unexpected distance. Especially when one topic begins to dominate the conversation. That conversation, of course, being children.

According to Pew Research Center, nearly 44% of Americans ages 18–49 say they don’t expect to ever have children, either by choice or circumstance. At the same time, a 2023 Survey Center on American Life study found that American adults report having fewer close friends than they did just a decade ago, a trend some researchers call a “friendship recession.” Part of that strain comes from diverging life paths—marriage, parenthood, career changes—that can make people feel like they no longer share common ground.

This is the dynamic one Redditor recently bumped up against.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

A Redditor who goes by Remarkable_Lake410, who we’ll call RL for brevity’s sake, went on a girl's trip with her friends (most of whom were married and a few who are mothers) when the conversation veered towards married mom life. Instead of feigning interest, RL decided to be honest with them about why she didn’t want to join them on a trip.

“I (27F) have a group of female friends (8 of us). We have been friends for over a decade, since school. Now, we don’t live in the same place, but we meet up a couple of times a year for a weekend on an Airbnb. This used to be a weekend of good food, drinks, hot tub, etc.” she wrote on the AITH forum.

“Around five of my friends are either married or in very long-term relationships. Of these five, two either have a baby or are pregnant. I will be seeing all of my friends this year for various weddings, friend and baby events. I have been invited to this year's girls' trip, but I have said I can’t come. I didn’t originally provide a reason,” she continued. But a friend pushed her to find out why she didn’t want to go on the trip, and she was honest: She didn’t want to be stuck constantly hearing about babies, marriage, and weddings on a trip that was going to cost a significant amount of money.

“[Last time], I listened to one of my friends talk about her breastfeeding plans, with vengeance, for over an hour. She is not pregnant or trying. Truthfully, it’s boring, and it feels dismissive,” RL wrote. It’s also a really expensive way to feel bad about myself.”

When her friend heard her reason, she was “really hurt,” and it felt like RL didn’t care about her and her other friends. So, RL asked the Reddit forum if she was in the wrong for being honest and skipping a trip that would be all about marriage and babies.

The internet overwhelmingly took RL’s side

RL’s post received more than 4,000 responses, the vast majority supporting her decision. And, more importantly, her honesty.

pregnant, expecting, pregnat friends, childless women, childless friend, single friends, adult friendships, girls trip She was not in the wrong, it seems. media0.giphy.com

"On the surface, this seems like it’s just about engagements, weddings and babies. You go out of your way to be constantly supportive of them. However they don’t reciprocate that for you. They can’t relate to anything or want to relate to anything outside of their lives. It would sort of be like if you just won an award, but all they talked about was the pie they just ate that morning," Dependant_praline_93 wrote in the most popular comment.

"We all change as we get older. You naturally drift apart from some friends, especially if their lifestyle changes dramatically (think married with children, in particular). I wouldn't want to spend a lot of money to spend 3 days with a group that had such dis-similar interests. And I don't think it was wrong to be truthful when your friend asked you why you wouldn't go," Smokin_HOT_Ice added. One commenter with kids has a close friend who is child-free and she has made an effort to ask her about her life and interests outside of just talking about parenting.

“I was 38 when I had my first child and I read an article in Working Mother magazine when I was pregnant, and it said not to be the jerk who always talks about your pregnancy and your baby to your friends, especially the ones without babies,” JellyBear135 wrote. “When I see her, I always ask about her work, her activities outside of work and recently, her new baby dog. She lives alone and doesn’t have a lot of people who always ask about her life so I make sure I always do. I check in via text every couple of weeks to ask her about her life.”

After receiving a huge response from her post, RL wrote an update revealing that another friend who’s in the same boat decided not to go on the trip as well. “I have spoken to one of my other friends invited on the trip (who is also not at the baby stage of life); she is also not going on the trip and said she is not attending for the same reason,” RL wrote.

pregnant, expecting, pregnat friends, childless women, childless friend, single friends, adult friendships, girls trip Cheers to that. media1.giphy.com

It seems the big takeaway from RL’s dilemma isn’t just that stage-of-life changes such as marriage and having babies can create chasms in friendships. But we need to make sure that we’re not just talking about ourselves to our friends but listening to them as well. Because a one-way friendship isn’t a friendship at all.

How to stay close when you’re in different life stages

Life transitions don’t have to break friendships. Here are a few simple, research-backed habits that help mixed-stage friend groups stay connected:

Ask about each other’s worlds

Make space for conversations that aren’t only about babies, weddings, careers, or dating. Curiosity is connection.

Use gentle conversation boundaries

Try a playful rule like: “No baby talk for one hour!” Or rotate topics intentionally so no one dominates.

Plan stage-neutral activities

Cooking classes, comedy shows, hikes, art workshops—things everyone can enjoy without life-stage baggage.

Mix group time with intentional 1-on-1 time

People reveal more (and listen better) outside big groups. A coffee date or walk can rebalance the dynamic.

Friendships don’t have to split along life-stage lines. But they do require mutual listening and the willingness to see each other fully—regardless of who’s having a baby or who isn’t.

This article originally appeared last year.

american life babies careers childfree friend groups girls trip kids lifestyle changes marriage married mom life milestones research center weddings reddit forum single life friendship life

Family

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Savvy elderly couple shows the easiest way to unclog a toilet. No plunger necessary.

No plunger. No problem.

Photo credit: Canva

Plumber unclogging toilet, inset photo of an elderly smiling couple.

If you feel like you somehow missed “Basic Life Skills 101,” you are very much not alone.

Plenty of us graduated high school able to analyze Shakespeare, identify igneous rocks, and, for the love of all that’s holy, recite “the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell!” in two seconds flat…yet somehow never learned how to do something as simple as unclog a toilet. If there’s a plunger nearby, then maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance. Without one…and the day is ruined.

Enter: grandparents. Or in this case, a grandmother on TikTok who has become the internet’s unofficial modern household oracle. Meet Babs, known to her 4.1 million followers as @brunchwithbabs. She is charming, practical, and full of the kind of real-world hacks your grandparents used before Google existed.

Her latest lesson: how to unclog a toilet using items already sitting in your home. No plunger or plumber necessary.

The delightfully simple trick

@brunchwithbabs 🚽ADULTING 101: HOW TO UNCLOG A TOILET - THE RIGHT WAY🚽 🚽If the water looks high, cut off the water at the supply while you work. There should be a silver handle that can shut off the water supply near the bottom of the toilet. Remember, if you turn off the water, and you need more water to help clear the toilet clog, use a bucket to add water to the toilet. The plunger must be submerged in order to have enough water pressure to clear the blockage. 🚽Don’t have a plunger or you want to “try the easy way”? Just add a bit of dish soap around the hole in the toilet. Add some hot water and let sit for about 20 minutes. Then flush. The soap and hot water should lubricate the clog enough to clear it. 🚽If the soap doesn’t clear the blockage, turn to the good old plunger. Toilet plungers have a flange on the bottom - sink plungers do not. The flange should fit snuggly in toilet bowl hole. Push slowly at first and then increase speed until you hear the blockage release. Push 12 times. Flush 🚽Turn the water on and clean the plunger and you are good to go. #advice #parentsoftiktok #grandparents #howto ♬ original sound - Babs

In a helpful TikTok filmed with her husband, aka "Mr. Babs," our online grandma explains her simple unclogging method:

“Just add a bit of dish soap around the hole in the toilet. Add some hot water and let sit for about 20 minutes. Then flush.” Badda bing, badda boom. You’re done.

The idea is that dish soap acts as a lubricant while hot water helps soften and move things along. Think of it as a gentle spa day for your septic tank.

If water in the bowl is high, Babs gently reminds viewers to turn off the supply valve behind the toilet. Once the water stops rising, you can remove a little and give the method a clean slate to work its magic.

She also notes that many people grab the wrong plunger. The flat ones are meant for sinks, whereas toilets need a flanged plunger. Use the right tool for the right job the right way, as they say.

unclogging toilet, toilet clog hacks, babs, brunch with babs, life hacks, household hacks, unclogging toilet without a plunger Kenneth from 30 Rock media2.giphy.com

This is not just folksy wisdom. Several credible home maintenance sources back this up. The Spruce explains that dish soap can lubricate and loosen mild organic clogs and their article is reviewed by a licensed master plumber. Heart of Ohio HVAC also includes hot water and dish soap as a legitimate trick for certain blockages. Sears Home Services lists the same combination among reliable clog-clearing methods for soft obstructions.

In other words, this hack may sound like folklore but it has the receipts.

Why everyone loves this

Babs’ approach gives people the confidence to fix a household issue without calling a professional or buying expensive drain chemicals, which can actually damage pipes, since many are meant for sinks, not porcelain toilets.

Her method also saves money and reduces unnecessary waste. Fewer busted plungers thrown out, fewer emergency product purchases, and fewer calls to plumbers for something that can be handled with soap and patience. It is the kind of low-stress, low-cost solution our grandparents might have sworn by.

What people are saying

Comments on Babs' video were overflowing (in a good way!):

“I love my online grandparents,” one user wrote.

“Need this so bad!” said another.

And the best one. “Never knew about the soap! And I’m a grandmother!”

unclogging toilet, toilet clog hacks, babs, brunch with babs, life hacks, household hacks, unclogging toilet without a plunger Elderly woman winking. media3.giphy.com

Important things to know before you try it

Like any DIY fix, this one comes with caveats. Water should be hot, but not boiling, as boiling water can crack porcelain or damage seals. It’s also worth noting that this method works best on mild organic clogs, not on items like wipes, toys, or anything labeled “definitely do not flush.”

And of course, if your flush still results in rising water or nothing moves after the soap and hot water trick, it is time to bring in a professional.

And Babs has more where that came from

This is far from Bab’s only viral hack. @brunchwithbabs has become famous for feel-good, practical tips—everything from using wooden spoons to prevent pots from boiling over to freezing cheese to make grating a breeze. Her entire channel is essentially a home economics class with better lighting. And you gotta admit, there is something comforting about a grandmother stepping in to say, “Sweetie, it is fine, here is what to do.” Even if it isn’t coming from your actual grandmother.

Moral of the story: when life gets messy, listen to your elders. Or at least the ones on TikTok.

Education

Man found girlfriend’s preschool photo, then had to call his mom after noticing something 'odd'

A man stumbled upon a preschool picture of his girlfriend—and found a familiar face.

Canva Photos

Preschool class.

A man couldn't believe his eyes when he came across a childhood photo of his girlfriend. The man, who goes by @evanaka1234 on Imgur, shared a series of pictures on his account in 2015, weaving a story through the captions involving his love life and how fate intervened in the best way possible.

He first shared a picture of eight preschool kids accompanied by two adults. "While searching for a rice cooker my GF and I came across this picture from her preschool," the man wrote in the caption.

man, old photos, photographs, looking through photos, memories Man looks through photos. Canva Photos

"I started busting out laughing because I recognized her instantly. Some say she wasn't quite human," he joked, referencing the quirky little smile his girlfriend had in the picture. But that was when a serious realization hit him: a little boy sitting next to his girlfriend began to look eerily familiar. In moments, the man had connected the dots:

"HOLY CRAP THAT WAS ME!" he wrote. "We [grew] up a long ways away from each other, a few cities apart at least but it turned out that we somehow had gone to the same preschool. I freaked out and called my mom ( what else would you do in a situation like that) and sure enough she confirmed that it was me. We had both attended this same preschool when we were like 3 years old. Mildly interesting to say the least."

funny, gif, photo, that's me, me, memories Look At That Season 4 GIF by Paramount+ Giphy

Beneath the paragraph was another photo of the man and his girlfriend. "This is us today approximately 16 years later," the man concluded.

In a similar story, a Chinese couple (later identified as a Mr. and Mrs. Ye) made a stunning discovery that they had crossed each other's paths in the past. According to NBC affiliate KSDK, the year was 2000 when the pair was unknowingly captured in each other's photographs taken at the same spot. The pictures were also shared on Reddit several years ago.

from Damnthatsinteresting

Oblivious to each other's presence, the man and woman had visited the May Fourth Square in Qingdao, China in 2000. They were posing separately and never interacted with one another.

Mr. Ye was hardly aware that he had walked into someone else's frame as he posed for his own picture, but in an interesting turn of events, he made an appearance in his future wife’s photograph. The post compared the duo’s single pictures side by side and Mr. Ye is clearly visible in her picture in the same outfit that he is seen wearing in his own shot. Years later, when Mr. Ye was flipping through pictures of his wife in her home, he realized how their paths had once crossed without them knowing. The couple ultimately met each other more than a decade later in 2011, got married, and even welcomed twin daughters.

Take this as a sign to go through some old photos of your own. You may find someone fascinating in the background— and who knows what can happen next!

This article originally appeared in September. It has been updated.

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