Are you looking for the perfect gift to give your bridesmaids and maid of honor to thank them for being part of your big day? Wouldn’t it be great if you could give them a gift they would love AND did some good in the world? Yes? Awesome. You’re in the right place!

Today’s blog post is the first in our Bridesmaids Gift Guide Series and our first theme is: Bridesmaids Gifts that Do Good. We’ve rounded up a sweet selection of shops that are doing important and amazing work in their local communities and around the world.

If you're passionate about making an impact (even if it’s a small one) then let us introduce you to these special businesses who are making a difference AND have the cutest products ever!

Better Life Bags - Rebecca Smith started Better Life Bags in 2009 as an Etsy shop when she received incredible feedback about the diaper bag she’d made for herself.

Since then, Better Life Bags has transformed into a movement and mission that is passionate about hiring local women from their community onto the team who have various barriers to employment. Better Life Bags is about more than just accessories and we love that.

In their own words, “We really believe we have created a unique business that brings together YOUR design efforts with tangible needs in our community of Detroit, Michigan. Every bag we sell means more women that we can hire! Your bag will come with the name of the woman who made your bag - bringing the personal connection straight to your mailbox. We'd love it if you hung that card on your fridge to think about that woman whose life is being changed as a result of your purposeful purchase.”

Here are a few of our favorites from BLB:

31 Bits - This is a company that is empowering women on a global level by focusing their efforts in Uganda and they’re doing a phenomonal job.

From the 31 Bits website: “Our model is to empower people through the fashion industry. We work with our beneficiaries in Uganda to create fashionable, quality products. They earn an income enabling them to provide for their families. We care for them holistically through counseling, health education, finance training, and business mentorships. After five years in our program, our beneficiaries are ready to graduate. A graduated beneficiary has her own business and is educated, healthy, and confident. She is empowered.”

We really can’t say it any better than that so we’ll just show you the 31 Bits goodies we have our eye on:

FashionABLE - We really can’t say enough about FashionABLE. We first heard about this amazing company from BELONG Magazine.

FashionABLE is a force for good both locally and globally and embody their tagline “Beautiful Products by Women Who Have Overcome.” This blurb from their website gives you a deeper dive into their vision: “To be clear, FASHIONABLE is not a charitable model of business.

We believe that generational poverty is interrupted when people can provide for themselves. We believe that social businesses whose aim is to alleviate poverty should use their business skills to create job opportunities for the poor, not give them more charity. What we seek to “give” to those living in poverty is opportunity by purchasing goods from them, and helping those businesses grow and employ more.”

If you’d like to support FashionABLE here’s a few of our favorites from their website. We totally recommend their wedding collection too!:

Liberti USA - This shop is an absolute gem from our very own state of Colorado and we’re thrilled to have discovered their mission through Instagram.

We love this from the Liberti website, “Liberti is a lifestyle brand for the socially conscious consumer featuring beautiful accessories and jewelry authentically handcrafted in America to empower vulnerable resettled refugees here in the US. Our mission is to provide opportunities for resettled refugees that enable them to truly become free to live the American dream.”

Here’s a peek at their <1% collection that you can pre-order:

SSeko - Pronounced SAY-KO, has this to say about their mission.

“Sseko Designs uses fashion to provide employment and scholarship opportunities to women pursuing their dreams and overcoming poverty. To date, we've enabled 71 women to continue on to University. We provide employment (along with access to a comprehensive social impact program) to our team of 50 women in Uganda. And we do it all through a financially self-sustaining model.”

Education creates lasting change in all communities and we really respect and appreciate what SSeko is accomplishing on a global level.

Here’s a few items from their shop that we love: