Three wise gentlemen came from afar bearing gifts, so the Nativity story tells us. But when the shoe is on the other foot, and you’re looking for gift ideas to give to men, it can be an almost impossible quest to find something useful, practical, attractive, entertaining or original (that they haven’t already bought themselves).
Well look no further, harried festive shoppers of Great Britain – The Big Issue Shop is here, and our collection of Gift Ideas for Men is packed with pressies that any individual would be delighted to find under the tree on Christmas morning. And each gift you buy here has a ‘social echo’, because all our suppliers are exclusively organisations that reinvest in people and planet. So really, you’re giving two gifts each time you buy. Read on to find out how…
It’s such a staple of Christmas giving that it has become a cliché, but don’t dismiss the humble sock as a gift idea. Everybody needs them, and it’s time to just face up and admit the truth – a good quality sock is your best friend. Especially when it’s a Jollie Sock from The Big Issue Shop. Because for each pair of brilliantly coloured, tin-encased Jollie Socks that you purchase, a pair of hardy, warm new hiking socks will be donated to a homeless charity around the UK to be distributed direct to someone who really needs it.
Reddendi don’t just design and make beautiful, luxury silk ties and accessories (check out their matching pocket squares and natty new cufflink range). They founded their business as an elegant way to help tackle poverty directly: with each tie you purchase, enough profit is donated to help teach a child in a developing region to write and read for a whole year. Having expanded from their first ventures in Inidia, Reddendi’s profits are now invested in children’s education in Africa, Peru and Syria when you choose designs from their new Africa, South America and Middle East designs.
From pencil cases and passport holders to funky messenger bags, backpacks and super-sized clipper bags, Elephant Branded items are up to any challenge. Made from recycled cement bags by villagers in Cambodia, for each bag a school kit is delivered to a child in Africa or Asia – which is an impressive social echo, helping reuse discarded waste material, giving employment and skills to people who need it, and educating the next generation of kids. That’s really a gift worth giving (and you get a great bag too!).
Fairtrade and ethical production is at the very heart of Bala Sport balls. Footballs, footsal and rugby balls, full-sized and fun-sized, available in a brilliant range of colours – they make a perfect gift, and there’s ‘snow’ excuse not to get out for a kickabout on even the wintriest of days, because when the balls are this bright, you won’t lose them in the drifts! Bala Sport is a co-operative which uses only ethically sourced materials and employs men and women at its factories and hand-stitching centres in Sialkot in Pakistan, ensuring fair pay, safe working conditions and a better life. And there’s more – the Fairtrade Premium from sales of Bala products is used to provide water purification plants outside the factories for everyone in the community to use, providing free, safe, clean drinking water.
