Despite the lockdowns, we’re all hoping that you all have a very ‘apey’ Christmas this year. To help you with this, we’ve compiled a list of beautiful gifts that give a portion of their profits back to ape conservation. This means you can have a beautiful gift to give to your loved ones, but also feel good that you’re protecting our closest cousins and the forests they live in.
For someone special…
|
If you’re looking for something a bit special to give this Christmas, this pendant necklace complete with a diamond from Raven Fine Jewellers is perfect. You can choose from 14k yellow gold, rose gold, white gold, and silver. 50% of the profits from your purchase will go towards ape ally Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue & Protection. To buy, message Raven Fine Jewelers on Instagram, or buy from the LCRP website from the end of this week. The gold versions are 395 USD, and the silver is 99 USD. |
 |
For the friend that is always drinking coffee…
|
If you’re buying for someone that always needs to stay caffeinated, why not try some Gorilla Conservation Coffee. This social enterprise does what it says on the tin by paying a premium price to help coffee farmers living next door to the gorillas around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, as well as donating 10% of profits to conservation charity Conservation Through Public Health. You can buy it online from SimbiMall.com (Uganda), GorillaCoffee.co.nz (New Zealand), Pangols.com (USA, Canada) and MoneyrowBeans.com (UK). A 250g bag goes for £9. |
 |
For your inner (or actual) child…
|
Ape ally Orangutan Veterinary Aid has a lovely gift shop with clothes, art, jewellery and toys, but one of our favourites is this ‘secret jungle tin’. Each is handmade by artist ‘The Big Bad Belgian Wolf'. Be careful as it has small, easily swallowed parts! The profits go towards funding OVAID’s work. The secret jungle tins range from £9 to £12 and can be bought from the OVAID online store.
|
 |
For someone that’s hard to buy for…
|
Remembering Great Apes is the third book in the highly acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of charity books. It was edited by Ape Alliance chairman Ian Redmond OBE, and the foreword is by Dr Jane Goodall DBE. The project was crowd funded, with the world’s top photographers donating their images so 100% of the profits can go towards ape conservation. The book retails for £45, and can be shipped worldwide from the Remembering Wildlife website. |
 |
If you’re more of a card than a present person…
|
Pongidae Design is a small business on Etsy, ran by orangutan researcher Emma Lokuciejewski. A portion of the profits will go towards orangutan research or a specially chosen charity or appeal. There’s lots of ape and animal themed gifts on her store, but we love these sweet Christmas cards. They cost £7 for a pack of four cards.
|
 |
For the Star Wars fan in your family…
|
The profits from these t-shirts go towards researching the newly discovered Skywalker Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock tianxing). They come in men’s, women’s, and children’s fits. The shirts are printed by Teemill, which means they’re vegan, ethically sourced and printed to order to reduce waste. |
 |
For the obligatory Christmas socks…
|
Critically Endangered Socks is a brand that makes eco-friendly socks from GOTS certified organic cotton, with the profits going towards various conservation charities. If you buy their orangutan socks, 10% of the sale price will go directly to the Friends of the National Parks Foundation who are working to safeguard rainforest in Borneo. |
 |
For the art-lover...
|
Alice Rosen is a UK-based illustrator, who is selling limited edition prints of this mother and baby orangutan duo to raise money for ape ally Bornean Orangutan Society. Printed on St Cuthberts Mill Somerset Fine Art paper (100% cotton) acid free and archival with a smooth matte surface. Worldwide shipping is available. They are now listed on her website for £35 per print, with £5 from each sale being donated to BOS. |
 |
If you decide against these smaller stores and buy off Amazon this year, be sure to purchase through Amazon Smile. Hundreds of conservation charities have signed up, and Amazon will give a donation with each purchase to the charity of your choice at no extra cost to you. A win-win if ever we saw one!
If you decide to buy anything from this list, or help ape conservation this Christmas then tag us and use the hashtag #Shop4Apes to help others who are trying to buy ethically.
