What constitutes the perfect gift? Gifts that give back

What constitutes the perfect gift? Certainly it should be unique, affordable and warm the cockles of your loved one's heart.

What if a gift did all that and contributed to the world's greater good?

Don't tell us, we know. You'd probably buy a dozen of them.

There's karma in shopping, so, this year, give with a humanitarian spirit. Instead of bolting to Pottery Barn or Victoria's Secret for some meaningless, mass-produced present, give loved ones something that gives back - to the environment, indigenous groups and people who are going hungry right here at home.

You can find yummy lotions made by companies that don't test their products on animals. You can buy gorgeous shawls handmade by adults, not small children, who, because of you, earn a livable wage in their poverty-stricken country.

Best of all, your special someone will smile year-round knowing he or she was the inspiration for your good will.

Think this is all a bunch of Nativity naivete? Think again. We've chosen seven outlets with gifts certain to change your mind, if not your shopping habits, forever.

COMMUNITY SHOPS

CShops, a project of www.charityfocus.org, is an Internet storefront that allows grassroots communities to sell and market their goods.

Its current program, Manav Sadhna, benefits the women and children of the slum community of Ahmedabad, one of India's poorest areas. The program provides basic education, health, hygiene, addiction prevention and income management.

Intricately hand-painted clay candle holders in red, gold and white ($8) caught our eye, as did quilted silk beaded purses ($10) in a variety of colors and handmade greeting cards bearing sayings by Mahatma Gandhi (set of five, $7.50).

Go to http://cshops.charityfocus.org to shop or find out how you can volunteer with Manav Sadhna.

UNICEF

Why buy a pashmina shawl from a department store when, for the same $240, you can get an authentic hand-beaded one from India and help children in plight around the world?

Seventy-five cents of every dollar you spend at UNICEF goes to thousands of life-saving programs in 158 countries and territories. Help purify water in sub-Saharan Africa. Immunize children in India. Provide temporary schools and shelters for those ravaged in the recent Haitian hurricanes.

There are literally hundreds of gifts for kids (wooden building blocks, $40), dads (leather passport and ticket holder, $65), business associates (Peepul leaf desk organizer, $34.20) and everyone in between.

Go to www.unicefusa.org and scroll down to Buy Cards and Gifts. To order a catalog, call 800-4-UNICEF.

HEIFER INTERNATIONAL

Here in the United States and 50 other countries, a family struggling with hunger and poverty could help sustain itself if it had livestock.

For $120, a sheep can provide milk, wool and meat for a needy family in Ukraine. A single chick ($20) can provide a poor Chinese child - who otherwise subsists on starches - with his annual intake of protein. A llama's ($150) fleece could mean warm clothes for a Peruvian family and a means of transportation across the high plains of the Andes Mountains.

Even better, every recipient family promises to pass on its animal's first female offspring to another family in need. So does that family, until an entire community is lifted out of poverty and into self-sufficiency - all because you decided to "Pay It Forward" instead of going to the mall.

For a gift catalog, contact 800-696-1918 or www.heifer.org.

THE HUNGER SITE

The ultimate stop for everything from saving the rain forests to the fight against hunger, The Hunger Site (www.hungersite.com) doubles the goodwill with many of its holiday gift ideas. For example, with the purchase of every sterling silver menorah pendant ($19.95) or Tibetan wool hat and mittens ($24.95), the nonprofit site donates 50 cups of food to a family in need.

Famine not the cause closest to your heart? No problem. The site has organized its online gift stores according to various charities. Buy a recycled Nepalese silk scarf ($17.95) from the Literacy Store, and the site will donate 0.5 books to needy children.

Link over to the Animal Rescue Store and buy a hot pink eyeglasses case covered in paw prints ($12.95). They'll fund 14 bowls of food for animals living in sanctuaries and shelters.

WORLD OF GOOD

A Berkeley, Calif.,-based fair trade outlet, World of Good sells and distributes accessories from cooperatives in developing countries. Then it reinvests the profits to better the communities from which they come.

The jewelry at Express doesn't compare with the Thar Desert Necklace ($19.99), a modern six-strand copper wire necklace made by Tara Project, an artisan cooperative outside of Delhi, India, that uses its funds to support children's education.

For the bookworm, try the Weight of the Jungle Book Ends ($39.95), elephant-curved and carved out of solid soapstone by Kenyan craftsmen from the Kisii region. The people there have faced declining health and land dispossession since the 1990s. Buying their goods empowers the people and supports their traditions.

World of Good products are available at select stores and online at www.world-of-good.com.

WHOLE FOODS MARKET

Talk about one-stop shopping: The same place you go for organic oranges and bulgur wheat is also a great source for holiday presents. Some items that tickled our gift-giving fancy:

_ Wildlife Works Organic Kid's Shirts ($19.99 starting Saturday), in pink and blue, covered with bunnies and chimps, are made with organic cotton grown in Kenya. Proceeds benefit an 80-acre wildlife sanctuary there.

_ Boxed holiday greeting cards designed by contemporary artists from New York's Museum of Modern Art. All greeting cards ($14.95-$16.95, box of eight) are printed on recycled or recyclable materials, use water-soluble or soy-based ink and uphold fair-trade standards. Proceeds benefit MOMA's art in education programs.

For Whole Foods locations and store hours, visit www.wholefoods.com.

GLOBAL EXCHANGE

It's not just a funky store with exotic crafts from 70 countries. Global Exchange (www.globalexchange.org/store) is part of the international Fair Trade movement, which means no child labor, no sweatshops and the producers of the goods sold in the shop generally receive about 15 percent to 30 percent of the retail price. Many items at Global Exchange even bear the artisans' names.

In one trip, you can preserve the woodworking traditions of Egyptian craftsmen and help Haitians recycle old oil drums. The stunning metal wall hangings start at $33; also check out vases made by a Guatemalan collective out of Coke and 7-Up bottles ($23.50).

A popular holiday gift: No Sweat black-and-white tennies ($38.50), Converse knock-offs that aren't made in sweatshops. A pink high-top version ($42) is available by Women in Pink, a feminists-for-peace group.