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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 laundry expert shares exactly how to refresh your winter coat with a spray of vodka

Your cocktail doubles as a laundry hack.

Photo credit: Canva

A woman wearing a winter coat.

Winter coats go through a lot of wear and tear when we need them most during brutal winter temperatures. With winter weather not letting up anytime soon, they'll continue to play an important role in the coming months for those of us living in cold climates.

By midwinter, your winter coat may start to smell a bit... dank. But washing winter coats can be cumbersome and time-consuming.

Thankfully, a quick and easy solution can be found in your liquor cabinet, according to Patric Richardson, also known as "The Laundry Evangelist." Richardson shared the brilliant laundry hack on Instagram, showing his followers how to refresh winter coats without putting them in the washer.

See on Instagram

How to refresh your winter coat

According to Richardson, you only need two simple items: a spray bottle and vodka. In the video, he explains that this winter he had to pull his parka out from the depths of his closet due to freezing temperatures and noticed that it smelled.

"I haven't worn it in like two years, and it smelled like the closet," he said. "It had that musty, sort of house smell, and I didn't have time to wash it."

What he did instead? He sprayed it with vodka.

"Spray it, spray it, spray it," he said. "You need to mist all over it. Let it sit for five or 10 minutes. Let it dry. And you're good to go. If you get pulled over by the cops, you're totally fine because vodka is odorless and colorless."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

He also recommends spraying vodka on other types of coats, like dress coats.

One viewer asked Richardson whether 70% alcohol, such as isopropyl alcohol, could be used instead. But it's a no-go. "It will leave an odor," he explained. "The denaturing process gives it a residual scent."

Richardson also noted that spraying vodka on wool coats is totally safe and can help remove heavy scents from cooking or spices.

"Fill a spray bottle with the stuff and use it to remove odors from clothes that are stinky but not dirty. No washing required!" he shared in a previous Instagram post.

Vodka removes strong odors from your winter coat because it's antibacterial, thanks to its alcohol content. In the United States, vodka must be at least 40% alcohol by volume (ABV), which helps neutralize the funky-smelling bacteria your coat may be harboring.

@brunchwithbabs
You likely have an odor fighter right in your liquor cabinet. Grandma’s usually do know best because we have been around a long time. And I learned this one from my Grandmother. A simple spray of vodka can eliminate odors on clothing, furniture, upholstery and even mattresses. All you need is vodka and a spray bottle - make sure your spray bottle has a mist setting - not just a straight spray. To spray clothing, focus on the areas that collect the most bacteria and therefore odor - like under the sleeves. Spray from about 18” away from the clothing in sort of a sweeping motion. The vodka clings to the smelly molecules that are produced naturally and then ferment and cause odor. So bye bye smelling clothes and wasting time and money cleaning or dry cleaning each time you wear something.

In an interview with Apartment Therapy, Richardson said that vodka can be sprayed on practically any clothing to remove unwanted scents:

"There's this wonderful costumer that comes to my store, and she always wants to give me a hug, and when she leaves I smell like [perfume]. I go in the stock room and have one of my sales people spray me with vodka to take that away. ... You can spray your gym bag with vodka; if you go to your favorite restaurant and you leave [smelling like food], you can spray that with vodka; If you stand next to a smoker, you can spray that with vodka."

winter coats odor remover vodka vodka laundry vodka laundry odor clothes odor how to remove odor from clothes laundry tips laundry hacks patric richardson laundry expert vodka spray vodka spray bottle cleaning with vodka winter coat

Education

Van Gogh painted his 'Starry Night' view dozens of times. Here are 5 most people have never seen.

There was one feature of the landscape that he initially said was "too beautiful for me to dare paint."

Public domain/Wikimedia Commons

The famous view from "The Starry Night" was painted by Vincent van Gogh many times in lesser-known works.

Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night is widely considered one of the most renowned paintings of all time, often uttered in the same breath as The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, as well as Edvard Munch's The Scream, among many others.

It has been discussed at length in both art history and pop culture, yet there are still plenty of mysteries for the casual fan to uncover about this incredible work of art.

The Starry Night was painted while van Gogh was voluntarily staying at the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France. He checked himself in shortly after cutting off part of his own ear in late 1888 and famously painting his iconic Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear. He continued to experience mental health challenges after the incident and sought help in May 1889.

vincent van gogh, starry night, france, art, paintings, saint-remy, artists, perspective, master painters "The Starry Night"Public domain/Wikimedia Commons

The Starry Night is van Gogh's interpretation of the view from his room at the asylum. The Van Gogh Gallery notes, "Van Gogh lived well in the hospital; he was allowed more freedoms than any of the other patients. If attended, he could leave the hospital grounds; he was allowed to paint, read, and withdraw into his own room. He was even given a studio."

He lived there for about a year and created countless works. Fascinatingly, he painted variations of the same view many times over in works that would go on to achieve only a fraction of The Starry Night's fame.

Here are five lesser-known van Gogh paintings from nearly the same perspective as The Starry Night:

1. Wheat Field with Cypresses (September 1889)

Wheat Field with Cypresses was painted several months after van Gogh completed The Starry Night. The two works closely resemble one another, from the unique shapes of the cypress trees to the contours of the mountain range and the swirling clouds. Notably, this piece is painted in a much lighter palette than the darker tones van Gogh used earlier that summer, which the Van Gogh Gallery links to his struggles with mental health at the time. An earlier version of Wheat Field with Cypresses was darker than the September version.

vincent van gogh, starry night, france, art, paintings, saint-remy, artists, perspective, master painters "Wheat Field with Cypresses"Public domain/Wikimedia Commons

2. Mountainous Landscape Behind Saint-Paul Hospital (early 1889)

Mountainous Landscape Behind Saint-Paul Hospital is a precursor to The Starry Night, predating it by an unknown amount of time. The view, however, is nearly identical. The central rolling hill, which gives way to the oddly shaped mountain ridge, is a dead ringer for how the landscape appears in van Gogh's most famous work.

vincent van gogh, starry night, france, art, paintings, saint-remy, artists, perspective, master painters "Mountainous Landscape Behind Saint-Paul Hospital"Public domain/Wikimedia Commons

3. At the Foot of the Mountains (June 1889)

This painting was completed shortly before van Gogh began The Starry Night and offers a slightly different perspective. The sky is relatively cloudless, but the mountains are as distinctive as ever. The same, or a very similar, small cottage at the center of the painting shows up repeatedly in van Gogh's works from Saint-Rémy.

vincent van gogh, starry night, france, art, paintings, saint-remy, artists, perspective, master painters "At the Foot of the Mountains"Public domain/Wikimedia Commons

4. Wheat Field with Reaper and Sun (June 1889)

Here's a similar scene done closer to sunrise, casting a golden hue over the familiar landscape. Van Gogh would go on to paint the same reaper several more times. During this period, he repeatedly created studies of the same scenes and revisited them from multiple angles.

vincent van gogh, starry night, france, art, paintings, saint-remy, artists, perspective, master painters "Wheat Field with Reaper and Sun"Public domain/Wikimedia Commons

5. Olive Trees with the Alpilles in the Background (June 1889)

What's fascinating about this one, besides showing an alternative perspective on the view from The Starry Night, is that it represents one of van Gogh's greatest achievements. In a letter to his brother, the artist admitted that he found olive trees "too beautiful for me to dare paint."

At the asylum, he had plenty of time on his hands and finally worked up the courage to give it a try.

"The olive trees are very characteristic, and I'm struggling to capture that," he wrote. "It's silver, sometimes more blue, sometimes greenish, bronzed, whitening on ground that is yellow, pink, purplish or orangeish to dull red ochre. But very difficult, very difficult."

vincent van gogh, starry night, france, art, paintings, saint-remy, artists, perspective, master painters "Olive Trees with the Alpilles in the Background"Public domain/Wikimedia Commons

Seeing van Gogh's many attempts and perspectives during his stay at the asylum, and how his techniques and use of color evolved over time, is fascinating and adds texture and meaning to The Starry Night.

It's no wonder art lovers continue to make pilgrimages to Saint-Rémy to take in the views for themselves. Visitors can even tour van Gogh's room and look out the very same window on a guided visit. While some of the scenery has changed, the landscape is very much the same. It really gives you a whole new appreciation for how he captured the magic of the mountains and sky and created something that continues to move people more than 125 years later.

van gogh the starry night starry night painting painters art artists master painters famous paintings france history art history vincent van gogh

Art

Joy

Woman concocts genius plan to declutter her house by sneaking random items into her friends' homes

People share 15 'ridiculous' things that society still accepts as 'normal'

It's time to question reality.

via Canva/Photos

An influencer filming himself in public.

To be human is to navigate a complex world of pretense and subterfuge. You gotta fake it 'til you make it. You have to look the part and play the role. You tell white lies to help others save face and to adhere to rigid cultural norms that are too ingrained to bother challenging.

That's not to say it's all bad. Culture is always evolving, and some behaviors and attitudes that are completely "normal" in one period are seen as completely backward just a few years later. Just 40 years ago, corporal punishment of children was normal, mental health issues were seen as personal weakness, and sexual harassment in the workplace was rampant.

Things do get better, but first we have to point them out. Recently, a Redditor asked, "What's a social norm that you think is absolutely ridiculous?" to highlight today's cultural norms that people find absurd. Many commenters pointed out the excuses and white lies we tell in our social lives to avoid making our friends (and ourselves) uncomfortable. Others called out rigid gender roles we take for granted but deserve questioning.

Here are 15 social norms that people find "absolutely ridiculous"

1. The expectation that women have to wear makeup

"The expectation that women must wear makeup to look professional. A clean, washed face should be professional enough for any job i think."

"And being asked if you are sick or tired just because you aren't wearing a full face of makeup."

makeup, foundation, woman's face, strawberry blonde, woman in mirror A woman putting on makeup.via Canva/Photos

2. Faking workplace passion

"Pretending to be passionate about jobs in interviews when everyone knows it's just to pay bills."

"I applied to McDonald's in college and they asked me why I wanted the job. I said, very calmly, 'I need money and you need people, I don't understand the question.' Recruiter almost fell under the table laughing, I don't think he expected a blunt answer like that."

3. Having to justify turning down an invite

"People often feel they can't just decline an invitation or request with a simple I can't make it or 'that doesn't work for me instead there's this pressure to provide a detailed justification or excuse that proves you have a 'legitimate' reason. And if your reason is just 'I don't want to' or I need time to myself that's often not considered acceptable."

"'Don't make excuses. Your friends don't need them, and your enemies won't believe them,' — unknown."

4. Why we can't judge the dead

"Acting like someone was wonderful just because they're dead. There are absolutely some people that get and deserve a good riddance."

"It really rubs me the wrong way when a person who did or said terrible things died and suddenly all is forgot and they're a hero."

5. Influencers creating in public

"Turning public spaces into personal film studios for content creation and then getting mad when the public does public things and interrupts said content creation."

"This is not a norm. It's rude and should be treated as such. We were at the Louvre last year, and some influencer was trying to get people to move away from 'Liberty Leading the People' so she could film herself contemplating it. Lady, it's the size of a pickleball court. No one gets that much space to themselves there. She was so angry that other people kept looking at the art."

influencer, selfoe, content creator, influencer in publish, filiming self An influencer filming himself.via Canva/Photos

6. Why we always have to be reachable

"Probably the whole 'always be reachable' thing. Like, if you don't reply to a message within 10 minutes, people assume something's wrong, or you're mad. Sometimes I'm just eating or staring at a wall, man. I think phones have blurred the line between urgent and not urgent, and now everyone feels low-key on call all the time. Would be nice if slower replies were normal again."

7. Oversharing on social media

"Everyone posting every aspect of their lives on social media for all to see."

"We should all know less about each other."

Why do some people overshare? In a 2022 study, researchers identified three main reasons. First, people tend to overvalue the positives and undervalue the risks when posting online. They overestimate the benefits and underestimate the downsides of oversharing. Second, oversharing has been linked to anxiety, with some people posting as a way to cope with difficult feelings. Finally, because people often feel relatively anonymous online, even when their name and face are attached to a post, they may feel freer to overshare.

selfie, social media, girl taking photo, filming yourself, smiling girl A woman taking a photo of herself in her bedroom. via Canva/Photos

8. Elbows on the table being considered rude

"That was a social rule from the medieval age - tavern 'tables' were planks of wood laid on top of stumps. If someone put their elbows on that plank, the whole table would see-saw and chuck everyone's refreshments across the room."

"I was taught that it's because it seems like you're guarding your food, like an animal."

It's believed that the "elbows on the table" rule dates back to the Middle Ages, when feasts and festivals were jam-packed affairs and people were crammed around tables. Placing your elbows on the table, like spreading your legs on the subway, meant your neighbor had less room. You might even knock an elbow into their blackbird pie.

9. The need to be intoxicated

"The need to have alcohol at social events otherwise they are not fun or worth it to go to. Peer pressuring folks for not wanting to drink and making them out to seem boring or unfun. Having drug usage/alcohol as a personality trait."

"I tell people I'm straight edge, and they look at me like I'm some kind of monster. I once got told, to my face, someone who has never drank or smoked or done a drug is not a trustworthy person."

drunk guy, intoxicated guy, santa hat, brief case,beer A drunk guy passed out.via Canva/Photos

10. Period shame

"Acting like periods are something to be ashamed of. Never understood as a teenager why people would smuggle their pads into the toilet or whisper about their period or peel back the wrappers really quietly so no one else could hear it. It's completely natural and nothing to be ashamed of. I make an effort as an adult to openly carry pads and talk about it openly. We need to stop acting like it's a big taboo!"

11. Taking the man's last name

"Women and children taking the man's last name by default."

"I think you should have to smoosh the names together to make a new surname, and if you get remarried, you keep smooshing names."

12. Men have to propose

"Believing the male partner in a straight relationship must be the one to propose marriage."

"Or believing that a proposal has to be a grand gesture. My husband proposed to me on his front porch with, 'Hey, you don't happen to want to marry me or anything, do you?' Was it romantic? No. But he did manage to get the point across. This summer we'll be married 38 years."

13. Wearing a tie

“'Humans are the only species that start the day with a noose around their necks,' Source : unknown."

"I still wish we adopted the double necktie as seen in Back to the Future Part II in the far distant future of 2015."

tie, putting on a tie, tying a tie, pink shirt, dress up A man adjusting his tie.via Canva/Photos

14. Smartphones being everywhere

"I've seeing a lot of waiting rooms lately, and I'm trying to just sit there without looking at my phone, and I'm realizing how captivating it is. Everyone is plugged in."

"I agree it's great. As an introvert, to look up and realise NO ONE IS LOOKING AT YOU is like being king of that little space."

15. Saying you're "fine" when you're not

"Being expected to say 'fine' when someone asks how you are, no matter how not fine you feel. Also apologizing when someone else bumps into you, and pretending emails need fake pleasantries instead of just getting to the point."

"Some days when life isn't fine, and someone asks me how life's going, I tell them it's certainly going, they should get the message at that point."

Pop Culture

Baz Luhrmann created a new Elvis concert film after finding 59 hours of lost footage in a salt mine

The film shows the King "unguarded" and "open-hearted."

via Sony Music and Kevin Payravi/Wikimedia Commons

Elvis Presley and Baz Luhrmann.

While researching his 2022 hit film Elvis, director Baz Luhrmann searched for lost footage of The King to use in the film. What he found was a treasure trove of unseen footage from Elvis Presley's early '70s residencies in Las Vegas, as well as hours of interviews in which he discussed his creative process in depth.

The 35mm and 8mm footage was discovered in the Warner Bros. archives, buried deep in a salt mine in Kansas. Underground salt mines are great for film preservation because they have stable temperatures and humidity, which allow long-term storage that prevents deterioration.

The lot footage becomes an EPiC film

Luhrmann took the footage and crafted a concert film, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, featuring the King at the peak of his post-'68 comeback era, before drugs, overeating, the burdens of superstardom, and his divorce from Lisa Marie Presley turned him into a caricature of his old self. Yes, Elvis may have entered his flashy jumpsuit era, but his moves, voice, humor, and charisma are all in full form. The film is unique in that it combines never-before-seen rehearsal footage narrated by Elvis, offering rare insights and openness that the public has never seen.

Hometown hero Baz Luhrmann arrives for the Sydney premiere of EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT at @WestpacOpenAir! pic.twitter.com/zAXcL0Jt0O
— Universal Pictures (@UniversalPicsAU) February 8, 2026

"This is the most unexpected film that ever happened to me," Luhrmann told viewers ahead of a special preview screening at the IMAX theatre in Sydney, Australia. "We thought 'let's just get out of the way … What if Elvis just told you his story?'"

Here's the trailer:

- YouTube www.youtube.com

The film showcases amazing talent as a performer, but has an intimate quality that sets it apart from a simple concert film. "What if Elvis came to you in a dreamscape, almost like a cinematic poem, and sang to you and told you his story in a way in which you haven't experienced before?" Luhrmann wrote in his director's note for the IMAX screening.

An intimate look at an incredible performer

The film incorporates July 1970 rehearsal footage of him preparing for his third appearance at the International Hotel, showing how Elvis could be both an incredible perfectionist and charming with his friends and bandmates.

Elvis Presley rehearsing "Get Back" (The Beatles) in Los Angeles, and later in a show in Las Vegas, back in 1970 👑 pic.twitter.com/qPpcuIXFPK
— MP10 (@MusicPills10) February 7, 2026

The concert footage shows blistering, amped up versions of old hits such as "Hound Dog" and "That's Alright," as well as rehearsal footage of him singing Beatles songs, "Something" and "Yesterday." The film also shows his first performance of "Burning Love," a song so fresh that Elvis has to read the lyrics as he sings. The film ends with a grandiose version of the 1969 hit, "Suspicious Minds."

"The film looks and sounds incredible. Peter Jackson's team, who carefully restored Beatles footage in Get Back, worked their magic here to bring Elvis back in vivid glory," Andy Howell writes at Film Threat. "In fact, a better title would have been Elvis Lives, because this footage is so beautiful and clear, and the film is so intimate, that it seems like this was shot yesterday and we're having a conversation with him."

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert arrives in theaters for a one-week IMAX engagement starting February 20, followed by a global theatrical release on February 27.

Pop Culture