December is a month primarily known for two things: giving back and shopping.

This year, the two are not mutually exclusive, as designers and fashion brands are launching collaborations with charities, and charities are creating stylish products to benefit their causes.

Victoria Beckham is raising awareness and money for UNAIDS in honor of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. She has designed a limited edition T-shirt and key ring available for purchase at her flagship store in London and on victoriabeckham.com. The prices are steep with the T-shirt selling for $140 and the key ring for $275, but all of the proceeds benefit UNAIDS. Beckham is a UNAIDS Global Goodwill Ambassador and has said that she is proud to take a stand and speak up for change when it comes to ending AIDS.

Elie Tahari is another designer giving back this season. Last week, Tahari launched Coats for a Cause, a collaboration with bloggers and style influencers to benefit the Worldwide Orphans Foundation. Each day the brand’s Instagram page, @elietahari, posts a photo of one of the stylish collaborators, such as “Orange is the New Black” star Diane Guerrero and We Wore What blogger Danielle Bernstein, wearing Elie Tahari outerwear. This creates interest in the outerwear, and in turn, 10 percent of the outerwear sales are donated to the Worldwide Orphans Foundation.

Fashion and fundraising are also merging with film this season at Force 4 Fashion on Dec. 2. Disney Consumer Products and Bloomingdale’s are celebrating the new film “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” with a charity fashion auction. Cynthia Rowley, Diane von Furstenberg, Opening Ceremony and Rag & Bone are among the several labels creating outfits inspired by the movie. The looks will be first shown at the Force 4 Fashion event, then on display at Bloomingdale’s, and finally auctioned off from Dec. 2–18 on CharityBuzz.com to benefit Child Mind Institute.

While now is a great time to start giving back, some brands have been doing so for a while. This season, popular online retailer ASOS celebrates its 12th collaboration with fair-trade clothing manufacturer SOKO in Kenya for its ASOS Africa collection. SOKO provides employment to disadvantaged communities, supports education of women and pays fair wages, making it a socially responsible manufacturer. While ASOS Africa doesn’t directly give to charity, purchasing sustainable clothing gives back to the earth by helping to save our natural resources.

If you’re looking for another brand that gives back and won’t break the bank like some of the designer labels, check out Love Your Melon. At midnight Monday, Nov. 30, Love Your Melon, a charitable company known for its adorable beanies and warm winter hats, held its winter product release debuting 38 new products.

Love Your Melon started as a buy one, give one program with a mission to give a hat to every child battling cancer in America. After reaching its goal of 45,000 hats, the number of children currently undergoing cancer treatment in the country, the company expanded its model to give 50 percent of net proceeds to the Pinky Swear Foundation and CureSearch. Plus, the organization uses a network of college students as ambassadors, and SU has its own team. By clicking the Syracuse University Campus Crew when you check out, you will support the SU chapter and allow them to host more donation events.

When you do your holiday shopping this December, don’t forget to give back. Whether it’s a $298 Elie Tahari vest or a $30 Love Your Melon beanie, brands are making an effort to be charitable, and we should all support this effort however we can. New clothes and helping those in need? It’s a stylish win-win.

Jackie Homan is a sophomore magazine journalism major. You can email her at jahoman@syr.edu or follow her @jackie_homan on Twitter.

Published on November 30, 2015 at 8:59 pm