This Christmas, consider spending your money locally as for every dollar spent in your own back yard, 30 more cents stay in the local economy.

Lowen’s is proud to support the following businesses that are not only local, but are rooted in social change (plus they are just great people – doing great things):

1-Alberta Apparel: A clothing line inspired by the province it’s based in, Alberta Apparel keeps 70 cents from every dollar in Alberta’s economy. Shirts and hats are printed in Alberta, with graphics designed by local artists. Alberta Apparel is made with sustainably-grown bamboo imported from China.

2-Alora Boutique: This line of handcrafted jewelry was built by women, for women. Founded by Jameela Ghann and her mother Emilyn, Alora Boutique’s mission is to help women rise above poverty. By hosting jewelry-making workshops at The Mustard Seed and YWCA, Alora Boutique gives women in need new skills and tools to make a living.

The jewelry is also very symbolic, using symbols from the creators’ Ghanaian heritage to spread messages of hope and courage. This holiday season, Alora Boutique launched Keys to Change, a line of brass key necklaces imprinted with empowering words from “Badass” to “Grateful,” with $10 from each purchase going directly to The Mustard Seed.

3-Drizzle Honey: Aja Horsley’s honey boutique supports beekeepers all over Alberta. The honey is raw — meaning it is unheated and only lightly filtered — so naturally-occurring enzymes, vitamins and minerals remain intact.

Drizzle also supports local artisans through collaboration to create cool gifts, like scarves, jewelry and even charcuterie boards.

4-Good Trade Co: A not-for-profit social enterprise led by our friends Brandon Waardenburg and Guillermo Munoz, Good Trade Co supports Colombian coffee farmers who live in poverty. Through education, training and outreach, Good Trade Co helps these farmers and their communities thrive, and bring their coffee to the global market they wouldn’t be able to reach before. Good Trade Co is currently looking for funding through ATB Financial’s crowdfunding platform Alberta BoostR – go fund them here and get some great rewards

5-Lemonceillo: Based in Inglewood, Jennifer Arrowsmith’s Lemonceillo is an independently owned luxury home décor retailer. Its mission is to be the place to buy items you can’t find anywhere else in Calgary, and with more than a dozen exclusive lines of anything from dinnerware to home furnishings, it’s not a difficult task. Lemonceillo is now selling our Be Local Lip Balm at the till. Each lip balm donates to Apiaries and Bees for Communities.  

6-Old Coal: This year we had the pleasure of working alongside our new friend Jolene Kolk.  Jolene utilizes local ingredients like black currants from Kayben Farms, honey from the Chinook Honey Company and liquor from Eau Claire Distillery come together with some of the finest ethically-sourced chocolate in the world to create Old Coal bonbons. With gorgeous colours and wild flavour profiles, it’s a real treat, and only available online or at select markets this holiday season. Custom orders are also available.

7-Teadore: A local, organic tea company run by co-founders Thomas Poitras and Jesse  Nguyen.  Their mandate is to “better the lives of those around us, but also lives around the world.” Teadore is committed to allocating a portion of its revenue to improve water quality in the regions where its tea is sourced through WaterisLife, which creates self-sustaining solutions to water, hygiene and sanitation needs.