With the holiday season around the corner, you may be thinking about gifts you want to give your loved ones. With a growing number of crafty entrepreneurs with disabilities, this holiday season, you can support a small business by choosing products from these disabled-led brands:
Apparel
Two Blind Brothers
Would you buy something that you can’t see? The Shop Blind Challenge promises you’ll get something you’ll love. If you don’t think it’s perfect, you can return it, no questions asked. 100% of the profits are donated to Foundation Fighting Blindness to help find a cure for blindness. https://twoblindbrothers.com/
Billy Footwear
Co-founded by Billy, who became paraplegic after an accident and was motivated to find universal designed solutions for greater independence. Footwear was impossible to find so he started his own company. https://billyfootwear.com/
Slick Chicks
Slick Chicks, a New York based adaptive underwear company, strives to bring more useable and inclusive products to the market, by creating wireless bras with a front zipper and underwear with velcro at the side, making it easier to wear for people with limited mobility. https://slickchicksonline.com/
By Mara
Mara Ladines is a Deaf, Asian, female business owner living in “The Big Apple”. She has a small clothing store in Dumbo, Brooklyn called By Mara which features the “I Love You” symbol in American Sign Language. https://www.bymara.com/
Positive Inception
Ryan Benoit of Sudbury Ontario was born with cerebral palsy and through his clothing brand, hopes to spread a message of positivity. His online store offers apparel for men, women and children and embodies his mindset of overcoming obstacles and embracing our differences in life. Apparel supports the Alzheimer Society and the Northern Cancer Foundation. https://www.thepositiveinceptionstore.com/
Ry’s Ties
Ry is a young man living with down syndrome and believes in dressing to impress. His collection offers dressy, casual, funky and quirky options, depending on individual style and preference. His shop also includes elegant pocket squares that can level up a dressy look even further. https://rythetieguy.com/
Capaz Y Mas
This disabled-led and Latina owned apparel store has a variety of clothing items that come with messages that promote self-love and positivity. From athletics to baby clothes, Capaz Y Mas has something for everyone on your list. https://capaz-y-mas.creator-spring.com/
Accessories
Shop Wrenn
Shop Wrenn offers a large selection of Druzy jewelry, focusing on the Natural Stones and varieties of plated colors, in addition to custom designed pieces. Alissa, founder of Wrenn, was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins follicular b-cell lymphoma on top of having a long time struggle with Crohn’s disease. The life changing diagnoses inspired her to start making custom one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces with special meaning. https://www.shopwrenn.com/
Margrit Co.
This Texas based shop creates handcrafted jewelry from vibrant bracelets with crystals to pendants. The owner, Maggie has a brother who lives with down syndrome, who inspired her to start the company and donate 15% of profits to initiatives that help people with down syndrome achieve their dreams by operating their own businesses. https://margritco.com/
Angie & Ruby
Angie and Ruby are a mother-daughter team on a mission to make the world a more inclusive, accepting and loving place. Their shop has a range of disability and Braille awareness apparel, jewelry, accessories and home goods. Plus, if you purchase from the PawPADs Collection on their website, 100 percent of the proceeds from your purchase will go to Pawsitive Perspectives Assistance Dogs (PawPADs), which provides people with disabilities exceptionally skilled service dogs. https://angieandruby.com
Adaptive
Bowhead
Calgary-born Christian Bagg applied his skills as a mechanical designer to create adaptive equipment for people with disabilities. After sustaining a spinal cord injury that left him a paraplegic, he combined his love for the outdoors and passion for problem solving to create bikes that can help everyone enjoy the outdoors. His shop also sells apparel, including shirts, sweaters and hats and the company is currently at work to build a lightweight manual wheelchair. https://www.bowheadcorp.com/
The Lockwood
As a mother with a disability, the mother of a kid with multiple disabilities and with her background in children’s media, Amy Lockwood founded this. inclusive toy company based in Toronto. At first, Amy dabbled in woodworking as a way to stay creative but eventually found that it gave her control back with her body. She started making toys and hasn’t stopped since. www.thelockwood.ca
Handicup
HandiCup is a wheelchair cup holder attachment that works for people with full or limited hand function, so that they can successfully and independently access a beverage on the go! The cup holding attachment that clips onto manual and power chairs, making it easy to travel with a drink at your side. This product is the creation of Chris, a Canadian activist and entrepreneur who adjusted to using a wheelchair after a slip and fall injury that left him paralyzed.
www.handicup.com
Health & Beauty
Innersense Beauty
Innersence Organic Beauty offers a variety of hair organic products for all hair types, from conditioners to volumizing creams. Makers of the products, Greg and Joanne developed a passion for transparency about beauty products before the birth of their daughter, Morgan who has a disability.
https://innersensebeauty.com
Lupus Health Shop
This health shop has great gift options that are practical, natural remedies for folks living with Lupus. Janeen Quadri is the founder and CEO who lives with lupus herself and launched this business as a way to help others with similar challenges. https://www.lupushealthshop.com/
Ivoree Beauty
Ivoree Beauty was created by beauty expert and influencer Jennifer Rhodes, known as J. Renée. The launch of Ivoree Beauty was sparked by J. Renée’s passion for helping women with Albinism learn makeup and beauty tips. https://www.ivoreebeauty.com/
Home & Art
Cheery Hill
This shop sells an assortment of beautiful butterfly glass art, apparel, totes, pins, stickers, and other gifts designed by a Florida based artist with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy. https://cheeryhill.com/
Happy Dance Designs
Founded by three friends after they realized how much they loved working together, Happy Dance Designs showcases geometric patterns on a variety of products with their mission to celebrate difference. The owners handcraft textile products with original hand-cut patterns, and then individually print / sew them in small, limited runs. https://www.dancehappydesigns.com/
River Bend Gallery
Geoffrey Mikol is a professional artist and a person born with Down Syndrome. His gallery showcases his incredible photography collection, which is available to purchase in various formats perfect for gifting (wall art, calendars, coaster sets, cutting boards, etc). https://www.riverbendgalleries.com
Food & Drink
Popcorn for the People
Gourmet popcorn is a fantastic snack choice for the winter, and Popcorn for the People offers a terrific selection of flavours while supporting people with autism in finding and keeping employment. The popcorn is created, packaged and sold by individuals living with autism and the flavours include traditional butter popcorn, caramel and dark chocolate espresso. https://www.popcornforthepeople.com/
Bitty & Beau’s Coffee
Amy & Ben Wright are the proud parents of four children — Lillie, Emma Grace, Beau and Bitty. Lillie was born with autism, and Bitty & Beau were born with Down syndrome. With over 80% of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities unemployed nationwide, the Wrights believe that Bitty & Beau’s Coffee creates a path for people with disabilities to become more valued, accepted and included in every community. https://www.bittyandbeauscoffee.com/
Sweat Heat Jam Co.
Artisan jam is a great way to level up one’s food game, and Sweet Heat Jam helps do just that. WIth locally sourced fruits and peppers that are gluten free, this company supports people with intellectual disabilities through training opportunities, entrepreneurship and community engagement. Nolan, the creator of these unique jams lives with down syndrome himself and is thrilled to be realizing his dream in the culinary arts. https://www.sweetheatjam.com/
Cup of Té
What’s more comforting than a soothing cup of tea? This loose leaf tea company was founded by a Canadian gymnast Taylor Lindsay-Noel who sustained an injury in 2008 and was unable to represent Canada in the olympics after a severe neck injury that left her paralyzed. She turned to her love of tea and created a brand of ethically sourced teas that come in a mix of different flavours. Best of all, a portion of the proceeds go to mental health awareness causes, something Taylor has always been passionate about.What’s more comforting than a soothing cup of tea? This loose leaf tea company was founded by a Canadian gymnast Taylor Lindsay-Noel who sustained an injury in 2008 and was unable to represent Canada in the olympics after a severe neck injury that left her paralyzed. She turned to her love of tea and created a brand of ethically sourced teas that come in a mix of different flavours. Best of all, a portion of the proceeds go to mental health awareness causes, something Taylor has always been passionate about. https://cupofte.ca/
Matthew’s Bonfire BBQ
Is there anything tastier than a classic barbecue sauce? Matthew’s Bonfire BBQ offers a perfect way to bring friends and family together over delicious meals. Born with down syndrome, the owner of this product believes in spicing up the lives of those around him and with his sauces, he hopes to deliver feelings of love, warmth and comfort that you would feel around a bonfire. https://www.bonfirebbq.com/s/shop
Finley’s
For your canine friends, these all-natural dog treats are a great gift made just from a few ingredients. Half of Finley’s profits go to community initiatives that aim to help people with disabilities land employment and other important causes, like accessibility and housing. https://getfinleys.com/
