Design giving notebooks tackling global poverty

Christmas is coming up and we are all looking for more sustainable options. With social enterprises on the raise, Write the World notebooks are a meaningful alternative that will get you contributing to tackling global
poverty.

This year, more than ever, it seems many in the developed world want a Christmas with less. Less waste. Less packaging. Less plastic tat. Less unwanted presents going to landfill. And when I write that I’m thinking specifically of the ceramic cookie jar shaped like a cow my sister gave my husband – heaven knows what was going through her mind that year. 

At the end of a year that has seen large numbers across the globe rise up to demand action on climate change, to demand alternatives to fossil fuels, to demand an end to single-use plastics, it seems it is an opportunity to reflect our values in our gift-giving.

Write the World notebooks is a fabulous product that provides a meaningful alternative for Christmas giving. It’s my family’s love project and we’re in it for the next 20 years. The overall aim is to sell 100,000 notebooks by 2040 and raise $1 million for effective charities in the process. Because I like a long-term goal. 

The notebooks are unique and designed to make the world a better place. The unique bit – each notebook costs $10, and with 100% of this donated to effective charities via The Life You Can Save, the organisation founded by ethicist Peter Singer.  

Effective charities to ensure the positive impact

So, what are effective charities? The Life You Can Save has a list of recommended charities it has assessed for effectiveness – think of criteria like how fruitful their projects are at making a difference and how many people they impact.

For example, if you purchase one notebook that contributes to Evidence Action, this organisation will provide safe drinking water to five community members for a whole year. Safe drinking water means fewer people are sick, more kids are in school, more people are employed. 

If the proceeds of your notebook go to the Against Malaria Foundation, your impact will help to protect six people living in malaria-stricken areas from infected mosquitoes for three to four years. Or the SCI Foundation, the contribution of one notebook can deworm 16 children, preventing debilitating conditions including bladder cancer, kidney malfunction, spleen damage and anaemia. 

Environmentally-friendly design notebooks

Beyond our focus on giving to charities that tackle global poverty, it was important to us when creating Write the World notebooks that we didn’t add to the world’s environmental problems. All Write the World notebooks are printed on FSC certified paper, manufacture carbon-neutral, acid-free or Elemental Chlorine Free. These eco-standards ensure that once you finish your notebook, it can go in the recycling. 

All Write the World notebooks come with their charity and environment credentials printed on the inside covers. So if you’re giving them as a gift, the lucky one will be aware of the impact they are making by “Writing the World”. This could be a great gift for a teacher, your best friend or someone in your family, with 12 designs to choose from you’re sure to find one to suit

Since coming up with the project we’ve had some great support from talented designers, artists, photographers who ‘get’ the project and what we’re trying to achieve. Such as Australian Artist Anna Blatman who jumped on board when we told her about the project offering the use of one of her stunning paintings for our first artist collaboration notebook cover. The result is ‘Pia’ – an explosion of floral colour on the outside, with a hot pink burst on the inside. Write the World notebooks are based in Melbourne, Australia and ships to 242 countries globally. 

Chances are you have a billion other things to organise before Christmas, but at least we can tick guilt-free gift giving from your ‘to do’ list.