Photo by @alexiaduchene for Léon & George

Trends come and go but as we reflect on another year under behind us, one thing seems to always remain a timeless constant— the innate human need (and passion!) for adorning our spaces with lush living greenery. Whether you're a novice or a seasoned enthusiast, the allure of vibrant foliage continues to bring solace and delight to our homes and our everyday lives.

As we look back on 2023, we're thrilled to unveil the standout products and collections that resonated most with our customers from coast to coast. Here’s to another year of greening up your space!

Going Bold

While neutrals never go out of style, we’ve seen a shift towards the bold— think eclectically decorated spaces, ornate details, and bolder colors. Cue in Midnight, the newest addition to our ceramic color palette and the perfect bold match to some of our most popular plants.

SHOP MIDNIGHT

The New “It” Plant

Rustic and airy reigned in 2023 as we saw a new favorite rise to fame: The Black Olive Tree, also known as Shady Lady. This beautifully architectural plant has been nearly impossible to keep in stock as both interior designers and plant novices pine for the look.

DISCOVER THE BLACK OLIVE TREE

Easy Care All The Way

This was a year of travel, and we saw more and more customers opting for drought-tolerant and low maintenance plants that wouldn’t mind their increasingly busy schedules. Notably, the Snake Plant was a favorite thanks to its ability to withstand weeks and even months without water.

SHOP SNAKE PLANTS

Styling Small Spaces

Limited square footage did not get in your way of bringing beautiful statement greenery into your homes. In 2023, we saw more and more tiny space styling, finding creative ways to bring studios and one bedroom apartments to life with vibrant living greenery. Special shoutout to this family of five living in a one bedroom NYC apartment!

plants for small spaces

Gifting Green

This year our customers loved giving Pileas to loved ones near and far! Could it be because even New York Times agrees they make great gifts? Either way, we’re thrilled so many friends are sending out “friendship plants”

SEND A FRIENDSHIP PLANT

Super Neem Oil…To The Rescue!

At Léon & George, we know that the occasional unwanted visitor is a simple reality of owning living greenery. Just like us humans, plants are sometimes prone to getting sick, and we believe this human-like vulnerability is part of what makes caring for them so rewarding. No matter the color of your thumb, odds are you’ll come across pests at some point during your plant parenthood journey.

That’s why we are thrilled to offer our first curative solution for all living greenery, Super Neem Oil. Along with our natural leaf shine, vitamin boost and foliar feed, Super Neem Oil is an essential tool for keeping plants happy, healthy and thriving over time.

Super Neem Oil

Cure common plant ailments with this potent, all-natural fungicide, miticide and insecticide. Infused with lemon eucalyptus for its protection-boosting properties and aroma, Super Neem Oil is suitable for use on leaves, stems and soil. 

$24

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What is neem oil?

A naturally occurring pesticide made from seeds of the neem tree, neem oil is nature’s potent cure for hundreds of pest infestations, including common indoor plant visitors such as gnats, mites and scale.

How does neem oil work?

Neem oil is highly effective as it eradicates insects at all stages of development — adult, larvae and egg. Though neem oil is comprised of many different components, azadirachtin is the active chemical that not only smothers pests but also works as an antifeedant and regulatory hormone disruptor (in other words, it will stop bugs from eating away at your plants, stop them from growing, and stop them from reproducing).

Super Neem Oil works on hundreds of different pests, include scale pictured here on a Bird’s Nest Fern.

What makes our neem oil “super”?

With an especially high concentration of azadirachtin, it’s no surprise that our Super Neem Oil trumps the rest. Tested for its effectiveness and speed in eradicating pest infestations at all stages, Super Neem Oil is a powerful remedy to have on hand for when problems arise. After all, the next best thing to prevention is swift action.

Infused with lemon eucalyptus essential oil for a mood-boosting aroma and an extra layer of protection, Super Neem Oil is not just practical but also enjoyable to use in the home.

How to use neem oil on plants

Neem oil is incredibly simple to use! Simply spray your plant’s soil, leaves and stems once a week during infestations, or once every two to three weeks as a preventative measure. There is no need to rinse or wipe off leaves.

Keep in mind that young plants or new growth may be sensitive to neem oil. It’s best practice to do a spot check first by spraying a small area of the plant and waiting a few hours or up to one day to see how the plant reacts before moving forward.

Is neem oil safe for pets?

Neem oil is a naturally occurring product of the neem tree and is 100% safe for dogs and cats.

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L’ALCHIMIE BOTANIQUE

Discover our signature line of natural plant care essentials to elevate your everyday routine.

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Photo by @careyushome

As we look back at 2022, we couldn’t help but notice: seasons change, trends come and go, but one thing seems to remain constant year after year: our desire to surround ourselves with beautiful houseplants! For both newbies and seasoned pros alike, the presence of living greenery brought comfort and joy to our homes for yet another year, and as we reflect on 2022, we’re excited to share with you some of the stand out products and collections that seemed to speak to our customers most!

Neutrals Reigned

Trends come and go but some things never go out of style. Such is the case with neutrals, and Sand, the newest palette in our family of ceramic planters, was a definitive best-seller.

SHOP SAND

Finally, A New “It” Plant

Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree, move over! 2022’s most popular plant was its lower maintenance cousin, the Ficus Audrey. So popular, in fact, that we added all three sizes for any corner of the home!

PUT AN AUDREY IN YOUR LIFE

Self Improvement, The Green Thumb Way

Over the years, your thumbs have been getting greener. That’s why this year we gave you Super Neem Oil, a natural leaf shine and pesticide expert gardener and plant whispers swear by. Is Neem Oil the next Chili Oil? It may not be edible, but it’s quickly becoming a household staple.

GET NEEM OIL

Flora & Fauna Go Hand In Hand

We applaud you for giving your pets their own indoor jungle—after all, we named the company after our own! It’s no surprise, then, that our Pet-Safe collection was one of our most visited this year.

BROWSE PET-SAFE PLANTS

Photo by @tuxedofreddie

Accessorizing In Style

From decorating your plants with Preserved Forest Moss to investing in living room mantel-worthy watering cans, 2022 was a year of discovering accessories worth splurging on.

level up your accessories

It’s been another whirlwind year! 2021 was a wild ride, and we’ve all navigated a world of change, growth and surprises at every corner. As we look back on this year at its close, one thing couldn’t be clearer: through our brightest successes and our toughest times, living greenery has been our steadfast friend to both new and seasoned plant parents alike. And as we leaned into celebrations, struggles and much-needed downtime, we have all grown even closer to our favorite space: home. 

Take a look at the top five items that flew off of the proverbial shelves in 2021!

Plant Care Was Self Care

Our luxurious, naturally formulated Plant Care Essentials supported customers through every aspect of plant care-- and imbued their homes with the gentle fragrance of pure essential oils.

SHOP PLANT CARE

Ceramic stories: a new look

Customers favored the gently curved silhouette of our newly-launched Nouvelle ceramic collection. Romantic, nostalgic, and simple— they made a perfect match for any interior. 

DISCOVER NOUVELLE

Everybody, And We Mean Everybody, Got Lucky!

The feng shui favorite Braided Money Tree traveled far and wide to provide myriad customers with a dose of good fortune and air-purifying power! 

GROW YOUR OWN LUCK

You Leaned In To Low-Maintenance Stunners

Customers kept it simple with a plant that pairs profuse, gem-tone foliage with an easy-care disposition: the Zanzibar Gem.

GO LOW MAINTENANCE

A trend lives on…

The results are in, and the Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree is still the most coveted indoor plant on the market. We have a feeling this statuesque beauty will continue its ascent in the year to come. Incomparably gorgeous, the Fiddle remains an icon for the ages. 

SHOP FIDDLE LEAF FIGS

Turns out, you really can have it all. And our new Dracaena collection checks every box: a hand-picked flight of vibrantly sculptural statement plants, that just happen to be easy-care with air purifying powers to boot. 

So join us as we let the genie out of the bottle, because each of these Dracaena varieties was hand-picked to adorn your home with lush, low-maintenance style! 

Dracaena Compacta

Dracaena Lisa

Dragon Tree

Easy Care Dracaenas, At Your Service

One of the best traits of Dracaena varieties is that they are truly easy-care, because they are adaptable to varied levels of light and don’t require a study influx of bright rays. 

This makes them the perfect option for spaces that don’t receive much natural light and areas that can otherwise be difficult to adorn with living greenery, like hallways and corners. 

This family of plants also doesn’t require profuse watering. They simply need to be watered when their topsoil (the top two inches of soil below the decorative reindeer moss in your pot) are dry to the touch. It’s that simple! Water when topsoil is dry, and hold off when it is moist. This easy equation will keep your Dracaena healthy and flourishing for years to come. 

The Dracaena Air-Purifying Effect

Air purifying properties in living greenery are truly a gift from nature, and the Dracaena has this quality in spades. Not only do plants convert carbon dioxide (ew) into fresh air (ah!) through the act of photosynthesis, but indoor Dracaenas like the Dracaena Marginata also have the power to remove volatile compounds (even potentially harmful ones linked to cancer) from the air.

Dracaena Compacta

Dragon Tree

Dracaena Lisa

Airborne pollutants are no fun, and if you typically associate them with outdoor spaces and cities, you’re not alone. But benzene and formaldehyde are often found in both occupational and non-occupational indoor spaces-- even at home.

Add to that the fact that indoor plants calm the sympathetic nervous system, have a positive effect on mood and energy levels, and soothe stress, and we think you’ll agree that any space you’re in needs a Dracaena! 

Dracaena Varieties: An Abundance Of Wildly Stylish Foliage

Indoor living greenery is having a heyday-- and we are here for it! But you may feel a bit fatigued if you notice what seem to be the same plant varieties in every stylish space you enter. We’re firm proponents of the idea that all living plants make great adornments and function as fantastic decor. But if unique, frisky foliage is what you’re looking for, the Dracaena is for you. Consider the unique foliage of these Dracaena varieties:

• Dracaena Marginata aka Dragon Tree - Long, slender striped leaves with a striking and energetic appearance

• Dracaena Compacta aka Dracaena Janet Craig - Tightly knit tufts of waxy, emerald green leaves

• Dracaena Lisa aka Dracaena Fragrans - Shiny lush leaves that grow to towering heights

Textural, layered, lush and deeply hued, the Dracaena plays well with any style of interior decor, from energizing a neutral palette and adding intrigue to a minimalist space, to incorporating a deeply natural, spirited jungle aesthetic to detail-oriented spaces. 

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Easy Care Plants, Delivered

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Love your neighbors? So do we. We started in our San Francisco backyard and as our local restaurants find ways to welcome us all back, we're excited to show our support and continue our mission to bring our customers closer to nature each and every day.

That’s why this spring, we’re thrilled to launch a series of promotions in our home state of California to bring nature indoors, get you out, and support our wonderful local restaurants while we do it!

How does it work? Book your delivery on a specified date and get a gift card to dine al fresco in a beautiful outdoor setting this spring.

First up, the beloved Foreign Cinema! Find your perfect plant, select white glove delivery for Wednesday, March 31 and score a $50 gift card to treat yourself to Foreign Cinema’s beautiful courtyard patio.

Keep in mind that delivery slots are limited so hurry to grab your spot. Find more details below, and happy spring!

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Offer applies to local, white glove delivery only with minimum purchase of $300 before tax. Order must be placed between 3/20-3/27 for plant delivery on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Gift cards will be included with your delivery. Limited availability promotion and will be gifted on a first come first serve basis. Cannot be combined with any other offer.

For better or for worse, 2020 will be a year for the books. And while we’re more than ready to move on to 2021, there’s no denying that this year brought us memories that will last a lifetime. From DIY quarantine projects to countless Zoom calls, investing in our homes to find new sources of comfort and discovering unconventional ways to connect with loved ones near and far, this year has been unlike any other.

For us at Léon & George, we were honored to be able to bring you closer to nature, even when stuck at home, and we loved seeing how you cared for one another with countless gifts of love, friendship, loss, and of course, “just because”. After all, who doesn’t love plants? Before we move on to the next year, here’s a look back at some of nature’s beauties that got you through 2020.

Golden Petra

The newest member of the Léon & George family, the colorful Golden Petra was a favorite gift for the people in your lives. With brightly painted leaves that turn deep orange, yellow, and crimson with sun, it’s no wonder why!

Learn more →

Silver Evergreen

One of your most common requests are more plants for low light settings, so we added this voluptuous, low light beauty to our large plant collection. With her unique variegated foliage, she’s been a hit ever since!

Learn more →

Braided Money Tree

If one word could describe the prevailing feeling of 2020, it would be hope. With its symbolism of good luck, the Braided Money Tree was more popular than ever as we wished and hoped for a better future.

Learn more →

Snake Plant

For many of us, creating a sanctuary at home this year has meant improving places where we rest and recharge, like the bedroom. Because it releases oxygen at night, the Snake Plant has unsurprisingly been one of our best-sellers this year.

Learn more →

Kentia Palm

Escapism has also been on our minds, which probably explains why the dramatic Kentia Palm has become a hit for home offices, living rooms, and more. Bringing a touch of vacation vibes anywhere she graces, the Kentia Palm is possibly the next Fiddle Leaf Fig!

Learn more →

Good riddance, 2020! And may 2021 bring brighter days for us all. And if one of your resolutions is to bring more nature into your life, head this way to find some inspiration!

On a sunny corner of San Francisco’s Mission District, you’ll find the Centro Latino de San Francisco, a warm and inviting community center serving the elderly and adults with disabilities since 1986.

And serving is what they do. Originally created as a nutrition project in 1972, the center’s founders, Ernest “Chuck” Ayala and Gloria Bonilla, sought to address the critical needs of the elderly in underserved areas of the city by offering nutritional programs and meals to those in need.

Today, Centro Latino SF not only serves hundreds of meals a day to its community, but also offers a wide breadth of programming including supportive services, socialization programs, health and wellness activities, and citizenship classes.

Wouldn’t plants complement such a vibrant and diverse space dedicated to the well-being of its community? One of our customers thought so, nominating the Centro Latino for Plant A Seed, a program in partnership with LBE Design to offer donations of beautiful yet imperfect plants and ceramics to schools, hospitals, and shelters across our communities.

The Center welcomed us with open arms. A south-facing industrial building, it was the perfect new home for a handful of plants in need, including several cacti to decorate their sun-drenched rooftop overlooking the block. With their guidance, we peppered common areas and classrooms with leafy greenery, knowing that they would thrive.

During our visit, people came and went: meal pick up, a yoga class, various meetings. Now more than ever, perhaps, places like the Centro Latino SF are essential to the people they serve.

"Our space has so many uses. Apart from our meal service, we host classes, meetings, and other gatherings every day. It’s important to us that the Centro feels like home to the people who come here,” says Omar, a staff member at the center.

Plants help us feel grounded, and remind us our innate connection to nature, if even on a subliminal level. They beautify any space, and bring us joy with their new growth. And while the Centro Latino already feels so alive, the staff agreed that it was brought “even a bit more to life” with their new leafy (and prickly!) family members.

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Know of an organization* with a dreary space that could use some beautiful greenery? Tell us about their mission and how we can help liven up their space!

*Must be in the San Francisco or Los Angeles areas.

A monthly round-up of what we’re reading in the world of plant styling, interior design, and more.

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January may be the official start of the new year, but for many of us, there’s no time like September to feel change in the air. With temperatures cooling down, kids going back to school, and summer vacations a thing of the past, we begin to settle into routine at home (and in a way, we’ve been practicing for it all year). This month, find some helpful and hopefully inspirational material on finding that groove and getting back to work.

Simple tips to add biophilic elements to your home

Humans are instinctually drawn to the natural world, and design that incorporates elements from nature can have a positive effect on our well-being. This is the theory behind biophilic design, a term that is becoming more and more mainstream every day. “But what do you do if the view from your bedroom, living room or home office window is a brick wall, rather than trees, and you’re not able to move or remodel?” This is the question posed in a wonderful Forbes article outlining tips on how to incorporate biophilic design (in small ways) into your home.

The Declutter Cure

Fall refresh, anyone? If you’re using your space for both home and work, you may feel the need more than ever. If that’s the case, roll up your sleeves and tackle step one: declutter. Apartment Therapy is running what they’re calling the Decluttering Cure, a 20-day guided “course” of sorts on how to make your home the calming, tidy sanctuary you’ve always dreamt of.

The Value of Investing in Educational Design

Whether you work in education, are a parent to kids of your own, or simply have an interest in design, there might be something for you in this timely piece highlighting three educational projects that break traditional norms. Though not everyone is headed back to a physical school this fall, some ideas may be easily extracted for distance learning (and working from home!), including bridging the learning experience between indoors and out.

An elegantly curated Work From Home edit

Is decorating ever really complete? Improving your indoors is a bit of a constant in life, so if you’re looking to elevate some elements of your work from home space, our friends at Snowe have curated a small collection of handpicked essentials that “prize productivity while providing more style than the supply closet.” Check out the edit here.

What’s inspiring you this month? Let us know in the comments!

Photo by Hiroyuki Oki for Frame.

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A monthly round-up of what we’re reading in the world of plant styling, interior design, and more.

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“Trees fall with spectacular crashes. But planting is silent and growth is invisible.”

-Richard Powers, The Overstory⁠

In the face of growth, progress, and change, we often look to nature for guidance. The way a plant or tree grows may seem effortless and natural, but we must remind ourselves that, below the surface, growth is a product of intention, patience, and often, great struggle.

This month we’ve created a summer reading list that highlights some of our team’s favorite books on nature and new growth, and the valuable wisdom and beauty we may gather from our silent but rooted companions along the way.

1. The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

   A fascinating journey through trees’ complex communities and support systems.

   “A tree can be only as strong as the forest that surrounds it.” As much can be said about human society, too. In his fascinating exploration of the social nature of trees, german forester Peter Wohlleben extracts crucial similarities we have with nature’s oldest life form, bringing to light how we humans thrive only when we create societies and communities that serve to support and protect one another.

   Get the book →

2. The Home Place by J. Drew Lanham

   A deeply moving memoir that explores our desire for nature and belonging.

   J. Drew Lanham, an ornithologist at Clemson University, knows a thing or two about working as a Black man in a predominantly white field. In his beautiful and relevant memoir that recounts growing up (and falling in love with) the verdant lushness of the deep south, he uniquely touches on so many issues that remain a reality of being black in today’s America.

   Get the book →

3. The Overstory by Richard Powers

   A critically acclaimed novel and Pulitzer Prize winner about gargantuan trees.

   An epic tale following the diverse lives of nine different characters and their unique experiences with trees, this 2018 novel rooted in environmentalism ultimately reminds us of the power of the interconnected roots of our age-old ancestors, and each other.

   Get the book →

4. Wild Interiors by Hilton Carter

   A gorgeous book on plant styling and letting nature inspire your indoors.

   With a unique eye and an unmistakable look, there’s a lot to love about Hilton Carter’s world of plant styling and beyond. In his latest book, Hilton shares his personal journey with indoor plants, including tips on how to select plants for each space, followed by a tour of inspiring homes that display the versatility and beauty of decorating with plants.

   Get the book →

5. The Revolutionary Genius of Plants by Stefano Mancuso

   A study on the genius that lies within the plants that surround us.

   Are plants better problem solvers than people? This is the central question world-renowned scientist Stefano Mancuso asks in his book about the complex nature of plants and their ability to perceive their surroundings with an even greater sensitivity than animals.

   Get the book →

What are you reading this summer, and where do you plan on finding new growth?

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A monthly round-up of what we’re reading in the world of plant styling, interior design, and more.

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The world may sometimes feel like it’s at a standstill, yet nature continues on her course: spring is in full force, summer is knocking on the backdoor, and we continue to find inspiration in so many places, even from home! Check out what we’re reading this month:

1. A new plant trend in town?

   According to the design junkies at Clever, there’s a new plant trend in town, and it doesn’t start with the word “fiddle”. So what is it, you ask? Bringing an outdoors feeling in with trailing plants. There’s a handful of suggestions, and it’s no wonder the easy and lush Cascading Pothos is at the top of the list!

2. Foraging for branches

   Erin Hiemstra of Apartment34 knows how to create beautiful spaces, and we’ve been loving her tips and tricks for creating harmony at home these days. We already feel strongly about using our existing plants to create more corners of beauty with leaves and cuttings, but we also love the ingenious idea (complete with plenty of inspo!) to collect branches as decor pieces for the home.

3. Cocktail hour is back

   There are a select few silver linings of the current situation our world faces, and one of them has been the inevitable slow down our fast-paced lives. With it comes the return of the cocktail hour, delightfully detailed in this NYT piece last month. So go ahead, stir up a cocktail and enjoy (and find a few recipes here!).

4. The tonic of gardening during quarantine

   “What all gardeners know, and the rest of you may discover, is that if you have even the smallest space, a pot on a window ledge, a front step, a wee yard, there is no balm to the soul greater than planting seeds.” Similar to the way we marvel as a new leaf unfurls on one of our plants, this writer reminds us that there is so much joy and gratification in watching things grow.

5. Calming paint colors for the DIYers

   Calming paint colors — enough said! Even if you don’t have plans for a paint job any time soon, these colors are fun and soothing to look at, and who knows, one thing might lead to another and you’ll find yourself in a fun new project.

What’s inspiring you this month? Let us know in the comments!

Photo by Constanze Ladner

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Indoor plants, potted & delivered

Premium plants paired with stylish ceramics, plus lifetime plant care support. Order online at leonandgeorge.com

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A monthly round-up of what we’re reading in the world of plant styling, interior design, and more.

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They say that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. This spring we’ve seen so many businesses both big and small step up to the plate amidst the current global health crisis, finding ways to be creative, stay afloat, and give back to their communities. From pivoting production at their factories to donating much needed supplies, to simply doing their best to maintain the livelihoods of their employees, we’re proud and in awe of how resourceful we humans can be.

As a team, we’re connecting every day to share tidbits of good news, and resources to support each other and our communities. Here are a few that we thought our sophisticated plant community would also enjoy:

1. Haus - The Restaurant Project

   For the foodies out there, here is an immediate way to make an impact on America’s struggling restaurant industry. Haus is a chic alcohol brand that is working with restaurants across the country to co-create apéritifs that reflect their unique culinary approach. 100% of the profits go directly back to the restaurant to help them cover costs, support their employees, and ultimately stay in business.

2. Allbirds - A Pair for you, A Pair for Healthcare Workers

   The trendy wool sneaker brand has already made significant donations to support healthcare workers, but now they’ve created an option for their customers to give back, too. Shoppers can bundle their purchase with a pair for donation, or donate a pair with just one click.

3. Headspace - Tools for weathering the Storm

   Ask anyone who’s ever tried it, and they will swear by the powers of Headspace. The leading app for mindfulness and meditation is offering a wealth of free resources for all publics, including free access to Headspace Plus for healthcare workers.

4. Hedley & Bennett - Wake Up & Fight

   Many retailers are repurposing factories to make hospital gear. Hedley & Bennett (known for their colorful, chef-grade aprons) have meticulously designed stylish yet practical face masks, teaming up with a pediatric orthopedic surgeon to ensure their effectiveness. They’re calling them the “Wake Up & Fight” mask, and for each one purchased, the brand will provide one to a hospital, nursing home, or other organization in need. 

5. Everlane - Support Your Local Food bank

   This clothing brand is donating 100% of the profits from its 100% Human collection to Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fund, which is using its network of 200 food banks across the country to provide support to communities impacted by the pandemic. The unisex t-shirts and sweaters make great, admittedly memorable, gifts.

We know this is a far from exhaustive list. Let us know in the comments your favorite companies and brands making a difference during this time!

Photo credit: @brandaohh via Unsplash

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