I written on how generic shopping can save grocery costs and it would seem that popular opinion is seeing the benefit of generic/private label groceries over the name brand options. And in one court case they ruled again on the side of a private label company.

Recently in Brandweek.com a private label company took to court a brand name company  "claiming that Mead Johnson had engaged in false and misleading campaigns against its store brand products, which are sold at Walmart, Target and Krogers, among others."

Basically they stated that the generic brand of baby  was inferior and had "inferior ingredients that could result in poor eye and brain development for babies".

However, the private label company said, "We have the same exact source of the lipids, with the same exact levels from the same exact supplier,” said Joe Shields, director of public relations for PBM Products. “Really, what it means is that store brand formulas are nutritionally equivalent to national brand formulas like Enfamil.”

It is unfortunate that generic/private label company don't always disclose that their food comes from the same plant as Coca-Cola or Lays as I think that would work in their favor. But perhaps it wouldn't be needed as brand name companies are seeing their revenue shrink a bit as people are seeing the value at the checkout and that there is little to no difference in taste when buying the store brand.

This generic food is not your mother's black and white cans with block letters - These generic brands are a force to be reckoned with as people see that they don't have to pay the extra $1 for frozen peas because the store's private label tastes just as good and they don't need a coupon either.

Recently Brandweek.com reported that sales for the "unbranded" groceries have increased in sales by as much as 22% for Baby food and 15% for canned seafood. On a side note since canned tuna is downsizing it cans for the same price, why not go store brand anyway.


Certainly taste will play a factor in deciding but just as some people prefer Pepsi over Coke, Store brand items will always have a good foot in the door of every home as people toss out their loyalty to a brand in order to save money and find that they don't have to sacrifice their taste buds in doing so.

Thanks for being a part of this week's charity posts. The holidays are certainly a busy time and it can be hard to find time to volunteer for a group, so here and now make a promise to yourself that your New Year's Resolution will be to contact a charity in 2010 and set time aside for helping out in person, myself included.

As of today there are 3 weeks left until gift giving and you want to finish this year out on a good hand full of donations and would love to give a donation as a gift to someone. There are a few ways to do that.

Give a Charity Gift Card - Both GlobalGiving and Charity Navigator have ways you can give a gift of money but still help out a charity.
To quote Charity Navigator, "You Choose the Amount ... They Choose the Cause"
To quote GlobalGiving, "The recipient gets to choose how the donation is allocated, and then see how their money has been put to work."


Shopping for a Good Cause - If gift cards aren't personal enough for you, you can buy at many charity organizations and the money helps to support the cause.
St. Jude Children's Hospital Store - The ads have been on tv lately and still are, and you don't have to donate money but can shop at their store to get something more personal
UNICEF shop - Purchases at this store benefit children around the world
Philosophy.com - Purchase skin care, fragrance, bath& body and makeup and still help charities.

Fuzzy-Good Holiday Cards - If you are all done for gift shopping and just need to sent holiday cards that are for a good cause you can try Treegreetings. They plant a tree in the USA or Central America and the recipient receives your e-card and a tree planting certificate. If you prefer animals to trees then you can go to Reproduct.net and "The card is sent to the recipient in a two-way envelope (think “Netflix”). Once the recipient is done with the card, they simply place it in the postage paid return portion of the envelope and it is sent to Shaw Industries where 100% of the card is re-used in the manufacturing of new carpet tiles." Here is a demo

One thing to keep in mind no matter how or where you donate to make sure you aren't being scammed and you can also check out the charity with the following sites. You may want to check a couple to get a more rounded idea of them. Plus you may find other charities that you weren't aware of.
Charity Navigator - love the comments section
US BBB for charities
Charity Watch
Just Give

Charity giving that involves money and stuff is the most common it would seem. However, giving of time can be one of the most confidence boosting ways to know that what is being given is put to good use.

I previously talked about giving of time that involved mouse clicks. Now lets look over some ways we can give of time that would get us up from the chair and out into the public.

Religious Charity - These seem to be the easiest ones to participate in if one already belongs to a religious organization. Some groups will have food shelters or soup kitchens and others will package care bags for the military, AIDS victims and poor families. Some religious groups don't require that you be a member of their organization to participate but call ahead if you have a church in the area that you want to work with.

Public Charity - These are groups that you can give of time depending on your interest. There are groups for Human Rights and Civil Liberties, Animal Rights, Land Conservation and the Environment, Emergency Relief, Refugees, Medical Aid, Fighting Poverty, Education Support, Fighting Hunger, Children, Women & Senior Citizens, Promoting Self Sufficiency, Supporting Military and Veterans and Watchdog Groups. I found a great list of charities with website links over at lovetoknow.com

Once I have found that area of interest that tugs at my heart I need to call them up, see what they need for volunteers and when. Then I just commit to them by coming in and helping or going for orientation and signing up for a regular schedule to work with them. As with any payable job, I need to treat the charity group the same by calling ahead if I am unable to fulfill my volunteer position since they are counting on me to be there.

Volunteering doesn't have to be a regular monthly or weekly event, there are ways to give if time is not flexible for volunteering. And some ways to donate your time once may be to offer something of your talent to bake, speak a foreign language, sew, interpret as a signer for the deaf or to give of yourself by running or providing your blood or your hair.

For donating blood - contact GiveLife to find the nearest blood drive and set up an appointment
For donating hair - contact locks of love to read through their criteria for donating hair

Recently I signed up for and got myself a bone marrow kit to get myself tested and find out if I am a match to anyone out there. Some people are notified right away and others aren't notified for years, if ever. There is more you can do to donate, one way is to to specify on your driver's license that you want to be an organ donor - you would designate this when you get your license or renew it. You can also download a donor card and keep it with you in your wallet if you aren't renewing anytime soon. My maternal Grandfather donated his body to science and I have to say it was one of the things I am proud of him for doing.

If you want to be a living organ donor you can donate a kidney, part of a liver or lung or how about part of pancreas, an egg donation or sperm donation. Did you know that over 10 people die each day waiting for a kidney? Wow!

Overall it appears from birth to death we will always have ways to give of ourselves and our time that will greatly impact those who receive.