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"The only thing better than saving a bunch of cash on fashion-forward accessories? Giving back to charity while you shop. Check out the super cute goods (and impressively philanthropic philosophy) behind one of our favorite cheap and chic sites, shopdistinction.com, after the jump. In 2005, Berta Lippert was a single woman living in California when she heard about a seven-year-old boy in dire need of an adoptive family. She knew she wanted to make him part of her own family, but she also knew the related adoption expenses would be intimidating, so she started selling off her stuff to help defray the costs--handbags, jewelry, her prized piano--and soon enough, the adoption was finalized and she had caught the sales bug. As a single mom, she was no longer able to travel, which her former job required, &amp;quot;So I turned to selling to try to make a living and opened Distinction,&amp;quot; Berta says. &amp;quot;But I didn&amp;#x27;t want to just sell. I wanted to sell with a purpose. The concept of my boutique was truly unique in that I wanted to marry fashion with philanthropy. I decided to donate a percentage of everything I sold to important causes.&amp;quot; Three years later, Berta is fighting the fight against breast cancer and lung disease, both of which have hit close to home for her. So: You get a great new handbag, Berta gets her vision of philanthropy realized, and some people in real need of your charity dollars get the help they deserve. Recessionistas everywhere must admit, it&amp;#x27;s the kind of shopping you really can&amp;#x27;t feel guilty about. Check out a few of our favorite items from shopdistinction.com now: Urban Expressions &amp;quot;Pamela&amp;quot; tote, $49.99 Turquoise necklace and earring set, $29.99 Tarina Tarantino rose crystal ponytail flower, $31.99 Giraffe print hobo with yellow trim, $44.99 Rhinestone bracelet set, $9.99 What do you guys think of Berta&amp;#x27;s shopping-meets-philanthropy concept? Which pieces from her e-boutique are your favorites? Head over to shopdistinction.com now to find out more! Add glamour.com to your Google homepage Follow Slaves to Fashion on Twitter! Images: courtesy of shopdistinction.com"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/fashion/blogs/dressed/2009/05/cheap-chic-thrills-shopdistinc>