Eco gifts

[clpsmum]

My 10yr old son wants to make up Christmas eco gifts bags this year but I'm a bit stuck as what to put in them so looking for any suggestions.

So far we have a reusable cup, a solid shampoo bar and a bamboo toothbrush. All suggestions welcomed!!

Reusable beeswax food wraps?

Homemade seed bomb or packet seeds. You can also make seed pots out of newspaper which look lovely.

Who are the gifts for?

Remember people should be reducing, reusing then recycling. So you should be only putting things people actually will want.

Great idea I will google the seedbombs now. The gifts are for two teachers, a babysitter and aunt and uncle

Ethical brand chocolate bars in fully recyclable wrapping.

Check out the Traidcraft catalogue - they are first and foremost a fair trade company but have expanded their eco/natural product lines

www.naturalcollection.com/shop/traidcraft/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsI38veD-8gIVAeh3Ch1aKw2KEAAYAiAAEgLwofD_BwE

Sorry - thus is the main Traidcraft site (the other has only some of their lines)

www.traidcraftshop.co.uk

Tony's (or equivalent) chocolates/beer, reusable cup, eco soap or laundry powder, fairtrade coffee

Thanks everyone some great ideas

Does anyone have any fair trade coffee recommendations?

Have a look at Babipur they have loads of stuff - eco friendly and fair trade.
Ideas: organic cotton socks, coconut scourers (these are amazing!), seedboms, Tonys Chocolonely

Code BUDDY for 10% off

Also look at local producers and markets. Not much point choosing a bar soap that travels hundreds or thousands of miles to get to you.

I'd lose the reusable cup. Everyone has one already, especially teachers!

Honestly, it's a nice idea, but unless it's things that someone will actually want, then it isn't actually very ecological. Everyone does already have reusable cups. And I'm not sure about a toothbrush and shampoo bar as presents. I use an electric toothbrush, so a bamboo one would be useless for me, and I've tried shampoo bar and didn't really get on with it, think it's quite a personal choice?

@NigelSlatersXmasTaters

I'd lose the reusable cup. Everyone has one already, especially teachers!

I would probably agree with this TBH. Most people have a bamboo toothbrush these days too but at least they need to be replaced regularly so they'll be used eventually.

We were given bamboo toothbrushes that sit unused too as have electric . Almost all presents feels quite redundant to me though as I need to declutter , so I prefer edible gifts as feel bad at any more waste. It’s so tricky to think of things I find !

@clpsmum

Thanks everyone some great ideas

Does anyone have any fair trade coffee recommendations?

Lots of coffees and teas here, and I got my coffee from them for years

www.traidcraftshop.co.uk/drink

I recommend the rich roast, and the Eat Your Hat looks nice as a gift

Organic cotton socks are not eco friendly.

Thanks for tour replies and ideas everyone. He's only ten and suddenly became very aware so trying to encourage him and he's enjoying researching everything.

So nice to hear young people thinking consciously @clpsmum As a teacher I’d say we have so many reuseable coffee cups but never enough coffee!! A big jar of Fairtrade coffee or a lovely voucher for an independent local coffee shop would be very well received 😊

Organic cotton socks are not eco friendly.

How so HasaDigaEebowai I agree that it’s not ideal due to personal preference, size etc, but otherwise?

@SarBear1980 phew I've just ordered a few jars so glad that will be appreciated!

Shampoo bar might not be to everyone's liking, but you could get bar soap?

Cotton is in general a poor eco choice in terms of climate change plus It takes massive amounts of water. It has a high carbon footprint.

Bamboo is a far better choice for the environment. Very fast growing and sustainable plus the processes of turning it into a fabric are less damaging for the environment

How about a solar phone charger? He could make sock dish scrubbers (google its a fun activity for kids), zero plastic toothpaste tabs, reusable make up remover pads..

@HasaDigaEebowai I'm heading to google now it sounds fab