Eco & ethical gift ideas

[Balthazaria]

Does anyone have any suggestions besides 'a goat for a village' type gift? Thanks!

Divine chocolate tasting set www.divinechocolate.com/product/divine-tasting-set
Good Candles good-candles.com/collections/2020-collection
The Ethical Gift Box www.ethicalgiftbox.com
Beauty Kubes beautykubes.co.uk

Thanks so much RiceKrispies22

Buy local.

We've got a lovely local florist, which does amazing houseplants

A dozen mince pies from a local baker

Reusable face wipes, ideally from a local company and without plastic packaging

Locally made chocolates or cheese etc

Locally brewed beer

Lovely shampoo and soap bars eg little blue hen are my favourite
Bees wax wraps
Keep cup eg rcup are really good
Face cloths

Jollies socks jolliesocks.com - donate one pair of socks for each pair sold. All cotton is organic and sustainable.
Gorilla Spirits gorillaspirits.co.uk - small fly business which donates £1 from every bottle toThe Gorilla Organization.
Cloudberries jigsaws www.cloudberries.co.uk - plant one tree for every puzzle sold and the shipping is carbon free. All puzzles are made with recycled paper and board.
Eco-friendly board games sproutandgherkin.com

I can really recommend Pachamama - they sell sofa socks, wrist warmers, hats etc made in Nepal. Fair Trade and sustainable. Patterns are gorgeous too. I live in their sofa socks at home and wrist warmers at work! I bought loads last year as presents for everyone

I ordered some Beauty Kubes samples - they are very dinky , I think each one is about the size of a sugarcube .
There's a Hotel Sampler ( shower gel/shampoo/conditioner ) in a box about the size of a lipstick , so very portable

The most important thing (IMO) is to get something that the recipient genuinely needs, or really wants, so that they will get years of use out of it. Everything takes energy and resources to produce, and buying something local/organic/sustainable is still wasteful if the item is barely used or left uneaten.

Turtle doves recycled cashmere gloves.
Weleda skin food
Bamboo containers

I think a voucher for a local restaurant is always a good one. You are supporting a small business and No tat for landfill.

See if your family can all agree to buy less and buy what each other need.
It sounds obvious but I always find it frustrating when I ask for one item for Christmas of a particular value that I need(e.g. £35) and then a relative doesn't get that, gets something not quite right for £20 & then lots of stocking filler bits. By the time they've done that, they've spent closer to £50, and I'd have been perfectly happy with one item that cost less overall and was what I actually needed.

Also, think about what will get used by the recipient. If they've already got lunch containers/a reusable cup then bamboo lunch containers/a reusable cup aren't more eco. If they aren't someone who enjoys a skin care routine and doesn't wear make-up, fabric make up remover pads might look and sound eco, but it isn't because it's stuff that's being bought without the recipient properly in mind.

TLDR: buy less and buy what people need.

I bought this for my MIL and she LOVES it. Its a painting by a lady with downs syndrome.
art-rabble.org/collections/tazia-fawley/products/sunset-flowers-framed-canvas
They have loads of other stuff and have artists with parkinsons, autism etc so it feels like I'm doing good. I think it's even a social enterprise.

The social enterprise Christmas gift guide.