Gift Ideas for a Sustainable Christmas
I have been sharing The Clean Collective’s 12 Days of Conscious Christmas tips on my Instagram and a lot of you have been sharing the posts which I love! It made me want to write this post about sustainable Christmas gifting and include gifts I’m thinking of giving this year.
Tips for smarter gift giving:
Ask for their wishlist. As a sustainable option, ask your loved ones for a list of what they'd like. That way you can still surprise them with what you give and there's no way you can go wrong.
Expensive is not always better. Often a beautiful handmade gift or home baked cookies is more meaningful than spending money.
Give an experience. Buy them dinner at their favourite restaurant, a pack of Yoga or pilates classes or tickets to a musical. Often experiences are more rewarding than ‘stuff’ as they make memories.
Buy them a voucher from their favourite shop. You could give this along with homemade granola and a beautifully written card.
Shopping local is best. I look for an Australian owned option first and if the quality is good, I will buy it over something made overseas. One store I love is Muku in Ripponlea. They have a beautiful selection of eco friendly and handmade homewares and baby products. Visit them, their online store is only a mini selection of what they have.
Buy practical things - think of what you use, chances are your friends and family would find use for those items as well!
Gift Ideas
ING are running a “Give Me Something Good” Dreamstarter campaign promoting sustainable gift giving this Christmas. Watch the ad below.
While I normally wouldn’t promote a bank (no this is not sponsored) I love this campaign and what they’re championing. Along with the fantastic message, the gifts they feature are also great! Among them include Will & Bear hats. They're an Australian company who not only make quality hats, they also plant ten trees for every hat sold.
Here are some other gift ideas:
An eco gift set. Think a dishwashing brush (I love the Redeker brushes), bread or fruit/veggie swag bags, food huggers, metal or glass straw (check out Studio Dokola they are works of art!) and a Japanese dishcloth. These may seem strange to give as a gift, but apart from being beautiful quality products, they are incredibly practical. Wrap them up in a nice (recycled) box and it makes a lovely gift. Have a look at websites such as The Clean Collective, Saison, Seed and Sprout and Biome for more great ideas.
For the animal lover, a gorgeous cat or dog collar and matching lead from Tommy & Bella is the perfect gift.
Buy a book from your local bookshop.
Kollab lunch box, cooler bag or clutch (I have a clutch on my wish list to use as a nappy wet bag).
Kappi Reusable Razor - another item on my wish list.
The Laundress Sweater Comb is something I often use to keep my cashmere and sweaters looking as new. It would make a beautiful gift. I wrote about taking care of your knits and cashmere here if you want to take a look.
Illustrator Kelly Thompson’s curated online store Makers Mrkt has brilliant things. I love the Baggu Three Pack and the Hold and Release Incense Holder from Kura Studio.
A 2020 diary from An Organised Life is on my wishlist. Buy one for your super organised (or unorganised) friend;)
Donate to charity for a feel good gift.
Make something. As I mentioned above, it’s often so much more thoughtful than spending a heap of money.
For the cocktail lover, buy a spirit or champagne they can enjoy over the holidays. I always have gin on my Christmas and birthday wishlist…you can never have enough gin in my opinion.
I love the tongue and cheek of the Cool Hunter market bags
Let me know your gift ideas and I’ll add them to the post!
Lei xx