Sustainable gifting

We all have those people in our lives who just have everything, and buying for them at Christmas or on Birthdays can feel like a challenge – do they really need another bottle of perfume, box of chocolates or pair of socks? Or perhaps you’re looking for that token gift for your children’s teacher to say thank you? 

Buying something for the sake of it has always felt wasteful and doesn’t sit right with us, so we’re exploring some ways that you can give the gift of sustainability and help your loved ones to make small changes too! 

The easiest way to stay sustainable is to avoid plastic, this includes the packaging and the item itself. There is always an alternative, you might just need to look a bit harder and shop around.

Top ways to be more sustainable when gifting….

• Why not buy a gift that helps the planet too – we love these bee bombs – a fantastic gift for the gardener or wildlife lover in your life, stocking filler for your outdoor loving children or a great end of year present for the kids teacher!
• What better way to say happy birthday or I love you than with a gift experience, forget hot air balloons or fast car driving experiences – give the gift of sustainability with a bee keeping day, foraging experience or an eco-friendly day out – Virgin have some great ideas! 
• Each year, why not buy one sustainable gift for each of your loved ones to try out? Whether this is some reusable cleansing pads, a bamboo coffee cup or some beeswax wraps! 
• When it comes to your big day, why not take a look at sustainable options for wedding favours? Gifting seed bombs, beeswax wraps or wooden gifts can add a unique touch to your big day! 
• Or simply give the gift of charity – buy or plant a tree or adopting an animal can be a great gift for someone who has everything!
• Wooden toys instead of plastic for children is a great place to start, less likely to crack and leave sharp shards, they can often last generations and be passed between families.
• f you are buying edible gifts look out for glass packaging, it’s more sustainable and easier to reuse plus it adds an element of elegance to even a jar of our worst homemade brownies.

Gift wrapping & cards

Birthdays, Christmas, Christenings, Easter, Bar Mitzvahs, Births, New homes the list goes on and on. Whilst we love celebrating these key moments in our loved ones lives the endless rolls of sellotape, wrapping paper, cards and ribbons really aren’t doing the environment any favours.

Not only are there ways to improve our sustainability credentials for these big life moments but they can really be financially beneficial without compromising on quality.

• Back to basics with wrapping

You can start by thinking like Julie Andrews and keep it simple with packages tied up with paper and string. Brown parcel paper and twine are elegant, simple and effective not to mention cheap, a roll of brown paper from the local post office comes in at £1 for 5m and a 20m roll of brown twine from the local hardware shop is only £2. If you think you’ll miss thejazziness that comes with patterned paper you can personalise it with a sketch or simple pattern, this won’t stop it being able to go straight in the recycling bin in nearly every household in the UK. The string or twine can be added to the twine jar (every house should have a twine jar) ready to be reused in the garden, on another gift or as part of a craft project.  

• Avoid glitter

Everyone loves a bit of sparkle but almost all glitter can’t be recycled and is incredibly bad for the environment, being classed as a micro plastic. Keep this in mind if you are shopping on the high street and look out for glitter products that hold eco credentials. 

• Sticky tape

If you’re not quite ready to go full brown paper and twine, then why not consider replacing your traditional sticky tape with eco friendly sticky tape? Instead of the plastic coating it’s made from paper and in our opinion just as strong and sticky. A brilliant change to ensure your parcel is wrapped with sustainability in mind. It is comparable in price and seems to be a switch everyone can make, just think you’ll never have to peel plastic sticky tape off wrapping paper before it goes in the recycling again. 

• Greeting cards 

If the occasion calls for a card many of us head to one of the big high street card shops, an independent gift shop or online. Many cards still come wrapped individually in plastic, avoiding buying these individually wrapped cards is an easy change we can all make. Most retailers are moving rapidly away from this style and going back to the card and envelope set which is brilliant, when shopping keep this in mind and choose plastic free and ideally made from 100% recycled paper. Steer away from glitter and overly glossy or metallic designs, these usually can’t be recycled.