Usually, the best way to give sustainably is to not buy anything new — but this
year, there are a lot of people and businesses that could use our support.
Freshen up!
After the year we’ve had, we all deserve a little pampering (and so do the
makers of these ethically and sustainably made products!). So, if you’re
starting to think about getting back out there [Ed note: Pretend it’s a month
from now and the US isn’t blowing up with COVID as we speak], after all of
these months away from the salon, here are a few items to help get your personal
grooming game back on track:
- Luxie Beauty’s cruelty-free, hypoallergenic
synthetic makeup brushes
- Michelle Pfeiffer’s Cradle to Cradle
Certified
fragrance brand, Henry Rose, has added sustainably
scented body creams, home fragrances (candles and diffusers), and hand
sanitizer
- Packaging-free personal care products from
Lush; or from Grove
Collaborative’s new personal care brand,
Peach
- As tough as things have been this year, they could always be tougher — every purchase of one of The Right to Shower's organic bar soaps or body washes helps build mobile showers for those living on the streets.
When you’re ready to ditch the pajamas (or at least put on clean clothes) …
Image credit: Houdini Sportswear
Go beyond digging out a clean top for your next Zoom meeting — here are some
better-made items to help you feel more presentable, above and below:
Above:
Below:
Kent‘s 100 percent pima cotton
undies are also 100 percent organic, non-toxic, plastic-free and biodegradable. And Buxxomly’s Liftwear™ Lingerie is made from super-soft, recycled Italian Q-Nova fabric in a renewable energy-powered process that aims to reduce CO~2~ emissions and water consumption.
For the home/work space that needs a refresh
Image credit: Noho
Plant life
For all of those who’ve embraced home cooking this year: The No-Waste Vegetable
Cookbook
shows chefs how to incorporate produce from nose to tail, helping to stretch
those potentially precious food budgets further. We also love Quick Pickle Kit, which takes the time and guesswork out of pickling; and the startup collaborates with California nonprofits to provide jobs for developmentally disabled adults.
For the new and veteran home gardeners in your life, help them grow their own
herbs, flowers and veggies with Back to the
Roots’ ready-to-grow kits and
organic seed
packets.
More ambitious gardeners might enjoy a plant-propagation subscription from Isha
Plants — an online nursery that offers a
monthly kit featuring unique, carefully curated plant cuttings; with
step-by-step planting instructions, an online community and accompanying
workshops on how to care for your plants.
Clean up after all that cooking, planting and redecorating with zero-waste hand
and home cleaners from
Gelo
(plant-based),
Blueland
(Cradle to Cradle Certified); and veles — the first
all-purpose household cleaner composed almost entirely of recovered water and
common organic compounds derived from food
waste.
For our most supportive family members
Image credit: House Dogge
For many of us, our beloved, furry friends help make lockdown a little less
lonely. Now, because you and your cat could probably use a little time apart, a Cat Cave — made from ethically sourced wool by
female artisans in Nepal — might be in order. And for our less persnickety
four-legged friends, we love the hoodies, t-shirts, toys and leashes made with
love and sustainable materials from LA-based House
Dogge.
Get out of the house, finally!
As soon as it’s safe, take a trip! Intrepid
Travel — the first certified carbon-neutral
tour operator is now the first tour operator with SBTi-approved 2035
emissions-reduction targets. Beyond its existing, international tours; Intrepid
will be expanding its new range of closer-to-home trips to over 100
itineraries in 2021, providing tour options that will require fewer flights for
domestic travelers in the US.
In the meantime, get the kids out and re-engaging with nature and a vibrant, online community of nature-lovers with the Mammalz
app.
Speaking of the kiddos …
Image credit: Blimey Box
Clothes
If they need new duds, check out
Borobabi
— the company’s circular “borrow” model allows parents to select and keep new or
pre-loved, organic and ethically produced garments until children outgrow them,
or they’re out of season. Borobabi then cleans and re-rents or recycles all
items — helping to put a dent in the over two billion pounds of children’s
clothing going into landfill each year.
Edutainment
For many parents, keeping little ones engaged and learning at home has been one
of this year’s biggest challenges. To keep their miniature wheels turning, check
out these …
Books
- Help kids learn and appreciate more about nature with The Mighty
River — which celebrates the
interconnectivity of humans and the biodiversity that we depend on.
- Books such as The Book of
Cultures and
Anti-Racist Baby (good for
adults, as well) will open young eyes to the diversity in the world.
- In addition to or instead of buying books, donate to nonprofits such as
First Book — which is working to give 1 million
families in need the gift of books this holiday season.
Toys
- Add learning to playtime with Shore Buddies —
toys made from recycled plastic bottles;
- “Draw a new future for the planet” with Carbon
Crayons,
made from captured carbon;
- And Blimey Box is a new
escape game kit perfect for kiddos (aged 5-9) who have been trapped at home!
Children solve math and reading puzzles, find secret codes, and unlock a
surprise or reward (i.e. watch a favorite TV show). Each task builds on
previous skills, so your child's knowledge grows with each new game.
Computers
- Donate a gently used (or a new,
sustainable) laptop to students
in need in your area — organizations such as Computers with
Causes take individual
donations throughout the US; and
here are some resources
for business donations.
While the kids are busy, imbibe sustainably
Image credit: Misadventure Vodka
There are a host of environmentally friendly, waste- and resource-saving
spirits to help celebrate the season (or, hell — the whole year)! Here are some of our recent and returning discoveries:
Imbibe sustainably and retain your composure
- Seedlip’s sustainably produced, non-alcoholic spirits not only make
flavorful, sophisticated mocktails; the company’s new Mycelium Gift Set (available in the UK) comes in fully biodegradable, compostable and recyclable mycelium packaging. And, with every purchase of the best-selling Trio Bundle, Seedlip USA is adding a $10 donation to the consumer’s charity of choice (choice of three) at checkout.
- Charlotte’s Web is offering a range of gift sets for the holidays that
offer “inner peace in a box” — choose curated caches of CBD
goodies for
Calm, Sleep, Recovery, Couples and more.
Upcycled gifts
Here are a few ways to help mitigate all the extra plastic, food and other waste we
made this year (and see any of our previous gift guides [below] for plenty more
upcycled gift ideas!):
-
Nosh to your heart’s content with these goodies that help eliminate food
waste:
- TBJ Gourmet turns bacon ends and pieces,
often discarded during processing, into a scrumptious line of bacon jams
- Regrained
turns spent brewery grains into high-fiber and -protein bars and puffed
snacks
- Outcast Foods makes plant-based nutritional
supplements from surplus and imperfect produce.
-
European apparel brand UKAI’s new line of ocean
plastic
socks
help support the Plastic Bank’s work to build
ethical recycling ecosystems in coastal communities around the world.
Always-good gift ideas
Image credit: Eighth Generation
For gifters with a cause, here are a few that help those in need, empower communities of color, and/or help fight climate change …
- Reusable water bottles from Fill It Forward and
Cupanion help curb
single-use plastic waste while helping to provide clean drinking water to
those in need around the world.
- Ten Thousand Villages partners with
over 20,000 artisans across the globe to provide them with safe and
equitable working conditions and fair wages.
- Tentree, a
marketplace for sustainable outdoor apparel, partners with charitable
organizations across the world to plant trees and rehabilitate natural
ecosystems.
- Buy from small businesses in your own community!
- Support BIPOC-owned businesses! Perusing marketplaces including Buy from
a Black Woman,
Buy Native and
GOODEE is a good place to
start.
Other tips for gifting
- Whatever you shop for, make sure the items are made to last — for clothes,
shop secondhand marketplaces such as thredUP; or
support clothing brands that repair and resell garments — such as
Barbour,
Eileen Fisher, Levi
Strauss
and The North Face, to name a few;
or peruse the curated collection of apparel and home goods at Buy Me
Once, already vetted
for longevity.
- Gift a membership to Thrive
Market – the largest B
Corp-certified
retailer,
with products that are certified regenerative, fair-trade, non-GMO and
biodynamic; often at lower prices than that other online retail
giant.
- Make your own gifts! That personal touch will be cherished, this year more
than ever before.
For even more ideas, check out the newly launched site, Good Carbon
Gifts; and see some of our previous gift guides …
The SB team wishes you all a happy, healthy holiday and new year!
Main article image credits — L-R from top left: Rosaluna Mezcal, House Dogge, No-Waste Vegetable Cookbook, Carbon Crayons, Charlotte's Web, Sheep Inc, Third Mind, Henry Rose, Model No, UKAI, Anti-Racist Baby, Kent
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Dec 7, 2020 7am EST / 4am PST / 12pm GMT / 1pm CET