With Christmas fast approaching, I have put together an eco-friendly gift guide featuring some lovely brands. Most of these brands are ones which I have discovered on Instagram and have since gone on to buy from. Here is some inspiration for you all.
Handcrafted ethical fashion and homeware that enables artisans to a live a life free from poverty. I especially love the sari beads that are made from recycled silk sari fabric.
Unlike fast fashion, the accessories and clothing are made entirely by hand using upcycled, handloomed, organic and vegan materials. The artisans who make these products are empowered by a fair and sustainable income.
Candlism
A local business to us with scents that are just wonderful - Candlism make hand-poured soy candles in glass jars with scents like Night Blooming Jasmine (a personal favourite) and Patchouli, Nutmeg and Ginger. There are also reed diffusers and gift boxes available containing candles and wax melts. They also offer a refill service if you return the empty jar! Look out for the new Christmas range coming soon.
I have a huge love of hand-painted enamelware and I have built up quite a collection of mugs over the last couple of years. Love From Lakshmi have a beautiful collection all hand-painted by artisans in Afghanistan and India. The designs are both colourful and great quality and add that touch of bohemian style to any home.
I discovered this brand on Instagram and immediately, the funky packaging grabbed my attention. These eco-friendly deodorant sticks are available in two fresh, gender neutral scents, each batch is handmade in England from entirely natural and chemical-free ingredients - no aluminium, no sulphates, no parabens.
All ingredients are ethically sourced from fair trade sellers and are 100% vegan and palm oil free plus the packaging is made of cardboard too.
The scents are Grapefruit & Mandarin and Ylang & Rose and they sell at £5.99 each.
For more ethical beauty ideas this post from a life with frills is certainly worth a read.
This independent eco-friendly company offers a variety of products from vegan soap bars and reusable cotton pads to a bamboo toothbrush which make for great little stocking fillers.
Their main focus is on using the sustainable material bamboo to replace plastics in every product possible. What's more, they donate 10% of all their profits to charity.
They also plant trees every month to offset their own carbon footprint.
Perfect for crystal and gemstone lovers - Bewater have a wonderful range of reusable water bottles which contain crystals. They currently have a 4Ocean Collaboration 4Ocean is an organisation that does incredible work in cleaning waste from our oceans. These new designs are two beautiful custom bottles, one with a Turtle Motif and one with a Dolphin Motif.
They are made from hand-blown, contoured glass, have gorgeous embossed lids and carefully chosen, ocean-themed crystals at their centre.
Most importantly, 10% of all sales will go to support 4Ocean in their clean up efforts. The dolphin bottle contains Aquamarine crystals and turtle one has tigers eye and malachite inside.
A new favourite of mine - I am a big fan of Jungle Culture and Jungle Straws, which are eco-friendly, ethically sourced and beautifully handmade. They have a selection of coconut bowls, bamboo cutlery, bamboo and metal straws and safety razors and now they sell coconut shell candles and soaps. The coconut shells would usually be discarded after the water and oil had been taken from them, this recycles them into stunning bowls and also gives local farmers in Vietnam an extra income.
ONAIE is London based independent online slippers shop offering a wide range of stylish handmade women's and men's sheepskin slippers, ladies slip on mules, kids and baby slippers and soon vegan slippers. I am a big fan over these handmade felt embroidered slippers - each unique pair comes hand-crafted and embroidered by a small team of artisans in the Polish Highlands. They are so colourful and comfortable - I treated myself to a pair earlier in the year and literally live in them!
Pictures used with kind permission.
