Sustainable Gift Ideas For Christmas 2019
With the year that has been in it, we’re coming to you with some sustainable gift ideas so that your friends and fam are delighted with their presents without the planet being left sad. You don’t need to scrap your own principles for the sake of good gifting - there are plenty of sustainable ideas that will have people keen instead of just green.
We're doing our best to become greener (but not meaner) as time goes on - it's definitely a work in progress, but we're definitely on it. And so, here are our sustainable gift ideas for Christmas 2019 - let’s enter 2020 with a bit of eco-pride.
Sustainable Gift Ideas: The Little Green Shop
If you’re looking to support an Irish business (and cut down on the air miles of your gifts, too), then The Little Green Shop might be a great stop! This is an online shop which stocks non-toxic, ethically produced goods and gifts, and works to reduce the amount of plastic goods which they sell. There’s a whole host of products available online fin skincare, beauty, children’s toys, and household goods. If you’re looking for inspiration, we’re big fans of their selection of reusable bottles and their cute shopping and tote bags.
The Kafe Cap Vacuum Insulated Bottle would make a cute gift for the coffee lover in your life - leak proof, spill proof and a cosy home for your coffee. Ideal for slipping into your bag for college or the gym, and even fits in a handbag for work - very, very handy.
Orange Complex
If carbon emission reduction is on your mind, then consider Orange Complex. Orange Complex is another online store, and they’re based in Kildare, Ireland. They’re invested in sustainability, eco-friendliness, and stylish goods. They have a whole Christmas Present collection, with bits and pieces to fit your budget.
Their homeware products are particularly cute, particularly the rCup Reusable Coffee Cup - useful for any beverages (and will probably save your giftee a bit as you can often get reductions in price from cafes if you BYO reusable cup) and comes in a range of colours! Also the best bit is that it’s fully recyclable!
Bear in mind, in line with their eco-friendly mission statement, Orange Complex does not offer next-day shipping - instead, your order will take 5-7 days to arrive. This is to avoid delivery vehicles carrying less than a full load and to reduce the number of vehicles on the road. So if something catches your eye, be sure to order in plenty of time for Christmas!
The KindThe Kind has opened a pop-up shop on 13 Fade Street, sharing the premises with the eco toy company, Jiminy.ie - two eco-friendly companies for the price of one! You can order online and pick up for free from their premises if you wish, or take a wander inside to survey the goods.
If you’re looking for a sustainable gift for the dudes in your life, the Black Safety Razor might be a cool choice. It’s a nice alternative to the disposable razor for the man looking for a close shave (or to indulge his Sweeney Todd pre-murder fantasies). Since men spend an average of 45 days of their lives shaving, having a nice razor would be a good investment and would cut down hugely on the amount of disposable razors any clean-shaven fellows might end up chucking out over the course of their lives.
They have a whole range of Christmas goodies in stock at the moment, but they are selling out fast!
Wild Awake
If you’re looking for an experience rather than a physical gift, and your giftee has an adventurous spirit, then we have an idea…
WildAwake.ie wants to bring us back to nature by aiming to “rekindle environmental and cultural resilience through the (re)learning of ancestral and traditional skills in nature”. This site offers classes, workshops and walks all across the country to help teach you foraging skills, or ethnobotany, Forest School classes for teaching you how to enjoy and thrive in the wildest bits of the country, as well as the Phoenix Forest School for younger nature enthusiasts. It’s certainly a unique gift, and their focus on sustainability and eco-friendliness is pretty stellar.
Evolve Beauty
Evolve Beauty Products are sustainable and made in small batches in Hertfordshire in England. They recently moved into what they call an ‘Eco Studio’ which was designed to be eco-friendly with low energy lighting and 100% wind-powered! They’re a nice alternative to buying the same old stuff for your beauty-prone pals looking for something a little bit fancier.
Their Lip Treat with Organic Cacao and Orange is a lovely gift for anyone with dry lips, but it’s suitable for everyone - perhaps ideal for a pal who might like to do some lip-locking under the mistletoe - and it’s totally vegan and cruelty free!
Jam Art Factory
Jam Art Factory is an independent gallery based in Dublin. It boasted art from local and international artists, prints, sculpture, mugs, and gifts of all kinds. It’s got a really cute range of prints based on Dublin pubs, and you can shop through themes online - and they ship internationally.
They have a lovely range of jewellery, and our fave would be the hand-painted Bear Origami Wooden Necklace made with partially vintage materials. They can even giftwrap and add a note when you buy it online - a very cute, unique gift!
Vintage Gifts
Hip, vintage clothes make great gifts for the discerning giftee! Our two top shouts are Lucy’s Lounge and Nine Crows.
Lucy’s Lounge is a wonderland of bits and pieces and vintage madness on two storeys in Dublin’s Templebar. It’s also home to a lot of local artisans, giving you the chance to buy a huge variety of gifts from local businesses. The basement level is a treasure trove, and the items may be pre-loved but you never know what you might find waiting for you.
Nine Crows are extremely sustainably minded, as most of their stock is unworn ‘dead stock’ which never went into production, or is reworked from previously existing pieces.
They have a thrift shop store as well as their vintage store in Temple Bar - and in Nine Crows Thrift, it’s rare for items to cost over €20, making it friendly on the purse as well as the environment!
Why not take their advice and grab one of their silk scarves to wrap your gifts in? That’s a gift within a gift, very reusable, and friendlier on trees, too (plus you seem like such a glam Santa, goals).