It’s Christmas again and a wonderful time to let our friends and family know how much we care. With increasing awareness of how much ‘stuff’ we dispose of each year – 240,000 items of clothing end up in landfill in the UK each year! – we want to choose wisely. If you are buying ethical Christmas gifts then here are a few suggestions that are kind – to the planet, to the makers and to your loved ones too! What’s more each comes with a code on the label so their new owners can explore the story behind each garment or accessory – from the sustainable cotton farms, through skilled co-operative working to hand printing and tailoring. Knowing the story helps people build a deeper connection and love their new clothes even more!
Ethical Christmas For Children……
Christmas shopping for children is a tough one – they often want the latest trend or a plastic toy – which we know will be discarded before too long. Our range of organic shirts and handwoven denim jeans, shorts, jackets and dresses are a fabulous way to buy something that will last, with the Christmas day Wow factor of looking up the code on the label and showing them their garment story as part of the celebration.
You can choose something from our range of Ethical Children’s Clothing, and even have it wrapped and sent (anywhere in the world!) in our Christmas Shop.
Ethical Christmas Gifts for Him
Buying gifts for Dads, husbands, boyfriends and brothers can be a challenge – well it is for me! We created our handwoven organic shirts to be a practical luxury – they look and feel amazing and have a classic design so appeal to all ages. The wooden buttons give them a quirky, eco feel and you can choose from a range of colours and either long or short sleeves. The code on the label means he can look up the shirt’s story from the organic cotton fields of India, through spinning and weaving in a co-operative and hand tailoring in a Gujarati workshop.
Bonus: These shirts are designed to be unisex so you can borrow it when he’s not looking…..
A gift option for a man who likes to dress up could be one of our African Pocket Squares. Created from Ugandan organic cotton and tailored in a Fairtrade workshop in Malawi, these squares are vibrant, stylish and come with a QR code on the label for you to trace the story.
Sustainable Gifts for Women
Buying clothes for a woman can be a minefield! We created our African Tunics this year as a versatile capsule wardrobe item suitable for smart and casual wear.
Created using organic, eco-farmed cotton from Uganda and tailored in a Fairtrade workshop in Malawi, these tunics have a truly sustainable and ethical story. Each has a QR code inside so your loved one can explore this story for themselves!
These tunics are available in sizes 8 to 18 and three vibrant print designs.
If you prefer a more straightforward option then you can’t go wrong with a handprinted scarf! One size fits all and we have a large range of colours and designs, from bees to beasts and tigers to teapots….
Stocking Fillers
After something smaller? How about one of our reusable tote bags with an ethical slogan….. These are created using handwoven, organic cotton and handprinted with our favourite slogans. Each has a QR code so you can explore it’s creation story – fun and education on Christmas day!
A zero-waste stocking filler for girls could be our African scrunchies, created with offcuts from our transparent supply chain in Africa.
Published December 7, 2019 & Filed in Jo’s Soapbox,Where Does It Come From? Blog