With black Friday quickly approaching, why not consider adding some more sustainable gifts to your list this year? We here at Planetary have rounded up some of our favourite stocking fillers to inspire you this Christmas!
1) Seeds
Everyone loves to receive plants or flowers, so how about encouraging your loved ones to grow their own? There’s plenty of options out there to choose from, but we love these Seed Bombs and Seed Sticks!
2) Fairtrade Coins
How about trading your usual chocolate coins for a Fairtrade version? These coins by Divine should fit perfectly as a treat in any sized stocking!
3) Recycled Pencils
For the little people in your life (or for those who love stationary!) consider pencils from recycled materials. Or perhaps even consider one that you can replant after use!
4) Bamboo Toothbrush
200 million brushes each year end up in landfill in the UK alone! Why not protect the planet in a very simple way, and gift some a bamboo brush instead? Bamboo is fast growing, making it a very sustainable product, and will break down once disposed off, reducing plastic pollution.
5) Sustainable Socks
Socks are a VERY common Christmas gift. We bet you didn’t know, not only can you know buy BAMBOO socks, but also protect a range of endangered species at the same time? For socks with meaning, we recommend Bare Kind!
6) Natural Smellies
Everyone receives and gifts smellies; at Christmas, at birthdays, at every opportunity! They’re of course a fab go-to, but often come with a hefty environmental footprint through plastic packing, bottles and ingredients. Natural smellies, such as deodorant and shampoo bars, pack much less of a punch in the waste stakes, and some companies, such as Lush, even offer reductions on refills! If you want to support smaller business this Christmas, you can also find hundreds of natural products on Etsy.
7) Reusable Make-up Pads
Washable pads are a great waste solution and can last for years! Plus, they’re small enough to hide from nosy elves who may go hunting for stashed presents…
8) Reusable Drink Carriers
Why opt for a disposable coffee cup or plain plastic bottle, when you can have one with any funky pattern that you can think of?! You can even personalise a bottle, and get discount on drinks at Cafe Nero, Costa and Starbucks if you take your own coffee cup! This truly is the gift that keeps on giving…
9) Cork Purses
Cork is an inherently sustainable resource, and is both renewable and biodegradable. The cork oak tree (Quercus suber) is unique in that its thick bark can be stripped off every decade to extract the cork without damaging the trees, which can live 170 to 250 years on average. You can purchase some beautiful cork products on Etsy at fantastic prices, and purses are the perfect size for a stocking!
10) Virtual Animal Adoptions
A number of BIAZA accredited zoos and global charities offer virtual adoptions and unique experiences in support of a range of endangered species, so why not strip back on the wrapping and support your local wildlife park this Christmas? Tip – you can reduce your footprint further by opting out of any included gifts!
