fairtrade

7 November 2020

Ethical Christmas Gift Ideas for 2020 featuring Natural Skincare, Jewellery, Toys and Vegan Chocolate
(includes PAID placement/gifted Ombar chocolate)

As we go into another lockdown I think many of us will be shopping Christmas presents online and I would encourage you to support local independent businesses. There are so many wonderful eco-friendly sellers out there that it becomes impossible to feature them all. I've put together a small selection of brands offering beautiful handcrafted gifts which I am sure many of you will love and cherish.

Beth the founder of Bao handcrafts natural skincare in Dorset. When visiting the website make sure you select the 'Christmas' tab to discover a beautiful collection of gift boxed products. I am sure you will find something to suit your budget. I can recommend the Brightening Hand Wash and Cream, this certainly has been a tough year on our hands so I sure this combination would be a winner for your loved ones.

This year the gift of hand sanitiser might be the perfect present for some. If you know of anyone experiencing eczema or they're prone to dry skin then Balmonds is brand I recommend. 

Delicious biscuits which are handmade in a variety of themes, available as selection sets, individual cookie cards, letterbox sets and suitable for Vegans

A beautifully curated website which supports artisans, they incorporate the principles of fair trade to create opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers. Harfi has a collection of unique handcrafted quality products which include jewellery, towels, accessories and homeware. Using the 'Gift' tab you can filter according to your budget. The Sylvia Ring and Earrings are eye catching, ethically handmade jewellery with azurite gemstones.

A lovely business based in Hampshire making handmade skincare to include soaps, lotions, soaks and gift sets. Love to b Skincare is now stocked in some of the South West’s finest spas, hotels and boutiques. 

Discover Nourish London’s natural, organic, vegan, ethically sourced and cruelty-free Seasonal Gift Sets powered by plant-based ingredients that are kind to the skin and our planet. The Antioxidant Duo Gift Set is a vegan and organic stocking filler to hydrate and replenish the skin. It contains Nourish London’s Antioxidant Multi-Tasking Super Balm (15ml) and Antioxidant Peptide Mist (15ml), encased in an organic and handmade toiletry bag from Freeset.

When you have allergies, it's no fun watching everyone tuck into the Quality Street so make sure you don't forget dietary needs this Christmas. Ombar chocolate is vegan and free from dairy, gluten, soya and refined sugar (not recommended for nut allergies). 

Seekology
An independent beauty and wellbeing with a wide selection of products. On the site click "trending" and select the Christmas Gift Sets option, here you will find curated gift sets. I'm a fan of Evolve Beauty and would select the Candlelight Glow Collection which contains Radiant Glow Mask and Serenity Candle. The Bowe Organics set contains their popular brow oil and our nourishing lip rescue balm.

Marian is the founder of Silvan Skincare, her ethos is to create gentle skincare that is natural and doesn't irritate or harm the environment. The product range includes balms, face oils, creams, lip balms and body oils. Depending on your budget, you could choose individual products or select the 'Gift' tab for skincare sets. As 2020 has been such a rough year for everyone I feel as if the Silvan Soothe Duo gift set could be a perfect gift as it includes a full size Face Oil and a Sleep Balm. 

Beautiful soaps that are handmade using traditional cold pressed methods, formulated without palm oil and using certified organic ingredients. Explore the website because the range includes individual bars, soap dishes, bundles and gift box sets. I'm sure there is something to suit most budgets and Vegan options are available.

If you are looking for fair trade toys and gifts for children then visit Weaving Hope. Toys are made by artisans in Sri Lanka, working within a guaranteed Member of the World Fair Trade Organisation. Products are made from cotton woven on traditional handlooms. The toys are vegan friendly, plastic free and coloured with non toxic dyes and compliant with safety regulations (CE mark). Check out the latest addition to the range which are cute food baskets, for a play kitchen.

Sarah x

16 June 2020

Odylique natural and organic skincare and makeup
(Gifted Press Samples)

Many of you know that Odylique is one of my favourite skincare brands and I've spoken about their Gentle Herb Shampoo for many years. I thought it might be interesting to share with you other products because there is more to Odylique than hair care. Lets start off with a little background information for any new readers. Originally known as Essential Care, the business was founded by Margaret who started making skincare from natural ingredients to help her family's eczema problems and her own allergy prone skin. The company was launched in 2003 with daughter Abi, products are hand made in Suffolk and re-branded to Odylique in 2014.

3 April 2020

Review Lucy Bee Reviving Cleansing Cream Unscented
(I purchase this product & decided to review)

I've been using the same cleansing routine for a year and a few weeks ago, before crazy lockdown, I'd decided to switch things up. I placed an order with Lucy Bee and bought their Reviving Cleansing Cream. Now you might know Lucy Bee for their pantry staples but were you aware they made skincare products? Their natural fragrance free soap had been on my radar since the 2019 Free From Skincare Awards so I'd been meaning to explore the range. At the heart of Lucy Bee is the love for coconut oil and this includes their skincare range. I'm a huge fan of coconut oil and my skin tolerates this ingredient very well. As a brand, Lucy Bee are ethical, conscious of their impact on the environment (No Palm Oil) and have several certifications - Fairtrade, Organic, Vegan and Cruelty Free.

6 November 2018

Christmas Gift Guide, SueMe, The Ethical Gift Box, Love to B, Thought Clothing, Slice of Green
Disclaimer - contains affiliate links & sponsored/ad content

As I wander around the shops I’m mindful of how much plastic packaging can often be found in fancy gift boxes. This year my Christmas Gift Guide will focus on environmental matters.  If there is one thing we all take away from the year it’s the devastating images of a turtle with a straw in its nostril, the seahorse carrying a cotton bud and the miles of floating waste in our oceans. I want to offer alternatives which could go a little way to have a better impact on our future.

Reusable items could reduce on the number of single use plastic items a person uses so how about the gift of a bottle or cup. There are many options for coffee cups but I’ve chosen the rCUP Black & Mustard Reusable Coffee Cup because it’s made from 40% recycled paper cups. For those that travel or are not coffee drinkers then a stylish bottle might be an option. I’ve had my eye on Chilly's Bottle for their bold and trendy designs and S'well bottles are elegantly understated.

I take my own lunch to work every day so I’ve been looking at alternatives to Tupperware. Check out Slice of Green stainless steel lunch boxes which come in different size and shapes. For those that eat lunch out you have the option to ditch the takeaway plastic cutlery for a stylish Bambu reusable cutlery set made from bamboo. For the ultimate reusable gift, Content Beauty has a Zero waste set which includes straw, lunch box, cup, cutlery, reusable food wraps and cotton carry bag. 

I don’t know about you but pants (underwear) and socks are a long time Christmas tradition in our household I don’t recall a single year without receiving one or the other. My husband has been trialling SueMe “tree trunks” which are made from 95% Beech Tree pulp, the fibre Modal is manufactured in Austria. When I removed them from the outer packaging I was surprised how silky soft they felt to the touch. There is care and attention to the design in terms of the waistband and placement of seams. My husband says he finds these trunks very comfortable to wear. I also like that a small packet of beech birch and wildflower seeds are included with your purchase. Womens underwear (Beech Shorties) also available and if you want to pair them with some novelty socks then I picked out Snowman Christmas Bamboo Socks from Thought Clothing.

As a beauty lover I’m all about the gift of good skincare and with natural and organic brands you are pretty much guaranteeing a better ethos for the environment. For those keen to avoid plastic bottles trying opting for glass packaging like Bodhi & Birch The Superfood Series Mini Discovery set or Pure Thoughts Ritual Kits contain a combination of bath salts, soap, body oil and pulse point or candle tailored to an aromatherapy mood. A Tutti Frutti soap from Love to B would make a great stocking filler for kids. For the eco-conscious makeup lover Kjaer Weis is the ultimate luxury product. The stylish and stunning compacts are not only beautiful but also refillable. For anyone with sensitive skin refer back to my Gift Guide from last year, products and brands featured are still available.

Family and travel are at the heart of the Ethical Gift Box having established the business through a years travel across Asia with three children. The Ethical Gift Box brings together carefully curated items many of which are handcrafted from recycled or renewable materials. I think this is the perfect gift idea for those who enjoy giving and receiving products that are artisan, unique and ethical in comparison to what you may find on the high street. You can shop by occasion, budget and ethics (vegan, British made, fairtrade, recycled etc). The Ethical Gift Box offers tailored gift sets to suit everyone and there is the choice of pre-made boxes or create your own. As there are so many beautiful gift sets it's difficult for me to chose a favourite box but I particularly like the For Him Vegan Wash Box which contains Mens Upcycled Innertube Wash Bag, Bamboo Charcoal Soap, Botanic Man Balm & Beer & Bay Shampoo Bar and The Office De-Stress Box with a Handloomed Fabric & Wood Elephant Paper Clip Tidy/Diffuser, Eucalyptus, Geranium & Peppermint Essential Oil, Keep Going' Sustainable Rubberwood Coaster & Graze Snack.

Post Christmas check out Buengo a marketplace for good where you can sell things you no longer need and donate the proceeds to a charity of your choosing. Alternatively if you’ve decided to have a minimalist Christmas and skip presents Buengo offer virtual products (a sleeping bag for a homeless person or a year of schooling for a student in Kenya) so you could ask people to donate on your behalf.

Happy Shopping everyone!

Sarah x

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