ECO FRIENDLY GIFTS: A guide to shopping smartly all year round

Staying sustainable during the whole year is not just about purchasing or making eco-friendly gifts.

When it comes to giving sustainably for your family and friends at every birthday, anniversary or special celebration day, it is time to minimise your carbon footprint, considering the entire gift-giving experience; think about the making of the product, shopping, wrapping, and proper disposal.

We need to shop from conscious brands that are working towards a more ethical transparent process by leaving a smaller carbon footprint.

Brands that really prioritise sustainability from zero-waste to recycled materials to transparency in production.

This year, more of us will be doing our shopping online than ever before. According to IMRG, since Covid-19, online sales have already seen growth rates of 40-50%. 

Here is some advice and tips to help you stay focused on zero-waste and eco-friendly gift giving.

What are Eco-friendly gifts?

Eco-friendly means earth-friendly or not harmful to the environment. This term most commonly refers to products that contribute to green living. Eco-friendly products also prevent contributions to air, water and land pollution.

Eco-friendly gift giving starts with sustainable shopping.

How to minimise your own waste. If you are heading out to the shops, minimise your waste by bringing your reusable shopping bags, coffee cups and plastic-free water bottles. 

Purchase gifts from brands with sustainable business practices. Wondering where to start?

Check out the eco-friendly gift ideas on MettaLife. You will find over 100 eco-focused and environmentally responsible brands.

Look for gifts with minimal or recyclable packaging. Avoid overly packaged products, particularly plastic packaging that typically cannot be recycled.

When Shopping online? Order in plenty of time. The carbon footprint from the processing, transportation and packaging of your purchases can be high.

Plan and order early to avoid rush shipping or next day delivery. This adds to the carbon footprint of your purchases. A slower form of delivery allows multiple deliveries to the same areas.

Buy from UK small businesses. You will reduce the carbon footprint of your purchases. Providing much needed support to our independent UK brands during this economically challenging time.

Many of our eco-conscious brands products are handmade or the materials are from local suppliers. This making your purchases even more environmentally friendly.

Get something sustainably made. Find the perfect gifts plastic-free and sustainably made. 

Ethically made clothing. Look for items made to last from naturally derived fibres like linen, cotton and bamboo.

With plant-based ink and dyes for patterns or slogans.

“fast fashion’’ goods made quickly and cheaply are designed to fall apart after a couple of uses.

Good quality sustainable clothes and accessories will last your recipients for years without ever needing to be replaced.

Eco-friendly activewear. Yoga and sports lovers will adore gifts from our ethical activewear brands.

They use renewable energy, recycled and organic fabrics to create their clothes. 

Bamboo gifts for the home. Because bamboo is such a fast-growing crop, it is generally considered to be sustainable and eco-friendly. It is a great deal more sustainable than many other commercially available alternative fabrics.

Bamboo forests have enormous positive benefits for the environment. This incredibly productive plant efficiently stores carbon.

It generates a vast amount of oxygen, totaling up to 30% more than most plants and trees.

Many plastic-free products for the home are made with bamboo. They included eco friendly cleaning products, blankets, and reusable tableware.

Plastic-free toys. Are you looking for safe traditional toys for the children in the family? There are many eco-friendly wooden options, to avoid all that dangerous plastic. 

Gifts to Encourage Eco-Friendly Habits.

A reusable On-the-Go gift box. You can put this together with plastic-free products from our reusable section. How about reusable coffee cups or water bottles, drinking straws, cloth hankies, reusable masks. Wrap the kit in a homemade or new reusable bag.

An Eco-friendly night in for two gift box. Put together some items for a special gift for a loved one or someone who just deserves to be spoilt. Vegan cocktail drinks, an eco-friendly relaxing candle, organic bath salts and some delicious vegan food treats.

Zero-waste kitchen gift box. This is full of eco-friendly products for the kitchen.

Including bamboo brushes and scourers and reusable cloths with an array of colours and patterns.

This is sure to encourage everyone to go plastic-free.

Take your time to choose the right gift.  It is always the more environmentally friendly choice to invest in something that will last for a long time, rather than something that will end up in the bin before long.

Do not be pushed into buying gifts quickly, often, sellers will try to trick you into making fast decisions. Saying things like ‘offer ends soon’ ‘buy now pay later’ or ‘while stocks last’.

If you want to be sustainable, it is important to make the best, most informed choice, not the quickest.

You can find some great deals too! 

Ethical Gift wrapping.

A gorgeously wrapped gift is always inviting, but most gift wrap cannot be recycled.

Instead, all that paper finds its way into a landfill.

Think of all those trees chopped down for a just few minutes of enjoyment!

This year complete your eco-friendly gift giving by using sustainable gift wrapping and cards.

Enjoy your zero-waste gift giving and shop consciously on MettaLife for every occasion.