By Be a conscious consumer this Black Friday with our ethical gift guide
Buy the change you want to see in the world with the help of our Black Friday ethical gift guide, featuring articles that are driving positive change for people and the planet.
Buy the change you want to see in the world with the help of our Black Friday ethical gift guide, featuring articles that are driving positive change for people and the planet.
Black Friday is now the busiest shopping day of the year with a environmental impact to match. But as movements like Make Friday green again Let’s put down roots by asking brands to exclude themselves and consumers to shop carefully, we’ve chosen a selection of gifts that inspire and enrich, but don’t cost the Earth.
They are always one of the most common gifts found under the Christmas tree. And for every pair of brightly colored cheery socks she sells, Jollie donates another pair to a homeless shelter. In addition to creating organic and pesticide-free finger warmers, the commendable but unenviable company also recycles old, smelly pairs. £ 10; jolliesocks.com
Image: Jollie’s
Bam sells pants that you would be happy to wear. Made from sustainably managed bamboo grass, which absorbs five times more CO2 from the air than the equivalent amount of hardwood trees, its Hipster Slim Fit Bamboo Boxers have saved 164.5 liters of water compared to traditional cotton pants . From £ 15; bambooclothing.co.uk
Image: Bam
Created for cyclists and runners to be seen in the dark, Glow’s bright and modern collection of sustainable hats, snoods and headbands are made from a unique fiberglass wool, which makes them reflective of light. But what really makes Glow stand out is the fact that they are hand-woven using traditional slow-fashion techniques by black, Asian, ethnic minority and refugee women who have faced barriers to accessing work. From £ 20; glowandsee.com
Image: Glow
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a game in which the family gets caught up. Cue Sapiens, a playfully illustrated card game based on Happy Families and made from recycled cardboard, offering an educational game through the major historical periods of the human race. Buy from Amnesty to support their work. £ 13.95; amnestyshop.org.uk
Image: Londji
Make someone’s year by buying them a subscription to Positive News magazine. They will receive the four uplifting issues in 2021, plus a copy of the current issue at Christmas, as well as a gift certificate and access to the digital edition. Also, with every Christmas gift subscription ordered between Friday 27th and Monday 30th November, we give a free copy of Positive News magazine to an NHS worker. £ 30; positive.news
“We went from being part of nature to being separate from nature,” writes naturalist David Attenborough in a striking book that he has described as a witness statement. The solutions to save the natural world are found indoors, but require immediate action. From £ 18.60; uk.bookshop.org
Image: Penguin
How to Be Hopeful is not so much a book but a set of tools today to bring more hope and optimism into our lives. Packed with helpful advice, this carefully researched tome leaps into the half-cup philosophy as well. A balm for turbulent times. £ 12.99; uk.bookshop.org
Image: Elliott & Thompson
Designed to instill optimism and empowerment in children ages three and up, this wonderfully illustrated book follows Little Ruffle, a fearful pigeon, as her mother takes her on a journey to find beauty and goodness in the world. From £ 6.99; positive.news
Image: Jodie Jackson
This award-winning calvados, an apple brandy with a honeysuckle floral nose, distilled in Normandy, aspires to be the most sustainable liqueur in the world. It’s organic, locally sourced, responsibly packaged, and uses some of its proceeds to help boost biodiversity. £ 35; avallenspirits.com
Image: Avallen
Toast to this fantastic 100% organic winegrower. Offering one of the largest collections of organic wines on the web, their carefully selected cellar is filled with vegan, vegetarian, low or sulfur-free wines, as well as some select beers and spirits. From £ 4.50; vintageroots.co.uk
Image: Jeff Siepman
To raise awareness of the detrimental impact on our food systems, the Toast Ale craft brewery, which brews leftover bread instead of virgin barley, has created some limited-edition beers to coincide with next year’s COP26 climate summit. Joining with other B Corp brands, a 6.2% stout made with Divine Chocolate kicks off the series. All profits go to the Feedback charity. From £ 28 for 12 bottles; toastale.com
Image: Patrick Fore
For coffee that won’t keep you up all night, buy organic beans from Apostle, the off-grid roasters in Shropshire that use producers committed to biodiverse agriculture, reforestation and waste reduction. All Apostle packaging is also compostable. From £ 6.99; apostlecoffee.com
Image: Apostle
There are a number of chocolatiers who do good by doing magic to melt in your mouth: Tony’s, suppliers of chunk chocolate bars, uses traceable cocoa beans and guarantees a fair price for farmers; Fair Trade Divine Chocolate, a social enterprise that makes pious but devilishly delicious treats using low-impact methods, shares its profits with cocoa farmers; Y Seed and bean, the sustainable British chocolate makers whose Fairtrade delicacies are created from organic ingredients and use 100% recyclable packaging. From £ 1.49
Image: Ablo Merchan Montes
This lovely gift tea set includes two tea samples, a basket infuser, reusable cotton tea bags, plus a bamboo spoon and tea tongs. It evokes the mindful spirit of The Singing Leaf, a small batch loose leaf tea brand that creates herbal infusions from organic, wild-sourced ingredients. All its containers are biodegradable. £ 25; thesingingleaf.com
Image: The singing leaf
From warm winter clothing and trauma counseling to unaccompanied children’s phone credit, Choose Love sends gifts directly to refugees and displaced people in more than 130 locations around the world. From £ 5; Choose love
Image: Choose Love
Supporting those in need, In Kind Direct distributes hand washing, vintage products, cleaning supplies and tea to the most vulnerable, along with uplifting gifts like toys and toiletries at Christmas. Donate products or money for distribution. From £ 1; inkinddirect.org
Image: In Kind Direct
With tree planting an integral part of the planet’s survival, Treedom should be on every gift list. The website allows you to plant a tree remotely and track its progress online, while directly funding the farmer who will grow it. Choose what you want to plant (limited edition cocoa, bananas and trees for Christmas are among the young trees available) and you will also see how much CO2 it will absorb. From € 14.90 (£ 13.20); treedom.net
Image: Treedom
The only gift worth throwing away this year is a Seedbom: a biodegradable biodiversity projectile made from organic compost free of peat and non-GMO seeds that is turned into wildflowers to support bees, butterflies and other important insects. From £ 3.95; kabloom.co.uk
Image: Kabloom
Possibly the easiest way to eliminate plastic from your daily routine, WakeCup’s zero-waste starter kits contain vegan backpacks and bamboo coffee cups, bottles, and straws. They also donate 10 percent of their profits to the Marine Conservation Society. From £ 35; globalwakecup.com
Image: WakeCup
Illustrated by a collective of artists living with complex epilepsy and learning disabilities, Arthouse Unlimited porcelain mug designs are triumphant expressions of creativity. From £ 11; arthouseunlimited.org
Image: GH
Floral Street’s sustainably sourced fragrances smell even sweeter when you realize they are vegan and cruelty free. Floral Street customers, the first in the industry to use 100% compostable boxes, can refill their empty bottles at the brand’s London store. From £ 9; loralstreet.com
Image: Floral Street
Formerly the official ball of the World Cup for the Homeless, the workers who make Bala Sport’s fair trade balls also take a hit: a 10 percent bonus on top of their fair wage. Proceeds help finance social development plans. From £ 9.60; balasport.co.uk
Image: Bala Sport
Lead Image: Kira in the Wasteland
Positive News may earn a small commission for some of the links in this article, but our selection of products has been made independently. These proceeds help fund our inspiring journalism.
