After a busy October and a very exciting day at the Sustainability Show in London I got thinking about the different ways you can dress up your gifts this Christmas whilst staying super eco in the process.
I’ve already mentioned the wonderful brown paper trick which I must confess is a person favourite of mine and works for gifts all year round. But recently I’ve been playing around with old fabric to create cute little gift pouches, bags and wrap. To be honest you can even keep it super simple with some old ribbon or just a square of fabric for those who don’t have a sewing machine and are a little time shy this year.
With our gifts I spend a lot of time trying to make sure they are as sustainable as possible whilst also sticking to our promise to excite all the senses and create an unforgettable gifting experience. This isn’t always the easiest but after the completion of my sustainability basic course last month, I learnt to avoid procrastination in the pursuit of perfection and instead remember to remain conscious and just keep trying. A pretty good moto for life in general if you ask me but certainly a great ethos when building a mindful product business.
What this looks like in practice is, upcycled boxes and packaging which can all be recycled or reused. We recently found some amazing corn starch tape from Curlicue UK which solves another plastic issue and is all made in the UK, what a win! With our advents we decided to upcycle old fabric to create an adorable and reusable pouch and avoided the heavily wasteful multiple envelope design which is so often ultilised in this products design.
What else, well all our ingredients where possible are sourced locally to avoid the detrimental impact of international shipping. We even use home grown and dried lavender and roses in our bath tea bags and bath hearts. Yes this takes a little extra effort on my part and means I live in a home which forever smells of lavender, but hey there are worse prices to pay in the pursuit of sustainability.
As a small business we’re always looking for new ways to grow the product range mindfully so if we see a product is no longer reflecting our values we will consider how we can make it better or move on all together. As I said the process is a journey with plenty of twists and turns along the way but I am committed to the process of creating a conscious business.
So I guess the take away this year is check out what options are available to you and then maybe think about exploring some eco alternatives in 2022. Whether that is going green on your gift wrap or purchasing from a small business with a strong sustainability focus there are plenty of ways to support the planet and still have an unforgettable festive season.
