Ethical gifting is all about choosing gifts with low impact and making sure that every gift counts in the most important way.
The perfect place to start is not to buy at all by choosing some great alternative options…
Alternative gifts
Get crafty
Getting fully involved in a good hobby is an excellent way to pass the long nights and raise the spirits. Why not turn your craft into presents? Collect second-hand wool and make socks or scarves, make a scrapbook full of shared memories, make vegan and Fair Trade chocolates or gather some bulbs and plant them in vintage pots. Why not hand-pour beeswax candles into old teacups or pots and infuse them with your own essential oil blend? Simply swap the beeswax for soy flakes for a vegan alternative.
Gift your time
You don’t have to spend money to show you care. Make a promise to help an elderly relative clear out their attic or garden. Volunteer to babysit for stressed-out new parents. Offer to sort out a friend’s paperwork or invite your neighbours over for dinner.
Gift an experience
Now we’re able to visit theatres, attend sports events and enjoy arts and culture again, why not gift an experience that you and a friend can enjoy together. Many of the arts have struggled to keep afloat during lockdown, so show your support by buying tickets for comedy, musical theatre, ballet or opera.
Why not get inventive and plan a trip, design an itinerary and fill it full of fun. Many of us have rekindled our love for the great outdoors so a membership for your local nature reserve could make a great present or why not take a class in foraging and then enjoy making a meal together with your free finds.