If you’re looking for a last minute gift, here are some great ideas that also give back. From fair trade beauty to one for one slippers, I’ve rounded up my favourite gifts in time for the holidays in this Ethical Christmas gift guide.
Ethical Christmas Gifts: Home
For a last minute holiday or hostess gift, or for weddings, housewarmings, etc, a gift certificate to Far & Wide Collective is a great way to give back during the holidays. The website features fair trade artisanal products. The great part is that their product ranges from home decor to jewelry and fashion. I fell in love with a pair of Amethyst studs from Afghanistan, while a Mexican Otomi Print pillow sham is the perfect chic edition to condo decor.
West Elm is a great source for home decor, and lately, I’ve been coveting a papier-maché deer head for some ethical faux taxidermy! To make this gift even more special, each piece is handcrafted by Haiti Paper Makers, a company based in Port-au-Prince that employs local women to make a decent wage and produce these whimsical pieces. I also like that each piece is white, so you can paint it a contrasting colour, or even decorate it with decoupage or glitter.
Ethical Christmas Gifts: Beauty
The Body Shop features tons of beauty products, ready to gift in great special edition sets. I featured some of their best sets in a post here, if you’re looking for ideas! I love that this year, the Body Shop has partnered with WaterAid and for every gift sold, a family in Ethiopia.
Fresh has tons of gorgeous gift sets for the holidays, and my favourite products include their Mask Must-Haves gift set, and the Nude Lip Lovers Mini-Trio. All Fresh products do not test on animals, which is incredibly important to me! This holiday season, Fresh has also partnered to create Suga(RED) Lip Treatment. For every Suga(RED) sold, 2 weeks of life-saving AIDS medicine will be provided.
Burt’s Bee’s also has tons of affordable and ethical gift ideas featuring all natural ingredients, wrapped in their eco-friendly packaging. I love gifting the classic Burt’s Bees lip balm, and this trio comes wrapped as a little ornament which is perfect for gift-giving. I’m also excited to gift this body care set to my boyfriend who’s also obsessed with the natural beauty brand.
Ethical Christmas Gifts: Fashion
TOMS is a great option if you’re looking to give a pair of shoes for the holiday. I recently learned that TOMS also has cozy slippers which are perfect for giving this season! I love all the funky prints and faux shearling! As a One for One company, for every pair of shoes or slippers bought, a pair of shoes will be donated to someone in a developing nation. They also offer e-gifts and are available at most department stores!
Clearly.ca is also getting into the giving spirit with Change the View. With every purchase from Clearly, a portion will be donated to the organization, which endeavours to improve eye health world wide. From providing UV protecting sunglasses, distributing Vitamin A tablets and donated eye glasses to supporting eye health training, the organization has helped over half a million people so far! I have very poor eyesight and have dealt with an eye disease in the past, so I know first hand how important eye health is. I’ve been buying glasses and sunglasses from this company for years, and I’m super happy to learn that a portion is going to the cause! This season, I’m obsessed with Clearly’s new frames. I’ve been rocking this pair from Kam Dhillon which are so elegant, I have mistaken them for my sister’s Chanel pair (which cost 10x the price!) Clearly also has tons of great sunglasses from great brands like Ray-Ban too, which are a great gift idea.
