Gift Guide : Christmas 2020
You may recognise many of the wonderful items and places below from my blog series "Good Folk", if not then it means their post is scheduled for a date in the next few weeks. I thought that it would be helpful to bring a selection of their products together in one place, and use it as an easy-peasy ethical gift guide in the run up to Christmas. So, take a look, and if you want to find out more about the companies here, you can pop over and read up on the blog.
Descriptions run left to right, or top to bottom depending on your device & screen size! Click on the images for the links to shop!
Clothes
1. Molke are based in Scotland and use sustainably sourced fabric to make comfortable and colourful underwear. Pictured: Power Bra £34 & Power Pants £16. Gift cards are available if you aren’t sure on sizes! 2. Leiho give 1 pair of socks to a homeless person for every pair of socks bought. Pictured: The Happy Chappy Bamboo Socks £12. Also available in a gift set trio £33. 3. Afrayed Upcycling make patchwork clothing and accessories entirely out of used clothing. Pictured: Patchwork Jumpsuit S £75. Also available is a made to order service which allows you to select your bundle of fabrics and whether you would like a jumpsuit, dress or mini wrap skirt, prices £58-£118. 4. Ford and Guy make sustainable and ethical products from certified organic, OEKO-TEX and Fair Trade fabrics. Pictured: Bamboo oversized top with split sides and a turtle neck £55.
Jewellery
1. Lorelai repurposes waste plastics in to fun, colourful jewellery. Pictured: Monochrome charm dangle earrings made from plastic toys £16. 2. Tula and the Whale make jewellery from waste materials. Pictured: Statement Stud Leather Earrings £10.50. 3. Hello Stud make jewellery and accessories from eco resin. Pictured: Cosmic Pink Glitter Round Dangle £15. 4. Nina Brabbins makes brooches, earrings and baskets (see below) which explore the environmental issue of plastic waste, woven from materials such as sea plastic. Pictured: Neon Pink and Turquoise Brooch £22.
Home
1. The Abstract Bee make handmade eco and vegan friendly homeware, jewellery & fragrance. Pictured: Copper Edge Concrete Hexagon Coasters £10. 2. Smartie Lids On The Beach clean Cornish beaches and make stunning artwork from the bits of plastic they find. Pictured: Large Colour Wheel 43x43cm £180. Prices start from £15. 3. Make Waves Studio is a sustainable indie brand repurposing textiles to make vintage-style homewares. Pictured: Happy Camper Pennant flags £19 each. 4. Liloucha make eco friendly cushions, candles and giclee prints on agave paper. Unique and environmentally friendly, their prints are available in A3 and A2, with or without frames. Pictured: Isle of Oranges print in white £22-£42.
Home
1. Priormade makes sustainably crafted & functional products. From Beautiful birch ply geometric plant pots, vases and up-cycled jewellery to statement lamps all in the most stunning array of colours. Pictured: Lamps £90-£130, Vessels £12.50-£28. 2. Nina Brabbins. Pictured: Recycled flecked rope edge basket. This piece is made from a variety of different textured sea plastic collected from a beach in wales. £90 3. Bee Bee and Leaf Wraps are British makers of the reusable alternative to clingfilm and feature both Vegan wax wraps & Bees Wax wraps ranges. Pictured: The Tropical Collection Family Pack Vegan / Plant based range £26 4. Arc Lore s an organic line of stylish & quality flatwoven towels and throws made for sustainable living, travel and adventures. Pictured: Samimi Mini Organic Towel £20. They also have an amazing offer of 20% off across the store with code GOODFOLK20 usable on their website, click the towel photo above.
Bags
1. Lorna Doyle Wetsuit Rescue takes in used wetsuits and makes them into bags and pouches. As Lorna is a textile designer, you can also find her unique designs screen printed onto the fabric. Pictured: Flying fish Rescue Wetsuit Tote Bag £65. 2. Wyatt and Jack based on the Isle Of Wight rescue bouncy castles, inflatables and deckchairs and turn them into beautiful bags and accessories. They are the wonderful folk that send their offcuts here to Stellen. Pictured: Mermaid string pouch £28. 3. Zoe Dunn Designs scoops up industry waste leather, hand picks pieces to compliment each other and turns them into one off handbags and accessories. Pictured: Nightscapes Leather handbag £75 4. Elvis and Kresse rescue London firehose and turn it into sturdy industrial looking bags, belts and accessories. Pictured: Reporter bag £160.
Body Care
1. Upcircle source and rescue by-products from other industries – the food and drink industry in particular. In recent years we have seen the dramatic rise of natural, then organic, then vegan and cruelty-free beauty, but they believe circular / by-product beauty will be the next step – and are proud to be pioneering that movement. Pictured: The Pamper Kit, samples of the the UpCircle best-sellers! £9.99. 2. Concept Skin products say they are transformative for the skin and the soul. Handcrafted, organic, vegan, and infused with deep intention. Pictured: Orange Flower Water - Toning Mist £10 3. Ksoni make natural bathroom products in plastic-free packaging. They are vegan and Cruelty free. Pictured: Unati Moisturising Body Wash 250ml £16 4. Blomma Beauty are an organic beauty and wellbeing store supporting your conscious beauty switch. Pictured: Radiance Duo by Silvan Skincare. Your ultimate relaxation duo of vegan beauty products beautifully wrapped and ready to gift. It comes giftwrapped and the wrap is uncoated FSC recyclable paper. You can reuse the tags and ribbon too! The glass is 45% recycled materials and fully recyclable and the lid is aluminium on the jar. The pump is plastic, for hygiene reasons but it's recyclable. The balm is certified vegan by the Vegan society, the oil isn't certified but it is vegan too. £38.
Wrapping and Christmas day
1. Read Wrap Recycle make recycled, recyclable gift wrap. Pictured: The original Read Wrap Recycle paper, The Northern Star, this is a broadsheet newspaper made up of 5 sheets. Each sheet has the newspaper front on one side, and an alternating pattern encompassing the other, 3 pages feature the holly repeat pattern, whilst 2 feature the red candy stripe. £4. Tapes also available 2. The Fabric Wrapping Co make beautiful reusable fabric gift wrapping that you can use again and again with friends and family. Inspired by the Japanese art of Furoshiki with a bold modern and pom pom twist. Luxurious satin ribbons add the ultimate finish. Easy to use and tiny to store. Pictured: Leopard Print £19.95 3. Leiho have decided to warm things up with sustainable bamboo sock crackers! These sock crackers contain zero plastic and zero waste, the crackers are made out of brown Kraft paper and in the cracker you’ll find the usual Christmas cracker jokes, a paper hat but instead of a plastic toy you’ll be getting a pair of bamboo socks! Prices: 3 sock crackers for £35, 6 sock crackers for £66, 8 sock crackers for £80. 4. Bee Bee and Leaf Wraps COMING SOON : new Winter Family Pack Beeswax food wraps. Ideal for Christmas dinner leftovers! £23
Shops
1. The Upcycled Trading Co, Folkestone. As well as up cycling and selling furniture herself, Claire also stocks other local makers products who work with recycled materials or natural products in recyclable packaging such as Dallas Candles, Denys and Fielding, Romney Marsh Wools and Heather Orr, and eco-friendly Cornish Milk Mineral Paint. It’s manufactured in the UK, boasts zero VOC is vegan and comes in biodegradable packaging! 2. Readymoney Beach shop, Fowey. Open all year round for coffee, cake and ice-cream, gifts and more at Fowey’s picturesque beach on the south Cornish coast. Wide selection of carefully curated items from Cornwall and beyond with an emphasis on supporting other small independent businesses. Shop online too! 3. Prior shop, Bristol. Selling sustainably made functional, beautiful and responsibly made homewares. It is a not for profit collaboration of artists. Products are available to buy both in their real life shop and online. The curated selection is like having a ready made gift guide because you will love it all. 4. Small Kind, online An eco friendly lifestyle shop featuring design led, planet friendly stuff for kids, grown ups and your home.
Wearables
1. Makewaves Studio creates characterful patches from vintage & surplus textiles for the rejuvenation and repair of our much-loved clothes. Pictured: visible mending clothes patch £5.50 each. 2. Ford and Guy. Pictured: Organic cotton fleece kimono style jacket with pockets £160 3.Peony Vintage handpick and source their original vintage pieces with love, care and high fashion in mind. Owner Georgina has also co-founded ‘A Virtual Vintage Market’ ( search on Instagram) to bring more vintage to you whilst shopping online. Pictured: Gold 1960s Cocktail Dress Size 16 £24 4. Mamma See Mamma Do runs an inspirational Instagram feed dedicated to vintage and pre loved fashion sourcing. So for your sustainable alternatives to buying new, check her out. Pictured: vintage Laura Ashley strapless floral dress from Rosina ball Vintage.
Top eco picks from The Daughters of Industry
The Daughters Of Industry is a female makers' collective, based in Folkestone, championing community and sustainability.
We first came together in 2018, and have been running pop up shops together ever since.
Our Members are: Stellen, Milk and Moon, Indie Yarn Club, Kiitos Studios, Pen and Plant, Joypolloi and Make Waves Studio (see her goodies above).
