Want to give Christmas gifts that won’t break the bank, or the planet? Here are Olio co-founder, Tessa’s top picks for gifting sustainably…
The coffee lover
- Lost Barn Coffee — Get rid of plastic bags and coffee pods, and instead treat your loved one to the Coffee Selection Gift Box for £32.00
- The Aero Press — A great option for someone looking to kick the habit of pods. The Aero Press has compostable paper filters and uses much less electricity than a coffee maker, whilst delivering a top notch cuppa
- Lost Sheep Coffee — If your loved one loves pods, then check out Lost Sheep’s Compostable pods
The lounge lover
- Coconut Bowls — Coconut Bowls have a whole range of beautiful household accessories that look great and are zero waste
- Stola London — Stola’s gorgeous hemp pyjamas use 5x less water than cotton, and are chemical & pesticide free too. Once you’ve put them on you won’t ever want to take them off
- Pantee — Undies are an Xmas staple, but are rarely sustainable. Enter Pantee with their body-hugging underwear made from surplus t-shirt fabric, and available for all shapes & sizes
- One Essentials — No M&S polyester multi-packs here, One Essentials have launched their first ever eco-friendly undie gift packs for men & women, just in time for Xmas
- Veo have a great range of zero waste goodies to complement anyone’s home, including some fab starter kits
The sweet tooth
- Candy Kittens – Their sweets are not only delicious but 100% vegan too! Check out their gifting selection
- Vegan Town — Vegan Town have gone to town with their incredible Xmas range of vegan treats, they’ll be sure not to disappoint
- Montezuma*s — Montezuma*s has great tasting, ethically sourced chocolate with a smorgasbord of flavours and gift options, and all the packaging being recyclable (cardboard), biodegradable or home compostable
The beauty babe
- Peace with the Wild — Every possible beauty requirement can be met here, and it’s all sustainable and gorgeous too
- Beauty Kitchen — Do a fabulous range of gift sets of effective, natural and sustainable beauty products
- Charlotte Tilbury — Does a lovely range of re-fillable lipsticks with eye-catching re-usable cases. No more excuses for the 1 billion lipstick cases that end up in landfill every year
- Wild — If you’ve got more of a stick kinda person in mind then Wild’s refillable deodorant sticks are another great stocking filler
- A&B — It’s the time of year when lips can get chapped, but no more with these wonderful lip balms in re-usable aluminium cases
- Cucumber Clothing — For when you fancy a little pamper time, Cucumber make gorgeous re-usable face masks, with their own little pouches
The clean-freak
- Smol – Switch to everyday cleaning products that are better for you and the planet
- Spruce — Spruce provides refillable eco cleaning. Their handy starter boxes might be just the ticket for someone looking to give it a try
- Bower Collective — Bower Collective have a whole range of refillable cleaning products and eco accessories, so plenty of inspiration there
The fashionista
- Olio — Clothing is the most popular listing category on the app so there’s plenty a steal to be had!
- Sign of the Times — SOTT sell pre-loved luxury fashion at up to 80% off the original retail price.
- Anya Hindmarch — Anya’s new Return to Nature range of leather handbags have been treated so they can naturally biodegrade when they reach the end of their life. A gorgeous splurge, but they should last a lifetime and return to nature once you’re done
- Elvis & Kresse — Elvis & Kresse are the OG of sustainable luxury and have spent many years repurposing discarded firehoses to create a fabulous range of bags & accessories
- HERD — These multi-coloured bags are made from recycled ocean plastic and will brighten up any Xmas morning with their pop of colour and funky designs
The candle crazy
- Olio — It’s amazing how many Olio-ers are making homemade eco-friendly candles, you’ll be spoiled for choice
- Peace With The Wild – They have a lovely range of eco candles as well a selection of plastic-free stocking fillers
- St Eval — Made using sustainable production methods on their farm in Cornwall, St Eval sell beautiful candles in a tin. Wild Gorse is a personal fave
The drinks aficionado
- Harris Distillery — Why not swap to a sustainable tipple with Isle of Harris gin top ups
- Draught Drop — Fresh, local beer delivered to your door in 100% reusable bottles. Check out their gifts, from one-off stocking fillers through to the ‘Draught Beer for a Year’ bundle!
- Hattingley Valley — Delicious eco-friendly English wine which has won pretty much every award going
The gadget lover
- Briiv — Briiv’s air purifier uses 90% natural & sustainable materials, and has the cleaning power of 3,043 house plants! That will help clear the air and your mind
- Why not gift refurbished tech, to save your pounds and the planet (perfect for items on the pricey side). Check out Back Market and Ebay
- Cuckoo broadband— Great broadband speeds, on a plan of your choice, with 1% of each bill going to a charity of your choice
- Pela — Pela claim to have made the world’s first compostable phone case, and they fit all sorts of handsets and have loads of great designs to choose from
- Been.London — Gorgeous cardholders, laptop cases, crossbodies and weekender bags for him & her, made from discarded leather, pineapple leaves and apple peels
The kids
- The Little Loop — Why not let them choose for themselves, with a gift card from The Little Loop, the UK’s first clothing rental marketplace for kids
- Shop secondhand — Kids especially couldn’t care less if a gift is brand new or not. What counts is that it’s new to them! Why not search sites such as Olio, Kids Clo, eBay, Shpock or Depop for pre-loved gifts?
- Kidly — Check out their wonderful range of eco gifts for kids, from stocking fillers to bicycles
- Conscious Craft — A range of imaginative, fun, open-ended toys that are suitable for babies and children, whichever developmental stage they’re at
The keen gardener
- The Worm That Turned — Sell a wonderful Paper Potter Press made from oiled beech wood which eliminates the need to buy seedling pots and trays, through harnessing the power of old newspaper and the wooden press. Magic! They also sell recycled plastic labels and bamboo ones that are also super cute
- Bee Bombs — Why not bring the bees back this Xmas with bee friendly native wildflower seeds
- Etsy — Has a great range of Heirloom seeds in a lovely tin which includes exciting varieties you won’t get in the shops
- HewMade — Check out their sustainable bird box, a wonderful addition to any bird-lovers garden
The hamper
- Social Stories — Each hamper is packed with sustainable goodies from social enterprises, from delicious chocolate that supports global reforestation projects to Earl Grey Tea helping to educate girls in India
- Social Supermarket — Another great option if you’re looking for ethical hampers. They’ve got ones for beer lovers, wine lovers, chocolate lovers, vegans and more
- Hay Hampers — Check out their eco-hamper for Xmas, with everything designed to be consumed, re-used or recycled
Think outside the (gift) box
- Experiences not things — 85% of us think we gift too many ‘things’ at Xmas. So why not gift an experience instead? You can’t go wrong with a dinner out, an indulgent spa day or a trip to the theatre. Or perhaps gift something much more meaningful such as Toilet Twinning, or more interesting such as a course in wild food & foraging from Totally Wild
- Homemade — Nothing says I love you more than a homemade gift! Not big into cooking or crafting? Not to worry, I find a super simple tray bake of brownies is always a hit, check out the Olio Forum too for some homemade inspo
- It’s in the wrap — Around 227,000 miles of wrapping paper ends up in the bin every Christmas. Why not ditch the paper and instead go Japanese style and wrap your gifts in reusable cloth instead? Totally unique, much prettier and eco too — what’s not to love?
Wishing you all a wonderful festive season!