Looking for eco-friendly Christmas Gifts this year? I’ve got you covered!
That well-known animal charity catchphrase of ‘a dog is for life, not just for Christmas’ should apply to all of our Christmas gifting.
Quality over quantity
Did you know that 1 in 5 Christmas gifts ended up in landfill in the UK last year? That’s nearly 23 million bits of stuff that could have not been bought in the first place. I’m willing to bet that a significant proportion of this waste was poorly-made from plastic, in factories in countries with lower welfare, work and environmental standards for their products than our own, and then shipped across the world to be wrapped in plastic-lined paper, opened and then discarded.
If you’ve read my previous post on Top tips for eco-friendly gifting you’ll know I’m a strong advocate for buying less. Personally, I find this particularly challenging at Christmas, when I want to shower all of my friends and family with masses of lovely things. But I’ve gradually learnt that quality always wins over quantity!
What makes my art prints and gift range any different?
With this in mind, for my own range of art prints and gifts, I’ve worked hard to identify suppliers that share my values around environmental responsibility; all of the companies I work with are based in the UK and take sustainability seriously. I’ve tried to keep to a small range of either beautiful or functional (or both!) items like mugs, tea towels, coasters, cards and prints.
All of my Art Prints come from A Local Printer Ltd, who deliver plastic-free products powered by green energy, have an audited zero waste and sustainable sourcing policy and are an employee owned business! Find out more about their eco credentials.
My square note cards, wooden coasters and tea towels all come from Wraptious. The company is based in the North West of England and feels strongly about supporting artists, planting trees, using sustainable resources and packaging and working to end modern slavery. They even plant a tree for every order I make with them. Find out more about Wraptious.
My A6-sized cards come from Sustainable Print, based in Kent. As their name suggests, they take sustainability very seriously!
And finally, my Christmas Gift Wrap, Tags and Christmas Cards this year all come from a Northumberland-based company called Printed.com. As well as being relatively local (and therefore cutting down the transport miles) they have a large range of eco-friendly products and are invested in reducing their waste and plastic usage. Find out more.
Grab a Green Gift
You will certainly be able to find cheaper tea towels on the market, or sellers who will offer you massive discounts on their advertised prices. But I’m hoping that, if you’re here, it is because you appreciate beautiful things, made with care, using quality materials in a way that treads lightly on the earth and will hopefully last for a very long time.
This slideshow gives a bit more detail about what my products are made from and how I pack them for delivery.
