We have put together 8 ethical and sustainable gift ideas for the mother figure in your life this Mothers Day.
1. The Teaspoon Club Vegan Spice Boxes
The Teaspoon Club is an online shop ideal for if you’re buying for the mum that loves to cook. It sells spices alone, recipe boxes for meals and sweet foods in exact quantities, all ethically sourced, so as to diminish waste. For every order placed, they plant a tree in a country where their spices originate from as a way of giving back to the earth and reducing atmospheric pollution. There's a great selection of vegetarian and vegan meals as well, including the Vegan Dinners Spice Selection Box that contains full spice mixes, enough for five separate vegan recipes. The packaging is also sustainable, the boxes wrapped in fully recyclable tissue paper and the packets themself are able to be composted at home. If she’s more into mixing up drinks than cooking, there’s a selection of drink spice boxes too, like this Botanical Gin Recipe Box, including eight spices to experiment with.
The Teaspoon Club Vegan Spice Box
The Teaspoon Club Botanical Gin Box
2. Adopt an Animal or Tree
It can be tricky trying to buy a gift for someone who insists they don’t need anything, so planting a tree in their name is the perfect ethical solution. There are a handful of websites that will do this for you, and it can be as expensive or inexpensive as you like. Alternatively, if you’re struggling to shop for an animal lover, WWF and other wildlife conservation organisations offer the chance to adopt an animal, tree or habitat. Your donation will go towards preserving these habitats while the recipient of this gift will receive an adoption pack and hear updates about their animal throughout the year, and many zoos and farms actually offer a chance to adopt an animal which you can go and visit in person.
3. Prosperity Candles
If you’d like to support women-owned businesses while remaining environmentally conscious this Mothers’ day, this may be the choice for you. Prosperity Candles takes pride in employing and supporting women refugees, having all candles handmade with essential oils and all-natural soy and coconut wax by female refugees living in the US. The candle wax is renewable and biodegradable, containing no artificial dye or enhancers, and no paraffin to avoid carcinogens being released around the home. As part of their sustainability mission, the beautifully designed candle pots have been created to be used again after it has burnt down. Many of them even include a sheet of wildflower seed paper so when the wax is gone, you can repurpose your candle as a stylish flower pot. The She Inspires Relaxation Gift Set includes a candle of your choosing, along with relaxing bath tea and a matchbox, all with different empowering quotes from women, perfect for showing your appreciation to a special mum. A more practical, eco-focused option is the Sustainable Home Gift Set, which contains a candle with two reusable food wraps, made with organic jojoba oil, beeswax, cotton and tree resin.
Prosperity Candle She Inspires Gift Set
Prosperity Candle Sustainable Home Set
4. Wanderlust Wines
Unfortunately for the sustainable wine lover, most wines are processed with animal products like proteins derived from eggs, milk or even fish. Wanderlust Wines is committed to only working within and directly sourcing from vineyards that care about the practices they use and creating biodynamic wines made with minimal synthetic chemicals or animal products and no pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or chemical fertilisers, which is pruned and harvested by hand. Despite the fact this wine is all ethically sourced and organic, it’s extremely affordable. Wanderlust Wines offer a generous range of vegan options and also of boxed and bagged wine, which can be more convenient to carry and recycle as well as reducing the carbon footprint.
Wanderlust Wine Vegan Friendly
5. People Tree
Although jewellery and cosy knitwear make a great Mothers’ day gift, the fast fashion industry means popular clothing brands are producing an estimated 10% of global carbon emissions and consuming 1.5 trillion litres of water annually. This is even before considering plastic packaging, chemical pollution and the 92 million tonnes of waste created every year. Ethical clothing, or slow fashion, values respect towards the environment and rights for humans and animals. The only downside to going green with your fashion is this often means it will cost a lot more than your typical, mass-produced products. People Tree is committed to remaining as fair and sustainable as possible through promoting organic farming, using biodegradable materials that are free from artificial dyes and offering Fairtrade and vegan ranges, yet still remaining affordable. Traditional fabrics and crafting forms are encouraged as much as possible as People Tree is passionate about reviving hand craft skills, which means these jobs can be performed locally to those living in rural areas in developing countries and handcrafted clothing production also helps to reduce carbon emissions. They are also active members of several environmental and social organisations, including The World Fair Trade Organisation, Global Organic Textile Standard and Soil Association, so you know you can trust them to deliver high-quality yet still eco-friendly products.
6. Upcycled & Handmade Jewellery
There are a number of ethical jewellery brands, but similarly to clothing this can turn out to be a bit pricey, so instead, supporting a small business can be the most advantageous option for everyone involved. Plenty of small, local jewellery businesses will make their jewellery from hand, even from upcycled materials, which means you can avoid any possible labour exploitation and waste of materials. Etsy provides a huge online marketplace where you can find anything homemade, vintage and secondhand, so it is perfect for finding a unique, sustainable and ethically sourced gift that will appeal to anyone’s interests. You might even find yourself inspired to make your own jewellery!
7. Neal’s Yard Remedies
For the mum you know who deserves to unwind, Neal’s Yard Remedies is the place to go. There are a range of different products including hair and skincare, bath sets, essential oils - natural, organic and includes an all-vegan range. There are plenty of options for new and expecting mums too, such as the Mother and Baby Collection, or you can create your own gift set for a more personal touch, including an aromatherapy oil, hand care, a home fragrance and a bath product. Holistic therapies are also an option, so if you’d prefer to gift an experience instead of a product, there is an extensive list of treatments to choose from. Neal’s Yard is also strongly committed to fighting climate change, using 100% renewable energy, 100% recycled plastic and never testing on animals. Since 2008, they have been completely carbon neutral and since 2012 have worked to save over 2,800,000 square metres of endangered rainforest.
8. S’wheat bottle
Whether you’re choosing a gift for someone who likes to spend their free time travelling from city to city, hitting the gym or just having a picnic with friends, the S’wheat reusable bottle is made to suit anyone’s lifestyle. The watertight lid unscrews so it is quick and easy to clean and won’t leak in your bag or spill out when you use the mouthpiece, making it ideal for sports, outdoor activities and travel. It even features a sturdy clip so there’s no problem if it won’t fit in your bag. Our bottles are made from a plant-based material of wheat straw and bamboo fibre which means it is biodegradable and sustainably sourced from farmers who would have disposed of it anyway. This material also contains no harmful toxins so it is naturally antibacterial and won’t damage your health or the environment. Additionally, with every sale we plant a trackable native tree in your name and remove 25 bottles worth of plastic from the ocean. For those who like to bring a hot drink for the commute to work instead of throwing away a coffee cup every morning, the S’wheat bottle can be used to keep your drinks hotter for longer. Alternatively, if picnicking with a glass of wine is more your style, the S’wheat bottle can hold any drink, so you can avoid smashed glasses or plastic bottles that won’t keep it cool or steel bottles that ruin the taste of your drink of choice.
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