The best gifts for a sustainable Christmas

From Artisan & Fox

The jewellery at Artisan & Fox will take your breath away. The Herat earrings, for example, is an intricate geometric piece made with gold and a lapis lazuli inlay. Handcrafted by artisans in the old city of Kabul, these pieces were inspired by the ornate carvings found in Islamic architecture. All works available at Artisan & Fox are ethically sourced from micro-businesses in developing regions. With every purchase, you're helping this social enterprise to sustain traditional craftsmen and share their talents and culture with the world. 

From The Sustainability Project

Pamper a loved one with a beauty bundle from The Sustainability Project. This set has got you covered from top to toe, as it includes a beauty cleanser, soap bars for both hair and body, facial squares and a loofah scrub. You can be sure that everything in this kit is vegan, natural and handmade, with minimal packaging to reduce the impact on the environment – so your giftee can feel good inside and out. 

From BYKURAHOME

Plastic has really got to go, so help the cause by gifting a Lejos collapsible lunch box to save on those takeaway containers. These lunch boxes are lightweight and portable – when done eating, just wash and collapse them into a slim rectangle for easy storage. Made of FDA-approved food-grade silicone, the containers are microwave, dishwasher and freezer safe. The set includes four different lunch box sizes in muted pinks and greens. 

From Your Sustainable Store

Complement the lunch box with a cutlery set and handy travel pouch. The set comes with a fork, spoon, knife and chopsticks, all made from bamboo – a fast-growing and sustainable crop. The cotton travel pouch makes it a great gift, as there are more than 15 charming designs to suit every personality. The zip closure, waterproof inner lining and divider make it easy to store used cutlery too. 

From The Paper Bunny

Jazz up the grocery shopping experience with these cute reusable tote bags from The Paper Bunny. They're made from 100% recycled polyester and come in two different sizes. Get the mini to tote around lunch boxes and small daily essentials. The regular-sized bags are fit for sizeable grocery hauls or can even double up as a gym bag if you like. Good luck picking your favourite from more than a dozen funky designs. 

From Truth&All

A pair of shades come in handy in sunny Singapore – now make it eco-friendly with Truth&All. These handmade sunglasses have frames made from biodegradable acetate, an alternative form of plastic based on renewable sources of wood and cotton – and are named after animals like dolphin, turtle and gull. They're arguably stronger and more flexible too. What's more, Truth&All reinvests a cut of profits back into sustainable projects like The Sea Monkey Project. They also provide free deliveries and returns and make sure to offset all the carbon emissions from transportation. 

From BooksActually or Ethos Books 

For the bookworm in your life, Eating Chilli Crab in the Anthropocene is an eye-opening anthology of essays about Singapore and our relationship with the environment. From the chilli crab we eat, the otters we fawn over, to the sand that we stand on – the authors uncover the ways and means our tiny little island impacts the world around us. It's the wokest thing we've read in 2020.

From OliveAnkara

Whether you like them or not, bucket hats are in this season. Gift a fashion-forward friend with the coolest ones in town – the reversible bucket hats from slow fashion brand OliveAnkara will definitely make a statement thanks to its signature bold African-inspired prints. All items are individually handmade in small quantities, closely hewing to the brand's philosophy of zero waste. All style, all substance. 

From The Green Collective

Your giftee will feel cosmically good hitting the studio with the yoga gym set bag from Purnama. Designed in Singapore and handwoven by local artisans in impact communities, this has all the ethical points. It's also functional – the bag is big enough to fit a regular-sized yoga mat and a pair of boxing gloves and has external zip pockets to hold other itty bitty essentials. 

If buying more stuff just doesn't jive with your eco-consciousness, why not give back directly to environmental charities on behalf of your friend or loved one? There are many worthwhile organisations that are fighting the good fight – Zero Waste SG, Nature Society and Conservation International are just some that are doing their part for the environment both in Singapore and overseas. You can even head over to Garden City Fund and plant a tree as a gift this Christmas.

For more environmental charities, head over to giving.sg.