Ethical and Sustainable Brands: Holiday Gift Ideas 2020
Every year I post holiday gift idea guides (check out past years here) but I like to feature small, independent brands so you can discover some cool ideas you might not have thought of on your own. This year I’m featuring BIPOC owned brands, woman-owned brands, ethical and sustainable brands, and artists in my gift guides.
I don’t have to tell you how much small businesses need our support this year, so I hope getting all these guides about before Shop Small Saturday will give you time to shop early, and — of course! — shop small. Enjoy!
MATE the Label
MATE is a non-toxic, all-natural, made with certified Organic materials loungewear brand. They have the softest sweats, thermals, and sleepwear in a variety of really cool colors. There’s something cozy here for anyone on your list.
Girlfriend Collective
Girlfriend Collective is a yoga and workout brand that turns water bottles into activewear! I love their standard yoga sets (the sports bras are the best I’ve ever worn) and have my eye on their sweats, too.
Ettitude
Ettitude is best known for its organic bamboo lyocell fabric, which is both biodegradable, but also really really soft! They are 1% for the Planet and Carbon-Neutral Certified. Their pajamas or robes would make an excellent gift, in my opinion!
Ana Luisa
Ana Luisa is a small-batch carbon neutral jewelry brand, which uses recycled materials. I love all the layering you can do with this jewelry. Plus, it’s very classic, so it’s easy to pick something out that will integrate easily into someone’s closet.
Tradlands
Tradlands is an ethical and sustainable fashion brand that carries sizes XXS-3XL. These are very high quality, classic pieces, made out of nice materials. I love, love, love their jumpsuits and coveralls, but you can’t go wrong with a nice, classic Tradlands sweater as a gift.
I’m a Tradlands affiliate and I have a discount code for you, use the code EMILY15 for 15% off your purchase.
Nisolo
Nisolo pays everyone in their supply chain a living wage, their certified Carbon Neutral, and these shoes are high-quality and made to last. I have worn my Nisolo Chelsea Boots for two winters, and just as many European backpacking adventures, and they are gems!
I published a full Ethical Brand Review on Nisolo on my IGTV, which should have all the details you need.
I’m a Nisolo affiliate – shop through this link if you’d like to give me a little kick-back (no cost to you!) from your purchase.
Baggu
You probably know Baggu for their tote bags, but they also do fanny packs, laptop pouches, backpacks, and even face masks! Honestly their facemasks are the best I’ve worn this year — they have this extra nose piece, which is great. There’s some super cute gift options here, or, you could even wrap a gift in one of the Baggu totes for an extra bonus gift!
Organic Basics
Organic Basics produces in ethical factories that pay a living wage, and they use sustainable materials that are natural, renewable, recycled, or biodegradable. I have the Organic Basics SilverTech yoga set, and it’s super comfortable for lounging around. But they also do very high quality tees, socks, scarves, gloves, etc. so there are some lovely, quality, simple basics to choose from with this brand.
I’m an Organic Basics affiliate and I have a discount code for you, use the code LOVEDOBC for 10% off your purchase.
Brooklinen
Brooklinen does sustainable bedding, made from OEKO-TEX® certified materials, which are totally free of harmful chemicals. We have a duvet from them, and it is so cozy. In addition to their classic bedding, they do bath towels, robes, loungewear, and more.
Farmacy
Farmacy’s mission as a skincare brand is both to create natural ingredients, and also support small farmers. Their products are cruelty-free, paraban-free, basically free of all nasties. The ingredients are sourced from certified organic, non-GMO, regenerative small farms. They’re best known for their honey masks, but they also have really cute gift sets!
WallyGro
WallyGro does modular living wall boxes, made exclusively from recycled materials. The wall planters are simple assembly, and the way you water them helps the plants roots from getting overwatered. They come in a ton of colors, both neutral and colorful, and are a great option for a hanging plant.
ABLE
ABLE is an ethical fashion brand that employs and empowers women as a solution to end poverty. They pay a living wage throughout their supply chain, and 98% of their employees are women. They do classic shoes, bags, and jewelry.
Net Zero Co.
Net Zero Co. specializes in zero-waste reusable swap products. They use plastic-free shipping which uses 100% biodegradable packaging, and give back to reforestation projects. There are lots of fun bundles on Net Zero Co., but you can also just select a few fun products on your own. I love their makeup removing pads, and also some supplies for packing lunch camping, etc., including their reusable food wraps, silicone bags, and bamboo cutlery to-go rolls.
I’m a Net Zero Co. affiliate and I have a discount code for you, use the code BD10 for 10% off your purchase.
Driftaway Coffee
Driftaway Coffee is a coffee, and coffee subscription, brand. They utilize carbon offsets, and compostable packing, to make their coffee brand more sustainable, and they are also doing a lot of research into climate resilient coffee beans. They invest in the lives of farmers and producers in their supply chain, and publish a lot of information about this on their site.
If you want to give Driftaway Coffee as a gift, the recipient will get a sampler pack first, and then they have the opportunity to personalize their subscription. Super cool!
Noto Botanics
This is a natural and organic, cruelty-free make-up and skincare brand. They have refill stations for their flagship store in Los Angeles, which is really cool. The make-up is all multi-use, so you can use it many different ways. Skincare-wise, everyone loves a fancy serum or face masks!
