Why you should be practicing sustainable gifting

Holiday season is nearing - that means it’s a time for gifts, celebrations and small tokens of appreciation for your loved ones. Many people would opt for the typical mass produced and unsustainable gifts, easily bought from department stores.

However, with increasing social awareness on the impacts of climate change, more people have been moving towards maintaining sustainable lifestyles. Why not take this holiday to switch to sustainable gifting, a more eco-friendly way to give and receive in a way that is truly fulfilling?

But first, what exactly is sustainable gifting?

In essence, sustainable gifts help to reduce waste, lower one’s carbon footprint and allows one to become more environmentally responsible. Sustainable gifts generally includes gifts that fall into one of the following categories:

1. Gifts made from eco friendly, recycled or repurposed materials

2. Items that include locally sourced or organic materials

3. Items with alternative materials or those made from certified sustainable processes (eg. free from harmful dyes, bleaching, etc.)

4. Items that can help eliminate single-use plastics (eg. zero waste alternatives) and

5. Products that have achieved certification for sustainable industry standards.

Sustainable gifting may be seen as just a small gesture to reduce one’s carbon footprint, but it goes a long way if many people play a part to make the switch. Here’s more reasons to practice sustainable gifting.

Why should you switch to sustainable gifting?

The environmental benefits, advantages to creators and the use of more ethical processes are just some of the many reasons to switch to sustainable gifting. In these products, more sustainable and organic materials are utilised, making them more environmentally-friendly. They also reduce the waste sent to landfills as they can be recycled and reused.

Sustainable products will also make a healthier living space as they are made of more organic and natural resources, hence you breathe in less harsh chemicals. These products also help to support less privileged creators directly instead of big commercial businesses, preventing exploitation of these creators. They also use more ethical practices, such as no animal testing and wastage of ntural resources, making the processes sustainable as well.

With that being said, here are some sustainable gift options that you can consider for this holiday season.

Design for good - Krafters: The Krafters are a team of 19 amazing individuals from SMILE Village in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Their families used to live in shanties made from sheets of metal surrounded by landfills, and made their living by combing through piles of trash. After being relocated to SMILE Village, they picked up sustainable skills like sewing and woodworking. In collaboration with Design For Good, they learn, practise and develop their handicraft skills for financial independence. Their products include, tote bags, rugs, laptop sleeves, pouches, coasters, journal covers, and handphone stands. These products are all meticulously handcrafted by the 19 individuals from SMILE Village. Majority of the materials used to create these products are upcycled fabrics and wood pallets.

Your Sustainable Store: Your Sustainable Store is a Singapore-based online store created to make a wide range of curated, stylish and affordable sustainable products easily available. Their products range from beauty and skincare to kitchenware.

The Sustainability Project: The Sustainability Project is a Singapore-based business which aims to encourage and inspire the adoption of a low or zero waste lifestyle in your life. The Sustainability Project launched their own blog in June 2017, aiming to share their knowledge and passion towards sustainability. On their blog they share tips on sustainable lifestyles. They founded their own shop in 2018, with the vision to inspire the global adoption of a sustainable lifestyle. The Sustainability Project’s shop acts as a platform for enabling Low or zero waste lifestyle by providing consumers with a wide range of sustainable products that are of high quality and at affordable prices.

We hope that this article was informative and that you will be more inclined towards choosing a sustainable lifestyle, through sustainable gifting!