Gift guide: Fair Trade, ethical and green gifts

Christmas is a time for presents and thinking of others, so today’s gift guide is all about gifts that give back. That includes fairly traded and ethical goods, and treats that are good for the environment by virtue of being grown organically, reducing plastic waste, or being made from sustainable materials. Plus it’s all beautiful, useful and delicious, so it’s a win-win.

Top row:

FAIR. Quinoa Vodka & Cacao Liqueur | £30.64 & £16.96. Part of a range of premium spirits and liqueurs, certified Fair Trade and made with organic ingredients, suitable for vegans. The vodka is a smooth mixer suitable for many drinks, and the cacao is complex and dark, great for mixing with rum, bourbon, vermouth and fortified wines, and coffee-based drinks. Buy here.
STOJO collapsible coffee cup | £7.99 – £11.99. If you’re already carrying a reusable water bottle, you might not have room for a full size reusable coffee cup in your bag – but this clever collapsible one (available in several colours) means you can avoid non-recyclable takeaway cups, save space and get discounted drinks in many coffee shops. Best prices at Robert Dyas or John Lewis.
Cafedirect Organic Christmas Blend Coffee | £5.00 + buy 1 get 1 free for 227g (+ 227g). This rich, smooth tasting ground coffee is Fairtrade and organic certified. Easy drinking with a hint of praline and brown sugar, just right for the festive season. Buy special offer at Ocado.

Middle row:

Divine 70% dark chocolate black cherries | £5.00. Delicious, high quality fruity stocking fillers from Divine’s festive range, made by the company that’s co-owned by the cocoa farmers themselves. Buy at Ethical Superstore, Natural Collection, Oxfam Food, The Co-op, Waitrose and many more.
Booja Booja Artists Collection Hazelnut Crunch Chocolate Truffles 185g | £15 and in 3-for-2 offer. Completely delicious chocolates in a hand decorated box, these are organic, vegan, palm oil free and gluten free. Buy best deal at Holland & Barrett.
Chilly’s reusable drinks bottles. | These attractive bottles keep cold drinks old and hot drinks piping hot for hours, the double wall construction means they’re condensation-proof, and they come in a range of colours and sizes. Ideal for anyone who wants to go plastic free, and packaged in a giftable recycled card tube. Available in store at Whole Foods, or online at Urban Outfitters, Boots and Amazon.

Bottom row:

Oxfam Handwoven Carnival Seagrass Basket | £22.99. Colourful fairtrade basket handmade in Vietnam. It’s also dual purpose as the handles can collapse in to form a shallow storage basket. Part of the big Sourced by Oxfam range of homeware, food & gifts. Buy here.
Eat Your Hat chocolate library Volume 2 | £22. Five completely delicious bars of chocolate in a gift pack, including a mandarin and cardamom flavours. This brand uses fairly traded and ethical ingredients, and the packaging’s completely compostable, even the foil wrappers. Buy at Ocado and also at Traidcraft.
Clipper Tea caddy | £10.00. Attractive tins housing fairtraide and organic tea bags in your choice of English Breakfast, Green, or Snore & Peace bedtime tea. The bags are also plastic free, unbleached and non-GM so they’re better for the environment and fully compostable. Buy at Clipper online, Ocado, Amazon, Ethical Superstore & many others.

With last postage dates in mind, most of the stores mentioned are still delivering in time for Christmas. Some of these items can be delivered with your groceries or picked up in supermarkets too, delivered by Amazon Prime, or picked up via high street Click & Collect services, so you’re guaranteed to get what you want before the holidays.

If you’ve left it really late, head in store to a nearby Co-op for their own-brand sweets and chocolates as they’re all made from fairly traded ingredients, or pick up all kinds of great stocking fillers in larger branches of Oxfam.

Do you want to see more posts about Fair Trade goods, ethical shopping or environment-friendly lifestyle or gifts? Let me know. By the way, there are two gift guides on the site this year devoted to plastic-free gifts, so if you’re interested then have a look at Part 1 and Part 2.