1. The Pharmacy Store Gift Packs
Pros: Pharmacy beauty product gifts come premade, are easy and offer a variety of presents to the recipient.
Cons: Most people don't like receiving these gifts, products contain poor ingredients (such as palm oil, synthetic fragrances), and create a lot of waste.
Alternative
A Covid Care Pack
Don't let the name fool you. Our care packs are tailored to pamper someone for any occasion. Each pack is thoughtfully pre-wrapped in paper and offers a selection of full sized products with no hidden nasties.
2. The 'Funny' Gift
Pros: Novelties can spark a moment of joy and create memories that gives everyone a story to tell for years to come. If picked correctly, this type of gift can become a special addition to someone's life.
Cons: More often than not we wind up with a useless item. Many novelties are cheaply made, plastic, and are destined for the bin.
Alternative
Toilet Bombs
When people first see our toilet bombs, most look rather perplexed. We have had children try to eat them (while safe to eat, the bombs taste awful!), as well as many people asking a list of questions about what the strange pucks do. Instead of giving something with little value, create your novel Christmas memories with something that is practical, septic-safe, and carries a bunch of toilet jokes attached. You literally can flush the gift down the toilet without feeling guilty.
3. Kris Kringle
Pros: Secret Santa and KKs can bring surprise, fun, and insight into a situation. You can gain some interesting gifts, while potentially learning more about another person.
Cons: Too often you are left wondering what to buy the person, have minimal budgets to spend, and you may end up with yet another cheap mediocre mug you will never use.
Alternative
The Soap House
Affordable, quirky and good value, our soap houses make an excellent gift for a secret santa. The house contains four different soaps in delicious essential oil blends. Plastic-free, recyclable, and practical, recipients should get a lot of use out of this gift instead of waste. All the sops are vegan too, preventing you from presenting potential acquaintances with an awkward gift.
4. The Very Well-Wrapped Gift
Pros: It can be amusing to watch people struggle to open their gift, pulling at the wrapping to pry open the contents. Especially, when this has been done on purpose.
Cons: Lots of potential waste. Plastic, shreds of paper, tape, and more. Ironically, the process of watching someone slowly pick away at a present can also be frustrating.
Alternative
UO Gift Wrapping
Order products direct from UO and keep them inside the delivery box. We have gift wrapping available (at a fee) for the inside contents to be neatly presented. Surrounding the gift, we use recycled paper. Allowing for amusement, while saving unnecessary plastic. We also are happy to receive any UO packaging, including shipping materials. After Christmas, you can give the shipping materials back to us for a new life.
5. The Last Minute Gift
Pros: Nobody is forgotten.
Cons: Shopping last minute can make is hard to choose ethical, while causing additional stress in the process.
Alternative
A UO Gift Card
Many people feel unhappy giving a loved one a gift card. However, with UO, we do gift cards a little differently. We provide both an online link and a physical copy, ensuring the certificate is presented thoughtfully. Providing care to the presentation ensures that the recipient feels special and can purchase something that is ethical.
Hopefully, you have received some ideas from our small gift guide. At UO, we wish you all a safe, sustainable, socially conscious, and wonderful festive season. Thank you for supporting us.
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Our Eucalyptus & Peppermint soap uses Victorian Eucalyptus and Olive Oil.
Our Goat Milk & Manuka soap uses Victorian goat milk, alongside honey from two different businesses in Victoria or Tasmania. These honey businesses help rescue bees.
Our Thin Green Line Foundation Soap donates profits to supporting Wildlife Rangers and their families.
Our Ellis Park Soap donates profits to supporting the rehabilitation and sanctuary of rescued wildlife in Indonesia.
Our Cotton Soap Pouches and Wooden Soap Decks are handmade by a local people in Bendigo. Creating jobs and opportunity in the local economy.
Our labels and our speciality designs are mostly created by Claire.
Our Pet Soap design (and this blog) was created by Jemille.
Most of our designs are paintings by Julie's Mum, named Kay.
It is the start of 2020 in Australia. If someone had told you that the world was about to be turned upside-down by a pandemic, you probably would have laughed at them. The word ‘Corona’ referred to a brand of beer, travel was everyday life, and the support everyone was providing went to the bushfire relief efforts. Coronavirus barely left an impact on us, outside of those with relatives in the Wuhan province. This was until March 2020 when it all changed.
Australia’s COVID-free streak finished. Along with the restrictions and health policy came new approaches by Australians in our consumption. Toilet paper cleared from shelves, mask purchasing becoming a necessity, and adaptations to how businesses operate.
While many of us are trying to support our economies, it can be difficult to remember to put them first. To help, we have a few tips around how to support small and local* in this new reality that is ‘COVID-normal’.
* ‘Local’ in this blog refers to Australian-owned and operated, with ‘Small’ focusing on businesses that have less than 100 employees.
Make a Habit of Shopping Small Local
Whether you are in or out of lockdown, supporting the local economy adds enormous benefit to your community. The choice reduces emissions, supports employment within the region or country, keeps money in the community, and allows for more personal interactions as a customer. Quite often, it can be easy for us to fall into the habit of convenience. However, there are ways to switch that pattern. Each time you choose small and locally made, owned, and operated, someone does a happy dance. Imagine how many happy dances you can create!
Check-In
You don’t always have to buy something to show support. Asking small and local businesses how they are going or telling them that you are thinking of them is a simple gesture that goes a long way. This can be in (socially-distanced) person, a message on social media, or by phone.
Showcase Local and Small
When you find businesses you love, sometimes it is nice to share them with others. There are so many easy ways to achieve this, including social media, gifts, or talking about the business to a loved one. Not only does this make small and local businesses excited to know that you love them, it also means your friends and family can enjoy patronage as well.
Thank you Eden & Sage for this beautiful image of our bath bomb! ^
Putting Quality over Convenience when Possible
Sometimes we need to buy better than buy cheaper*. Buying quality can include multi-use items, sustainable options, handmade, and much more. Many small and local businesses sell incredible products and services that not only fulfil your needs, but can reduce waste and save you money later on. This can include reusable masks, slow fashion, and fresh produce. And if there is a quality item you cannot find in your region, try asking a small and local business if the product can be ordered in.
* Purchasing quality can be difficult for multiple reasons such as cost, which is why we have noted that only when possible.
While all of these ideas are small, the impact is huge on our community makers, artists, growers, and other individuals. We hope you try a few and continue to choose small local businesses. Join the happy dance revolution.
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