5 Ethical Christmas Gift Alternatives

5 Ethical Christmas Gift Alternatives

The festive season can be a wonderful time of year filled with loved ones, fun, and gifts. Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's Eve, summer holidays, or a birthday, December is a month attributed to sharing. 
However, this time of year does also come with downfalls. One such issue is consumption. Across the 'Silly Season', unethical and unethical products become blurred amongst the range of potential gifts available. It can be a difficult time to navigate when shopping. In the end, we can get fatigued or complacent with the option that doesn't align with our values. This can further fuel pollution, exploitation, and excess across the globe. 
To assist in ensuring you can reduce your impact this Christmas, we have put together this little guide full of UO ideas for putting the planet before profit this Christmas. 

1. The Pharmacy Store Gift Packs

Christmas PSA: women don't want shit gift sets

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

Care Packs

 

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

Grow your boyfriend

 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

Toilet Bomb Singles $2.50 each

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

Christmas scene from The Office, via The Brag

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

I got you a box Joke, via Meme

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

Gift Wrapping $3.50

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

Last minute gift: one chicken nugget

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

Gift Cards available across different price points

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.

 In case no one told you today you are loved and the planet needs you in it, via The Idealist,

 

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