Conscious Consumer Holiday Gift Guide – Ethical, Sustainable, Slow And Minimalist Ideas For Everyone
I believe in the transparency of the Internet so I am disclosing that certain products and links on this video contain an affiliate commission for every purchase that you make. Having said that, I only promote products that I have investigated thoroughly.
If you are a conscious consumer, minimalist or practice slow living, then I’ve got a special Holiday Gift Guide for you with 18 ethical, sustainable, slow and minimalist gift ideas. While the holidays are supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, the over-consumption and waste can be very stressful. So this holiday gift guide focuses on fewer, more meaningful gifts, as well as some more enjoyable ways to shop for them.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE AAMODT / PLUMB YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE TO GET MORE VIDEOS ABOUT CREATING A SLOW HOME
READ THE TRANSCRIPT:
Mette Aamodt: Hey folks, welcome to the Aamodt/Plumb YouTube channel where we give you tips and advice for creating a Slow Home that is Good, Clean and Fair. If you are a conscious consumer, minimalist, or practice slow living, then the holidays can be a particularly challenging time. A lot of the consumption and waste can get in the way of what we’re really celebrating, but we have got a special holiday gift guide for you with 18 ethical, sustainable, slow and minimalist ideas for everyone on your list, as well as some of my tips for slowing down this holiday season. I am Mette Aamodt, co-founder of Aamodt/Plumb Architecture, Interiors and Construction and we design Slow Homes for our clients every day.
Since my diagnosis with MS in 2002 I have been a proponent of slow living. I love the holiday season for the ‘hygge’ – more on that in my next video – but I also tend to get stressed out with all of the extra things to do, like shopping. So this holiday gift guide is going to focus on fewer, more meaningful gifts as well as some more enjoyable ways to shop for them.
Ethical Gift Idea: Haitian Hex Plates by Gift of Hope Haiti
Ethical Gifts
1. I found this bowl set at a Haitian crafts fair. It was actually sponsored by the Vassar Haiti Project, and it’s a beautiful set of bowls and it really reminds me of mid century modern stuff: handmade, carved out of mahogany. I found this site called Gift of Hope Haiti, which is a nonprofit organization that works with local artisans in Haiti to produce these beautiful home goods. This one I’m featuring is a hand card set of mahogany plates in a hex shape that I think are just gorgeous.
Ethical Gift Idea: Macrame bag by Gift of Hope Haiti
2. Gift of Hope Haiti also had this amazing macrame handbag with a mahogany handle, and macrame is super popular right now so I just thought this was adorable.
Alpaca throw from Peru by Serve Haiti
3. When looking for the Haitian bowls I also came across serrv.org, which is a nonprofit that partners with Haitian artisans as well as artisans from all across the world. This is a gorgeous alpaca striped throw from Peru.
Ethical Gift Idea: Palm nesting baskets by Kazi
4. This is a set of fair trade nesting baskets woven from natural materials in Uganda. The set is only $72 and I had mentioned in a previous video that finding ethically made baskets for storing stuff at home is really expensive. So I was really excited to find these.
Kazi’s website
Kazi was founded to create beautiful products to alleviate poverty all across rural Africa, and I got super giddy when I saw their website and this cover page because I love how it ties together a global aesthetic with a kind of minimalist Scandinavian vibe. All of their goods are Fair Trade, ethically made and made with local natural materials. That is, local to the artisans in Africa.
Sustainable Gifts
The next category is sustainable gifts, although I have to mention that almost all of these products are ethical, sustainable, minimalist and slow all at once. I put them into categories just to organize the list, but once you dig into the details you’ll find that they checked a lot of the boxes.
Sustainable Gift Idea: Bee’s Wrap for sustainable food storage
5. These are at the top of Sam Roller’s list, from our office. They are bees wax coated organic cotton cloths that you can use instead of plastic wrap to store your food, wrap up sandwiches, apple slices, things like that for your lunch. This is great because plastic wrap is one of those things that is really, really hard to do without if you’re trying to reduce the amount of plastic in your life.
Now, I did have a set of these at home and I have to admit that I didn’t properly prepare everyone in the household for how these should be cared for and so they got thrown in the washing machine, which removed all of the wax coating and rendered them fairly useless. So it does take a little bit of care and a little bit of learning to figure out how to use them, but I think that once you do, you’ll find that they’re super, super cool.
Sustainable Gift Ideas: August Sage’s Linen Napkins
6. Sarah Lueck suggested reusable cloth napkins to reduce the amount of waste with paper towels and paper napkins. These from August Sage are made of linen, which is one of the most hard-wearing natural materials. They are ethically made in a Fair Trade environment by artisan women in India. I personally don’t like to iron my linen napkins, I like the crumbly casual look and these napkins just get softer and softer over time with use.
Sustainable Gift Ideas: The Citizenry’s Farah Towels
7. One of my suggestions is Hammam style towels. These are thin cotton towels that are quick drying either on the line or in your dryer, much, much faster than terrycloth towels and they look a lot cuter hanging in your bathroom. I have been switching my towels over to these and I’ve been really, really happy with them. These particular ones are from The Citizenry and our handmade in Morocco in a Fair Trade environment.
Before we get into our slow and minimalist ideas, I have a quick question for you: which of these four categories best describes you? Ethical, sustainable, slow, or minimalist? Type that word into the comments below.
I love this time of year because I get lots of reminders of my Norwegian heritage: the darkness, cozy sweaters, candle lights and Christmas decorations all bring out hygge get for me. My next video is going to be all about hygge, slowing down the Scandinavian way, so look out for that on our channel.
Speaking of slowing down, how can we find ways to slow down during the rush of holiday shopping? Next up, I am going to talk about what I plan to do to reduce my stress and improve my enjoyment of holiday shopping this season.
Slow Gifts
8. My first suggestion is not exactly a gift idea, but it’s a way to shop for holiday gifts that I think is less stressful and more enjoyable. I love that my town has lots of little shops, but I know that they struggle. So this year I’m going to avoid the mall and online shopping, and shop local.
9. Shop vintage. I talk a lot about how shopping for pre-owned furniture is really eco-friendly option in this video, so check out more information there.
Slow Gift Idea: Plants from your local nursery
10. Grace Mathieson suggested buying plants from your local nursery. Studies have shown that taking care of plants and pets reduces your overall stress. Plants in particular improve your indoor air quality.
Slow Gift Idea: French press by August Sage
11. The next couple of gift ideas are from August Sage, whose tagline is “modern meets heritage”. I just love that because I think that that is a quintessentially slow concept. Taking old ideas and making them new again. The first item from them is this ceramic French press, which is a classic design made of durable materials, no plastic to be found. And what I’ve heard is among people who really appreciate coffee, French press is the best way to make it.
Slow Gift Idea: August Sage’s Handmade Ceramics
12. The second item from August Sage is this set of hand thrown cups and utensil holders and bowls. Each piece is unique and I love that you can see a band of the raw clay on the bottom of each piece, and a faint line where the glaze meets the ceramic.
Slow Gift Idea: Imperial Yarn Blanket
13. This old school wool blanket is another suggestion from Sarah Lueck. It’s made in the US of all natural wool from a small US company that owns its own sheep and processes the wool without any harsh chemicals.
Slow Gift Idea: Made Trade Wool Booties
14. Another wool product that comes from Made Trade are these handmade wool booties in adult sizes. They’re handmade in Patagonia, not in a factory. They’re made by individual artisans in their homes. I’ve been looking a pair of slippers that doesn’t have foam and plastic in it, and when my felt ones wear out, this is what I’m going to get next.
15. Next up is minimalist gift ideas. David Ascher suggests gift certificates to a local woodworking, ceramics or glass blowing class. This is the “teach a person to fish and feed them for life” approach. This falls into the minimalist category because it prioritizes experience over things.
Slow Gift Idea: Donate a goat through the Gift of Hope Haiti
16. This gift is for the person who really has everything or doesn’t want anything. And this I found at Gift of Hope Haiti. In Haiti, a goat is a very valuable commodity because you can breed them and you can support your family for a long time. So for $60 you will get a picture of this adorable goat and know that you have helped a family in need.
Slow Gift Idea: Nisolo weekender bag
17. This is the only bag you’re ever going to need. And if you’re a minimalist, I challenge you to fit all of your possessions into this bag. This is made by a Nisolo and it is ethically made in Mexico. It’s a waxed canvas bag with leather straps.
18. Even minimalists need some practical stuff, like a dish scrubber. So if you’re going to have one, you might as well get one that sparks joy, like these Japanese handmade scrub brushes. These are from Territory design and are sold individually so you can pick up whichever one suits you best.
I’ve just given you our holiday gift guide with 18 gift ideas that are ethical, sustainable, slow, and minimalist. I’m sure you’re going to be able to find something that you love. I have also shared my number one tip for reducing stress while holiday shopping this year, and that is to avoid them all, bundle up in a cozy sweater and scarf, and take a walk down main street, of course, sitting down for a coffee to warm up along the way. Please subscribe to our channel, give the video a thumbs up if you liked it, and share it with someone who you think might find it valuable. Next video will be all about hygge and slowing down the Scandinavian way, so I’ll see you there.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE AAMODT / PLUMB YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE TO GET MORE VIDEOS ABOUT CREATING A SLOW HOME
