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Save the planet with socks

Xmas Gifts: Top 20 Ethical Buys

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Looking for a sustainable gift? How about socks that save an endangered species, a backpack made from nettles or a zero waste straw...

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Critically Endangered Socks

These sustainable socks are crafted from plush cotton and bamboo. A chunk of the profits goes towards safeguarding the Maui dolphin by lobbying governments to ban trawling and netting. Not arsed about dolphins? No problem. The orange pair will save the Orangutan while the pink pair protects the Sumatran Elephant.

£12  – buy now

Park Social Soccer Co Football 

For every hand-illustrated ball purchased, Park Social Soccer Co ‘pass’ an identical ball to a child in a less advantaged community. It’s the only ball that can be in two places at once.

£34 – buy now

OneNine5 Wash Bag

Made from 100% recycled plastic and includes a detachable airport clear liquid bag to reduce single use plastics and store 100ml travel bottles.

£49 – buy now

Reusable Bamboo Cutlery Set

Give disposable plastic cutlery the middle finger with this zero waste wooden cutlery set. Comes in its own pouch with a bamboo straw so you can mug off the paper ones in McDonald’s (which, hilariously, can’t be recycled)

£11 – buy now

Dick Moby Brighton Sunglasses

Shades made from bio-based acetate rather than the chemical gunk. Complete with a cleaning cloth fashioned from recycled plastic water bottles.

£225 – buy now

Oliver Co. Bramley Passport Holder

This London firm makes classy vegan leather goods. As you might have twigged, the Bramley passport holder is made from 50% apple waste and 50% polyurethane to create a soft but durable material.

£69 – buy now

Votch Black & Pinatex Classic Watch

Not only is this black-on-black timepiece very cool, it’s strap is made from Pinatex pineapple leather (no extra land or fertilisers are used in production). A Japanese GL20 movement is the icing on the vegan cake.

£81 – buy now

Sustainable Electric Toothbrush

Buy Me Once is a clever website where you can find product designed to last forever. Stuff like this Electric Toothbrush, which uses recyclable plant-based heads and bristles, and a repairable aluminium body. Smart all round.

£190 – buy now

Velosophy Sport bicycle

The Swedish bike builder operates a one-for-one policy, donating a second-hand bike an a kid in need for every new bike sold. You can even buy a steed made from 300 Nespresso coffee pods.

£750 – buy now

Allbirds Tree Runners

The cult footwear brand, known for making ‘the world’s most comfortable shoes’, is committed to sustainable practices. These kicks are made using tree fibre from South African Farms that give fertiliser a miss. Super-soft, moisture-wicking wonders. 

£95 – buy now

TRIWA x Humanium watches

This elegant timepiece is made from melted down firearms taken from conflict zones. Gifting this watch probably isn’t going to stop a war, but it does send a powerful message. Plus, you get to tell people that you’re wearing a AK47 on your wrist…

£179 – buy now 

Patagonia Men’s Long Sleeve P-6 Logo Responsibili-Tee

This 100% recycled t-shirt is fashioned from precisely 4.8 plastic bottles and 118 grams of scrap fabric. What’s more, buying one of these Fair Trade beauties saves 63 gallons of water compared to a conventional cotton t-shirt. Ideal for anyone who feels uncomfortable about Primark selling a t-shirt for £2.

£40 – buy now

Rocket Book Everlast Notepad

This everlasting notebook provides a classic pen and paper experience – yet is built for the digital age. Write in it using any pen from the Pilot Frixion line and your ink sticks. But a quick wipe with a damp cloth will erase everything, thus preventing trees from ending up as Lidl shopping lists.

£34.99 – buy now

Trakke Bannoch Backpack 

This stylish Scottish backback is woven from cotton and stinging nettles (no, really). It’s weather-resistant, constructed in the UK and features 17 pockets, including an interior laptop sleeve suitable for a 15-inch Macbook.

£260 – buy now

When in Rome Rosato box wine

The reputation of box wine used to hover somewhere between Lambrini and Blue Nun. Now, it’s one the hottest sustainable drinks trends. This spicy rosé comes from vineyards who use less intensive farming methods. The box holds the equivalent of three bottles and apparently “stays fresh for six weeks”. Thanks, but six hours should be plenty…

£24.99 – buy now

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