Zero-Waste, 100% heart
Last minute gift ideas from brands that care.
The holidays are upon us, though it may not feel that way with everything else going on in the world. Facing this holiday season armed with my new personal quest to become increasingly zero-waste, I had the task of factoring this into my gifting choices. I will not say I was 100% successful, there is packaging waste a-plenty. Next year I’m sure I will have a very robust list to share, but in the meantime I pulled together a short list of companies who keep an eye on people and planet in the pursuit of profits - or the holy trinity: the triple bottom line.
These five businesses are are local/domestic as well, so I encourage you to support local in these difficult times.
Free Swim Goods
“Good things by good brands for good people.”
Based out of Toronto, ON, Free Swim Goods has something for everyone. Whether it’s clothing for Babies to Grown Ups, art, or other home goods, all brands support ethical working conditions or small batch, international artisans. “We like to find companies that engage local artisans,” says Kathleen Ryan, founder of Free Swim Goods, “We want to support the local creative community.”
An e-commerce brand, Free Swim Goods keeps the environment in mind as products are shipped to you in compostable or recyclable mailers. Need another reason to shop there? 10 percent of every purchase is donated to fund arts programs for kids through their charitable partner Unity.
LUSH Cosmetics
Started in 1996 in Vancouver, the fragrant scent of a LUSH Cosmetics store reaches your nose before you even see it. Whether you’re gifting a bath bomb, shampoo bar, or a face mask - packaging is either non-existent, or made from recycled materials. The recycled materials are the black plastic pots that many of the brand’s products come in. Black plastic is not accepted in a lot of municipal recycling systems, but if you collect five empty containers you can return them for a free face mask! These five pots are then returned and recycled into new product containers. A closed-loop system.
In an effort to support the industry in which it operates, LUSH has put into place regenerative farming practices at its farms around the globe.
LUSH products are also 100% vegetarian, cruelty, and ethically traced.
Craft Beer
To quote Homer Simpson: “Mmm Beer.” Beer isn’t for everyone, but with the explosion of craft brewing in recent years, there are increasingly more viable pairings. The production of beer does produce waste, mostly in the form of spent barley, but breweries are rerouting this byproduct. Henderson Brewing donates its spent barley as an input to Spent Goods bakery, Left Field Brewery gives it to Tom & Sawyer for dog treats, and other breweries send it to farmers for livestock feed.
Spent grain from Henderson’s brewing process.
As far as packaging goes - all beer is packaged in either aluminum cans or glass bottles.
Both glass and aluminum are infinitely recyclable, in that it does not degrade in quality each time it is recycled. Virgin aluminum production has a bigger carbon footprint than virgin glass does, but it requires 95% less energy to produce recycled aluminum (versus about 25% less energy for recycled glass). It is estimated that nearly 75 percent of all aluminum produced is still in use today.
So feel good about breaking into a six-pack this holiday season! You can feel even better knowing that Burdock Brewery uses 100% recycled plastic for its six-pack rings - with plans to find a biodegradable option.
Some of our favourite breweries around the GTA:
Collective Arts Brewing - Hamilton
Bandit Brewery - Parkdale
Rorschach Brewing Company - Leslieville
Burdock Brewery - Dufferin Grove
Left Field Brewery - Leslieville
Blood Brothers Brewing - The Junction
Great Lakes Brewery - Etobicoke
Bellwoods Brewery - Trinity Bellwoods
Black Lab Brewing - Leslieville
Maison Tess
Based out of Montreal, Maison Tess has integrated sustainability throughout its supply chain. Maison Tess factors in sustainability by minimizing the number of shipments from the manufacturer (2x per year), material use (OEKO-TEX® Certified and part of the Better Cotton Initiative), supplier choice, packaging choices (only two vinyl [plastic] stickers in my order), and lastly their return policy.
With a robust return policy, allowing for a 30 day sleep trial, sheets are bound to be used! If you decide to return your used sheets - they are then donated to Chez Doris - a women’s shelter in Montreal ❤
Kotn
Since its founding in 2015, Kotn has continued to raise the benchmark for what it means to be a conscious company. Kotn makes sure that it gets the finest fibers for its namesake [cotton] by working directly with farmers in Egypt, and using the Better Cotton Initiative to source cotton for its products made out of Portugal. Kotn is careful who they choose to partner with to manufacture its clothing, choosing only those who are committed to fair treatment and pay for its employees.
One of the most important and impressive things that Kotn does is build schools for underprivileged communities in rural Egypt. For Black Friday this year, Kotn committed 100% of proceeds from sales to help build more schools. They hope to have 50 schools built in the Nile Delta by 2025. If you haven’t caught-on to Kotn, now is the time.
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While these brands may not be entirely zero-waste, they certainly keep society and the environment in mind as they build their brand. I hope to dive deeper into these practices, and the brands who adhere to them in 2021. See you then! May your days be merry and bright!
