4 ideas for sustainable gifting choices
Bulgaria (Brussels Morning) As Advent Time and Christmas are coming closer, we think about gifting again. Yet giving presents often means buying things and this creates a dilemma for many of us: what to do, if you love both family & friends and nature, which you do not want to pollute with your consumption?
What can help, is taking more time to think of what can really make our beloved ones happy and making choices that support local production and small, sustainable brands, as they have potential to make a positive change in the way we consume. Choosing green family businesses, we support ways of production and doing business that are ecologically and socially sustainable, support good causes and regain a sense of relationship to the things we buy, so we appreciate and like them for many long years and thus consume less.
In this article, we suggest several ideas for sustainable Christmas shopping and gifting choices that we hope you will find inspiring, too.
- Wherever possible, choose local Products
Europe has over many centuries been home of thriving handcrafts. Our ancestors crafted by hands everything you can think of – from clothing and pottery to fine jewels and art objects of ritual value. In each of our families someone from the older generations earned their living mastering a handcraft. In a sense, creativity flows in our veins, as it used to do in those of our great-grandparents.
With the option to import almost ready products, made far away in low-cost labour markets, often under bad conditions for the employees and the environment, and to do in Europe only the final sewing, proudly adding the label “Made in EU”, our lives are slowly changing. From inspired craftsmen and -women we turn more and more to passive consumers, losing connection between us and what we use in our everyday lives.
At the same time the fact that we are disconnected from what we wear or use and its production makes it easier to consume for example fast fashion products, to wear them for a short while and then to dispose them with no emotions. This contributes tremendously to pollution of the environment and to climate change. Regaining a connection with the people who craft what we wear or objects we use, we can light the flame of deeper appreciation in our hearts again.
And last, but not least, local production means less CO2 emissions, which are normally caused by long-distance transportation of materials and goods.
So choosing local production makes our choices socially and ecologically sustainable.
| Our sets of completely hand-made and hand-decorated glass ornaments for Christmas Tree are a real treasure: they remind us of Christmas at our Grandparents home and sustain an old traditional craftsmenship. Photo Credit: Milena Penkova |
- Try out our credo “Less and Better”
Two years ago, we created Saint Martén – a sustainable slow fashion & lifestyle brand, based in Bulgaria – because we want us to sustain our hand-made traditions and to offer a green alternative. Our philosophy is Less and Better. At Saint Martén, as at many other locally producing and born-green, sustainable brands, we embody the concept of local production and design aligned with the planet’s and society’s needs. At the same time, we want to inspire for conscious choices. It is better for nature when we think twice and buy products of evergreen design and of high quality, that will last and serve long – this is our recipe for sustainable consumption.
In our opinion, slow production does not only mean a responsible and ecological way of crafting products. It has also another vital aspect in the age of climate crisis that is related to our human psychology: the ability to appreciate and love few but high-quality and sustainable goods. We need to invest time and attention to achieve this kind of connection with these products. Slow and local, hand-made production as well as slow fashion give us that precious resource – the time to realize and evaluate our choices, based on our values. It adds value to us and nature per the “win-win” principle.
So choosing carefully makes our choices more lovable.
| We choose only sustainable materials and produce all our products by hand in Bulgaria. Photo Credit: Milena Penkova |
- Choose small brands with social mission
Supporting green small family businesses, we also support the causes they strive for. You can choose to buy presents from the brands that support ideas you find worth supporting. Many sustainable brands donate for wildlife protection or different social initiatives. At Saint Martén, we support with each order we receive WWF-Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Society for Bird Protection.
Another essential aspect of our philosophy is our attitude towards the female body and the cultural transformation needed for our societies in this regard – we promote and support a liberating and non-discriminatory attitude towards the female body, regardless of race, class, age, appearance. For us to do so is a matter of course and it is a pity there is still need to convince women of all ages: “You are good as you are”.
By choosing brands with mission, we support causes that are in line with our values.
| Our Slow Fashion is meant to inspire for self-acceptance and self-love. Photo Credit: Stanislava Damyanova |
- Gift time, not things
Lastly, make sure you take enough time to think about the person you want to give a present to – what is special about their personality? What do you appreciate and treasure about them? What period of their life are they going through? What would truly make them happy? This attention is precious. Remember, as often in relationship topics, also when gifting, this is true: it is the time spent, that matters, not the money.
So by taking time to think about each other, we gift the most special present we can give – our attention.
| Photo credit: Stanislava Damyanova |
We hope we inspired you to have a more mindful and greener Advent Time. And at the end, a personal note from us two:
Small green businesses are above all community endeavours
If you have any colleagues, friends or family members who are devoted fulltime or beside their normal jobs to developing small sustainable businesses, support them the way you can. It does not always take much. You can choose something from their shops, but this is not the only way possible. You can support them also just by spreading the word about what they do and by recommending their projects to your networks. And what matters much as well – tell them you appreciate their efforts and what they do.
Believe us, this really means a lot and gives wings – to continue investing countless efforts in a vision of a more socially and ecologically fair society.
