An Ethical Christmas

This holiday season is unique (to put it lightly!) Our priorities have changed, and we feel a greater sense of community and connection. We are overwhelmed by the number of people who email, call, or tap on the door – expressing their wish to support a small business. We are all so grateful as a team.

Here we are going to outline what we are doing as a business to be as positive as we can in our approach to the holiday season. We will outline a few of our personal tips too!

1. When planning our ‘Black Friday’ event, once again we decided to donate 10% from every order to Yoga Stops Traffick. We feel very strongly that as a supplier of yoga products, we should contribute to a cause based in India, where yoga finds its roots. You can learn more about the work YST do here.
2. We’ve sponsored YST for another year and we will continue to support them throughout the year.
3. We are running a food bank fundraiser in January.
4. We’re packaging and sending items as gifts, in a sustainable way.
5. Gift cards are available if stocks dwindle or you would prefer to let someone choose for themselves.
6. The team and I will all take a complete break from Christmas Eve through to early January. No boxing day sales – we will run a sale in January.

You can read our gift guide here, our Christmas delivery dates are here.

Our Personal Eco-conscious Christmas Tips

• Buy local and from small businesses. Jeff Bezos will soon be the world’s first trillionaire. Please give Amazon a miss if you can! They take 15% commission from every seller plus additional fees depending on the order. Tip: If you see something you like on Amazon, visit the sellers website and buy it direct.
• If you can, DONATE. Find your local food bank or donate to the Trussell Trust here: https://www.trusselltrust.org/
• Regifting can feel a little awkward. Regifting is the act of passing on an unwanted gift to someone else – usually new. However, for children – it makes so much sense to pass on second-hand toys. Almost every toy you buy a child will end up in landfill one day. Maybe include a note to explain why you have regifted, and why you have chosen that particular gift for them. We’re regifting so many of Tom’s toys this year, and he has enjoyed the process of picking the toys he wants to give away, and the person he wants to give them to. We’re also a big fan of Whirli toy subscriptions. 
• Buy gift vouchers for businesses that have been forced to close! Hospitality, theatre, music, spas, YOGA CLASSES. Give the gift of something to look forward to!
• Go to the Theatre (virtually!). The Arts have been hit harder than almost any sector. Make an evening of it and book a live-streamed performance. We’ve booked The Christmas Carol at the Old Vic. You can view many performances for free and choose to donate.

WRAP UP!

We LOVE wrapping presents, but we do not like conventional wrapping paper. Do not put it in your recycling bin. The vast majority of it can’t be recycled, and the number of inks used on paper wrap makes it unsustainable.

Use paper tapes or tie your presents. If you have used recyclable wrapping paper, the plastic tape will immediately deem it non-recyclable.

Alternative Options

A roll of plain brown paper – leave it bare or get a wee one to paint it before you use it - tie with ribbons or raffia.

Newspaper! It can look lovely with a piece of raffia and a sprig of holly!

Wrag Wraps - reusable fabric wrap.

Furoshiki wraps – Here is a company based in Edinburgh.

We wish you a mindful, relaxing and crafty run up to the holiday.

The Ekotex Yoga Elves.