A GIFT GUIDE WITH A CONSCIENCE
Many of us are holly-and-ivy deep in the opening stages of the festive period, a tally of mulled-wine induced hangovers already notched up, sweaty charges down the High Street and tendonitis induced click-strain from Black Friday. The Christmas season heralds a period of high-purchasing as we buy for our loved ones. An increasingly consciousness towards a number of critical factors facing humanity including the challenges facing our environments and poverty are hearteningly manifesting in consumer trends. A Futerra's survey of over 1,000 consumers across the USA and UK discovered that 96% of people feel their own actions, such as donating, recycling or buying ethically, can make a difference.
Check out the Mad To Live Gift Guide with A Conscience, with many of the gifts below either supporting charitys directly with their purchase, being made from sustainable sources, or do not use plastics in their packaging and delivery.
COSMETICS
WHITE WITCH SKINCARE
Hailing from Ireland, all White products are registered by The Vegan Society, come in 100% plastic free packaging, and usie wildflowers, plants, oats and seaweed from the unspoiled coast and meadows of the Atlantic. We love the regenerating skin balm, a gentle, protective, regenerative balm for all skin types.
KINN
KINN make award winning vegan and eco-friendly cleaning and laundry care alongside their certified organic body care. Formulated using the principles of aromatherapy it will leave your home smelling like a spa thanks to the unique blend of real essential oils and natural ingredients. Prices range from £3.50 - £16 @kinn-living
BYBI
BYBI’s mission is to make sustainable skincare easy and accessible to everyone. Sustainable skincare at BYBI means products that come at minimal impact to our planet. Products that:
Don’t cause strain on biodiversity, non-renewable resources or the communities involved in their production
Have a low associated carbon footprint to their production and travel
Are packaged in materials that can at the very least be recycled into something new, but if it’s not, won’t damage our environment
WE LOVE:
Balance & Glow | £42
The perfect starter kit for young or blemish-prone skin; your little sister whose glowing complexion gets the occasional zit or that beauty-mad younger cousin. A super simple, skincare-junky approved routine; cleanse, calm and glow.
Vegan Heroes | £56
Whilst all BYBI products are certified vegan and cruelty-free, this is a core collection of hero products no vegan should be without. Four versatile, multipurpose products that can be mixed into any skincare routine. The perfect gift when you have no idea what to get them but know they're vegan.
THREADS
LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
League Collective creates multipurpose, sustainable and high-tech sportswear for women. Driven by a passion to develop highly functional, strong and durable garments through processes that have minimal impact on landfills and the wider environment, all clothing is made in the UK and uses 100% recycled fabrics wherever possible.
We heart the Multi-purpose leggings, the yoga/gym bra and one piece.
THE NORTH FACE
The North Face are continuously upping their game, and their most recent Thermoball collection has given the equivalent of 3.6 million plastic bottles new life this season.
We Love:
Thermoball jacket: Comes in loads of colours and is made with 100% recycled insulation.
Back To Berkeley 100% recycled P.E.T ripstop trainers
Thermoball Slippers Everyone loves a slipper for Christmas and these are made out of recycled materials.
FINISTERRE
One of Mad To Live’s all-time favourite’s, Finisterre (B Corp Certified) have a killer rap-sheet for best practice in sustainability. From products containing polyester and polyamide (Nylon) made using recycled materials; to use of British Bowmant wool, to mailbag made from unbleached kraft pulp, sourced from renewable FSC/PEFC compliant paper mills (both recyclable and compostable), a repair menu option and more, your purchase power is strong with Finisterre.
We love the Burnett Jumper, a traditional fisherman's jumper style with an entirely British supply chain. Knitted from a soft and fine lambswool yarn from Bluefaced Leicester sheep.
PATAGONIA
Patagonia Gift of Giving donation card, from $1-$10,000
This festive season, Patagonia is matching all donations made in support of grassroots environmental organisations through Patagonia Action Works from 29 November (Black Friday) until 31 December 2019. Additionally, they are providing a platform for you to give the gift of giving and donate to an environmental protector in the name of a loved one. Donors can choose to send a digital eCard, print a card from home, or pick up a physical card in any Patagonia store in the U.S. or Europe.
Patagonia R5 Yulex round toe booties, are the warmest surf booties for the most extreme cold. Made from 85% Yulex natural rubber/15% synthetic rubber by polymer content. The natural rubber is derived from sources that are Forest Stewardship Council® certified by the Rainforest Alliance; the synthetic rubber is chlorine-free.
ROKIT ORIGINALS
With over30 years of experience selling vintage in London with four stores and a thriving online store make Rokit the go-to destination for vintage lovers. Here you can find anything from 60’s Chanel jackets, Gianni Versace jumpers, iconic vintage ski and of course cosy knits. Rokit Originals specialise in reworking vintage fabrics or garments and making them into something new to be loved again. They are the master of recycling clothing.
We love the ROKIT ORIGINALS JENNA TARTAN CROPPED PUFFER JACKET
HOODIES FOR THE HOMELESS
A recent report listed the number of homeless people in London as 8,855. Hoodies for The Homeless aim to combat that via sales of their jumpers, aiming to sell 8,855 hoodies to help provide a little bit of warmth to homeless people in London this winter. The hoodies are made of 100% recycled material and for each hoodie sold, they donate an additional hoodie to the Crisis at Christmas appeal.
CHARLI COHEN
Charli Cohen is a London-based technical fashion brand with strong social values.
Each of these styles are made from a special technical polyamide created from recycled fishing nets, produced in small batches in a carbon neutral factory.
WE DIG: The Laser leggings, Athena Multi-Body and Trojan Bomber.
JEWELS
ZM JEWELLERY
All pieces are cast from recycled metals and made right in London. When sourcing materials to set into pieces ZM try to upcycle materials rather than buy something new. The packaging is recycled and made in Cornwall.
Each piece of jewellery is packed in beautifully designed recycled packaging, along with Jewellery Care instructions. The perfect gift!
We LOVE The Wave earrings & Sunshine pendant
PERFECT PLANET
Perfect Planet are an eco-focused jewellery brand who support Rainforest Trust UK with their Land Collection and Marine Conservation Society with their Sea Collection.
All jewellery is 925 Sterling Silver sourced from a recycled silver bank, coated in either 18k Gold or White Gold and their packaging is plastic free.
We Heart the Inhale / Exhale necklace.
FOR THE BOYS
THALASSOPHY
New British men’s lifestyle brand Thalassophy acknowledge the world’s plastic problem and face it head-on with a fresh, transparent business model with an end goal of truly circular fashion. Offering a return on garments at the end of use, in exchange for a 20% discount on next purchase, they will then donate them, along with any surplus stock and samples, to the Royal Trinity Hospice.
Thalassophy has also partnered with Sane and Surfers Against Sewage, whereby for each item purchased a donation is made on behalf of the customer.
The William shirt and shorts have been developed using fully traceable 100% organic cotton & the buttons are made from the corozo nut, a seed from the tagua palm and are fully bio-degradable.
UNI//SEX
PEREGRINE
Peregrine are an 8th generation, family owned brand with fully traceable production and only use non-mulesed organic wool – they love their sheep as much as they love their wool! All fabrics used are 100% natural, even down to the wax on the jackets, and everything is made here in Britain which of course minimises carbon foot print ✈️! Most styles are unisex too, so if you like your jumpers oversized then grab a men’s waffle knit, or a for a more fitted style go for the women’s.
We heart the Kendal Funnel Neck Jumper, the Alpine Beanie, the Boot Socks and Peregrine Oversized Scarf.
HOWIES
The Howies Dellow Unisex is a lightweight wadded jacket with a recycled polyester ripstop outer, insulated windproof jacket for year round warmth. Better than a sweatshirt.
YOGI BARE
YOGI BARE is an eco-conscious yoga life brand founded by passionate yogi Kat. Their yoga collections are inspired by that self-expression in yoga, the journey of falling in love and accepting the things that make you individual.
We heart:
The Travel yoga mat: machine washable & folds up to the size of a jumper, handy for any adventure.
The Yoga 'Paws’ mats: non slip. Green ‘Wild’ Paws mat plants a tree for every mat bought and the 'Lunar’ blue mat supports ocean conservation charity, Sea Shepherd
The ‘X’ mat: extra long, wide and grippy. Guys will love this!
BAMBUKA
Bambuka are a family-owned business helping to save our planet from unnecessary usage of single-use plastic
We heart the 100% biodegradable, vegan, sustainable and eco-friendly cultlery set, and bamboo safety razor, made from natural bamboo handle and stainless-steel parts.
ADULTS & KIDS
LOVE & HONOR
Love & Honor Swimwear have closed the loop by using only recycled and regenerated fabrics. Small batch production from a family run factory in Northern Europe, Love & Honor only produce as many garments as they think they can sell. Using organic cotton from Turkey for their clothing and pyjama collections, Love & Honor’s kids and swimwear collections are beyond rad for the whole family.
We Dig the kids Surf Love and Rock n Roll Organic cotton sweatshirt, the Women’s Swim Separates, organic pyjamas, and gidget swimsuit.
