The Glass guide to the most reponsible brands ensuring your gifts are ethical, healthy and sustainable
Scarf by Sheep Inc., £85
Sheep Inc. create naturally carbon negative, 100% traceable and trackable Merino wool knitwear. With an emphasis on ethical rearing and caring for their sheep, fair pay for farmers, zero plastic in their packaging, Sheep Inc prove that it is possible to run a fashion brand and contribute to the wellbeing of planet, people and animals.
The brand spent two years investigating supply chains prior to launch to ensure total transparency and sustainability at every stage of production.
Their products are also stylish, timeless and totally unisex, making them the perfect gift for all.
Get Started Set by Tabitha James Kraan Hair Organics, £59
Tabitha James Kraan was a high-flying hair stylist when she discovered in the ‘90s that the chemicals she put on her scalp were ending up in her body.
She was also horrified at the environmental impact of the products. So she set up her own organic hair salon and created her own line of organic products designed to nurture and nourish hair and not harm the environment with toxic chemicals.
This sumptuous Get Started Set contains scented organic Hair Oil, a botanical, highly nutritious oil that will restore life and lustre to your hair, Hair Cleanser, a creamy problem solving shampoo alternative designed to address a scalp that is out of balance, the 4-in-1 Conditioner, a hair moisturiser, detangler, heat protectant and styling product all in one and Dry Shampoo.
All products are 100% natural and Certified by the Soil Association.
Daily Rituals Kit by Ilody, £155
Founded by Londoner Deepika Patel, Ilody is a small, woman-led business aimed at reconnecting us with the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda – a scientific field of holistic medicine which has existed in India for 5,000 years.
Rooted in nature, the principles of Ayurveda centre on restoring harmony to the body in order to achieve optimum health and beauty. The Kansa wand is a modern take on possibly the oldest beauty tool in the world.
The two copper domes sculpt, drain toxins, lift and helps to balance the PH of the skin due to the natural antibacterial properties of copper. By using in accordance with the massage instructions, my face was noticeably more sculpted within just a few days.
The kit comes with Luxmi hydrating morning serum with tremella mushroom and hyaluronic acid for plumping and detoxifying tired looking skin and Seres nighttime serum for a concentrated approach to fine lines and smoother and plumper looking skin.
The Bottle Bag by London Velvet x Ocean Bottle, from £95
Have you ever had to carry a large handbag purely to have something to carry your drinks bottle in? Well clearly the founder of London Velvet, India Clevely, suffered from the same fashion/hydration conundrum as me because she has come up with the genius and incredibly stylish bottle bag.
Better still, she has collaborated with Ocean Bottle, a certified B-Corp who ensure that for every bottle bought 1000 bottles worth of plastic don’t enter the ocean.
This is facillitated through their own partnership with the groundbreaking Plastic Bank (the founder of which Glass interviewed in 2019). The bottles contain recylced materials but also a vaccum insulated stainless steel interior so hot drinks stay hot and cold drinks stay cold.
All London Velvet pieces are made to order, meaning no material is wasted, no bulk fabric is ordered and nothing ends up in landfill.
Preparation Oil Gift Set by Ostens, £100
Ostens founders, Christopher Yu and Laurent Delafon spent 20 years working in the fragrance industry alongside some of the world’s greatest noses. One day, following a meeting with IFF-LMR – the perfume industry leader in sustainable, ethical, minimal waste and entirely natural fragrances, the duo decided to curate a collection of perfumes that allowed the creative noses of the industry to let their imaginations run wild, without the constraints or brief of a brand. They asked each one to dream big without rules or limitations.
The result of ripping up the rule book is Ostens and their debut collection of six carefully crafted Eau de Parfums, each one inspired by a single raw ingredient. The preparation oil collection features the five single notes which were the springboard for the debut eau de parfums.
The single notes can be worn as beautiful, pure fragrances in their own right or mixed and matched together to spur your own inner perfumer.
Healthy meal delivery by Kurami, from £415 for a 10 day package
Could there be any greater gift than a week’s worth of pre-made, gut loving healthy meals, snacks, smoothies and desserts? This is precisely what Kurami are offering Londoners with their innovative meal delivery service.
The Kurami team comprises chefs and nutritionists who have formulated healthy, diverse meals with a focus on gut health, whole foods, organic ingredients and holistic wellbeing. Food is delivered every other day for freshness and meals only need to be warmed up at home.
Meals include such delights as exotic tagines and laksas, buckwheat tabouleh with tempeh and pomegranate or spiced prawns with lentil dahl and vegetables.
For January the brand are launching their sustainable habits and self love kit which is packed with tools to improve overall gut health and increase plant diversity in our diets.
Detox & Adrenals Kit by Subtle Energies
Glass fell in love with the Subtle Energies brand earlier this year when we sampled their aura protection spray and skincare.
Founded by Ayurvedic doctor Farida Irani, the products blend the ancient wisdom and in-depth herbal knowledge of Ayurveda with the therapeutic benefits of essential oils in the form of aromatherapy. The detox and adrenals kit provides support for one of our most frazzled but overlooked organs – the adrenals.
They bear the brunt of the stress, emotional burnout, inadequate sleep and coffee addiction that plagues modern society. This kit is fine-tuned to support the adrenals and assist with detoxification through the use of medicinal herbs and essential oils. Perfect for supporting a January cleanse or detox.
All Subtle Energies products are certified free from animal testing and free from all synthetic chemicals and fragrances.
Mind & Body food supplement powders by Indi, from £30
Health is the greatest gift but we often give little thought to, or have little knowledge of, just how bereft our modern, repetitive diets are of the phytochemicals, adaptogens, vitamins, antioxidants, prebiotics and minerals that are required to sustain vitality and healthy bodily functioning.
Indi’s superfood powders deliver extremely high quality ingredients in highly creative and health-giving (and tasty) blends making it easy to replenish the the nutrients you didn’t know you were missing.
They offer four blends, Mind, Body, Tone and Build, for different goals. Their Mind blend, for example, promises to sharpen focus, banish brain fog and improve concentration with cocoa extract, lion’s mane mushroom, rhodiola herb and Co-enzyme Q10 as some of its core ingredients. The brand is also plastic free – using only recyclable cardboard and compostable scoops.
Holiday at Home Candle by Legology £45
I had always wondered why it was necessary to have soya or beeswax candles, as opposed to paraffin wax ones with synthetic fragrances, after all – we are not eating them.
But research has shown that petroleum-based paraffin wax candles release toxic chemicals while burning, including toluene, alkanes and alkenes – all known to harm human health – and synthetic fragrances have been linked to kidney disease and cancer.
In comparison, vegetable-based soy and beeswax candles do not produce toxic chemicals and natural fragrances such as essential oils have therapeutic properties. Legology’s candles blend sustainably UK-sourced soya and bees waxes.
Their Holiday at Home scent has been created by the renowned Grasse perfumer Robertet and evokes summer sunshine to lighten up winter days. Its uplifting scent features, notes of lime, bergamot, Amalfi lemon, grapefruit, rose, jasmine, woods, amber, moss and musk.
Their boxes are certified by the World Land Trust as carbon balanced and the brand is plastic neutral, meaning that they fund the removal of as much plastic waste from nature as they use.
Frankincense Intense Lift Serum (£75) & Cream (£65) by Neal’s Yard Remedies
Neal’s Yard is one of THE leading brands promoting sustainability and living in synch with nature. Since 1981 the brand has been a pioneer of preserving the integrity of our soil through supporting organic farming and was the UK’s first certified organic health and beauty brand and also helped to ban plastic microbeads in the UK.
Their products are based on the healing properties of herbs and botanicals and are based on ancient medicinal knowledge as well as modern research.
Their groundbreaking Frankincense Intense collection is clinically proven to visibly lift and recontour the skin with targeted lifting technology, and plump the appearance of deep lines and wrinkles with hydrating hyaluronic acid. The blend of frankincense essential oils also helps you to feel relaxed and stimulates.
The products are also zero waste as they use the by-product left behind from the essential oils that the brand creates by transforming it using an environmentally friendly enzymatic extraction process.
