Festive gift guide: Perfect presents for a co-operative Christmas
If you’re looking for some ethical options this year, here’s some ideas to get you started ...
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- Cork clock RRP £14.99 An environmentally friendly alternative in a classic style, with clear black numerals and silver hands. By buying and using cork products you are contributing to the preservation of a natural, renewable resource and important ecological environment. Ashortwalk is a product design and manufacturing company based near Truro, Cornwall. Their eco-products are truely ‘closed loop’. The same vending machine cup or plant pot recycled at the local garden centre last month is back in the same store being sold as a bird feeder! Apart from us 19 different UK companies are directly involved in designing, making, distributing and selling a typical Ashortwalk product. Ashortwalk Website: ashortwalk.com Telephone: 01872 575000
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- Cosy Snowflake Socks RRP £18.00 Hand-knitted 100% wool socks. Not just for Christmas (though they are perfect to hang up next to the chimney for Santa’s visit!). Pachamama is a small company importing knitwear and clothing from Ecuador and Nepal. The ethos is respect for suppliers and the environment. Hence the name – Pachamama, meaning Earth Mother in Quechua, the ancient language of the Incas. Fairtrade, Warm and chunky. Machine washable at 30 degrees. The Ethical Company Website: ethicalshop.org Telephone: 01420 525544
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- Divine 70% Dark Chocolate Advent Calendar – RRP £5.00 This grown up Advent calendar is the perfect choice for those who prefer the intense cocoa taste of dark chocolate, or for those avoiding dairy. The beautiful illustration of a wintery woodland scene will appeal to animal lovers too, and each door opens to reveal a British wildlife fact. In addition, 3p from every calendar sold will be donated to the Woodland Trust. Divine chocolate is committed to sustainability, which is why the calendar is certified by the vegan society. Divine Website: s.coop/25wu3 Telephone: 0191 418 8209
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- Divine Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Thins – RRP £4.00 These moreish treats combine soft, palm oil free caramel with a hint of sea salt, beautifully balanced by a rich dark chocolate shell. Delicious to share with friends over a coffee, or perfect for a crowd pleasing gift. Divine Website: s.coop/25wu3 Telephone: 0191 418 8209
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- Glenwyvis gin RRP £40 Glenwyvis is a community-owned distillery. Its highland gin is made from nine different botanicals which includes locally picked hawthorn. It has a crisp full bodied taste with distinct hints of citrus coming through, along with spices at the back of the palate. Glenwyvis Gin Website: glenwyvis.com +44 (0)1349 862005. Note: These are the correct price and contact details, which appeared incorrectly in the November print edition of the News
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- Co-op Irresistible Macaroons 125g — £4.00 Our developers travelled to Nantes, a town by the Loire River, to craft these deliciously tempting macarons – break through their crispy shells to reveal fluffy, slightly chewy middles filled with delicious flavours of rich chocolate, passion fruit, salted butter caramel, pistachio, raspberry and vanilla. Co-op Food Website: co-operativefood.co.uk Telephone: 0800 0686 727
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- Co-op Irresistible Mince Pie Shortbread Tin 200g — £3.00 Lightly spiced and baked with juicy currants, cranberries, plump sultanas and candied citrus peel. A rich all butter biscuit recipe inspired by the festive taste of mince pies. Perfect for treating those unexpected guests over the Christmas season. Co-op Food Website: co-operativefood.co.uk Telephone: 0800 0686 727
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- Co-op Mulled Wine £3.49 Co-op Mulled Wine blends the finest ingredients in a celebration of traditional festive cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and zesty citrus fruits to produce a delicious infusion that is spicy, rich and medium bodied. Best served warmed to bring out the fruity aromas and rich flavours. Add orange slices and cinnamon sticks if required for visual effect. Co-op Food Website: co-operativefood.co.uk Telephone: 0800 0686 727
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- Co-op Irresistible Potted Stilton 225g — RRP £4.00 This rich and creamy cheese has a distinctive blue cheese tang and comes in its own ceramic pot for that added cheeseboard theatre. Delicious served with fresh grapes on a slice of crusty bread or with oatcakes. Co-op Food Website: co-operativefood.co.uk Telephone: 0800 0686 727
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- Ecoffee Cups starting at RRP £7.00 Each year, over 100 billion single-use cups end up in landfill. But you can banish the guilt of your on-the-go fair-trade latte habit by using an ecoffee cup. Created using naturally organic bamboo fibre (the world’s fastest-growing, most sustainable crop) and non-GMO corn starch, it is BPA and phthalate free. And because bamboo fibre is naturally sterile, the cup won’t flavour-taint your drinks. It is super-light and has a resealable no-drip lid, making it perfect to take with you everywhere you go. The whole product (cup, lid and sleeve) is fully dishwasher safe and should last for years. When you‘re finished with it, though, you can simply crush it, soak it in boiling water and bury it with your organic compost to start the biodegrading process. The food-grade silicone lid and sleeve can be recycled with your kerbside recycling. The Ethical Company Website: ethicalshop.org Telephone: 01420 525544
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- Da Vinci Helicopter Kit RRP £14.99 The Aerial Screw is one of Leonardo da Vinci’s most iconic drawings – and this fun and exciting project gives budding engineers and designers the chance to create a working scale model which adopts Leonardos bevel gear to spin the canopy and support structure. The helicopter should take about an hour to make, with all pieces pre-cut and parts pegged for extra strength. Age 9+ Made using natural, untreated wood from sustainable forests. GMC Distribution (GMC) offers a complete range of sales, marketing and fulfilment services to publishers primarily from the USA and the UK. The Ethical Company Website: ethicalshop.org Telephone: 01420 525544
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- Recycled Teasacks Messenger Bag starting at RRP £39.95 Made from recycled tea sacks, a strong but light fabric. It has a front zipped pocket and an internal zipped pocket, while inside there are 2 pouches, a pen holder and a key holder. The bag is made in India and supplied by a project started as a local initiative in India to tackle the issue of waste management. It now provides income to 300 rag pickers, who are both the suppliers of the waste materials as well as the employees transforming the waste into bags. The rag pickers are paid honestly for the waste they sell. All of the bags are an attractive black on tan but the nature of the recycled materials make each one unique. Little Trove is a UK-based Fairtrade social enterprise, seeking to empower people in developing countries out of poverty, through trade. They sell contemporary fair trade products, ethically and sustainably sourced, and reinvest the profits back into the local supplier communities. Little Trove Website: littletrove.com Telephone: 01782 201367
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- Suma ‘Strength in Numbers’ IPA RRP £2.95 Brewed in Yorkshire using the finest organic hops and malts, this straw-coloured IPA will teach your tongue a lesson with a rugged, malty, floral dance of flavours. A balance of aromatic hops and bitter finish make this beer punchy and powerful, yet smoother than a mole in a smoking jacket. Enjoy straight from the bottle or poured into your favourite glass. 6% ABV (3.0 UK units) Suma Website: sumawholesale.com Telephone: 01422 313840
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- Suma soap RRP £1.99 Suma soaps have been carefully hand crafted using a blend of olive oil, coconut oil, and shea butter, using an age-old process which helps retain all of the soap’s naturally released glycerine. It’s a method which helps produce a wonderfully natural moisturising soap, with a rich creamy lather to help hydrate, sooth, nourish and pamper. Made using only natural ingredients and pure essential oils, these bars are beautifully coloured using herbs, spices, flowers and clays, with some wonderfully unexpected exfoliates. Kind on the environment, free from parabens, SLS & palm oil and perfect for sensitive skin. Each bar is individually boxed in plastic-free packaging, making them ideal as a little gift. Suma Website: sumawholesale.com Telephone: 01422 313840
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- Bees wax lip balm RRP £4.00 Handmade unscented beeswax lip balm with sweet almond, apricot, jojoba and beeswax, which provides moisture and protection for your lips all year round. Three Bee’s Website: threebeescoop.co.uk Telephone: 07833 196826
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- Organic Lavender and Thyme Face Oil RRP £9.00 Lavender & Thyme Face Oil is a nourishing alternative to water-based moisturisers. It contains a combination of five non-comedogenic, luxury oils that are deeply conditioning and suitable for oily/combination skin as well as dry skin. Lavender and thyme essential oils have been added for their calming benefits and antibacterial properties. Three Bee’s Website: threebeescoop.co.uk Telephone: 07833 196826
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- Spice Candle RRP £7.00 A handmade candle crafted from aromatic beeswax and coconut oil, in a terracotta pot. With pure essential oils of orange and cinnamon, the fragance will create a warming, uplifting atmosphere in your home. New Overseas Trading is the wholesale division of The India Shop, a family firm importing from India that has been trading for eighteen years. The India Shop is a member of BAFTS the British Association of Fair Trade Shops and is a recognized BAFTS supplier. The Ethical Company Website: ethicalshop.org Telephone: 01420 525544
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