BY KATIE - MYGREENPOD, 14 Dec '18
From presents and gift wrap to what you serve for lunch, here are our 12 picks for an ethical Christmas
1. BIGBARN LOCAL FOOD MAP
Our friends at BigBarn are helping thousands of people find and buy their Christmas turkey and all sorts of goodies from local and artisan producers.
BigBarn CIC, the UK’s leading local food website, is known as ‘the Amazon of local food’. The mission is to reconnect consumers with their local producers and encourage trade and communication. All while diverting some of the £120bn spent with supermarkets to local trade – with massive social benefits for all.
BigBarn has a Free Range Turkey and Goose Map here, where you can buy and collect from your local farmer. Source all the trimmings you could possibly wish for from BigBarn’s Local Food Map, here.
2. ROSEWOOD FARM ALL WEEK DEXTER BEEF BOX
For the meat-lover in your life, you can’t go wrong with the Rosewood Farm All Week Dexter Beef Box. Rosewood Dexter beef is produced from cattle grazed on one of the last remaining ancient species-rich floodplain meadow landscapes in the UK. The Yorkshire ‘Ings’ are an internationally recognised wetland landscape, created by farming and preserved for their spectacular wildlife.
At Rosewood the cattle are naturally bred to thrive on these semi-natural grasslands with no artificial feeding or chemicals. Medicinal herbs and wildflowers help to maintain their and our health, developing a depth of flavour like no other.
The All Week Dexter Beef Box is the ideal introduction to a selection of cuts, including 1 traditional hindquarter roasting joint, 1 forequarter slow cooked joint, 2 or more steaks, 3 packs of mince and 1 pack of diced stewing beef.
3. ANANDA FOODS VEGAN ROUND UPS
This handcrafted vegan waggon wheel, made in the UK by small artisan producers Ananda Foods, is a first-class treat and a perfect stocking-filler for veggies, vegans and anyone with a dairy intolerance. It comes from Ananda’s 100% vegan and nut-free kitchen.
Handmade vanilla marshmallow is sandwiched between two chocolate biscuits filled with an array of tantalising centres and rolled in gorgeous Belgian chocolate. Born from award-winning entrepreneur Amanda Townend, Ananda’s Round Up is sure to secure a place in your sweet tooth repertoire.
The care and attention to detail, from the ‘Eat Me’ biscuit to the bold designs on the packaging, captures the eyes, heart and bellies of a large vegan following. The Round Up stands to defy the stereotypes of vegan chocolate treats and is a trailblazer for vegan standards!
4. YEO VALLEY VANILLA ICE CREAM
The Mead family has been farming in the beautiful Yeo Valley since 1961, when Roger and Mary first bought Holt Farm. At that time they only had around 30 cows.
Today Roger and Mary’s son Tim runs the business, which is now the largest family-owned dairy business in the UK. It has 1,200 acres of organic farmland and 420 award-winning British Friesian cows.
The farm has only ever had British Friesians. British Friesians are more fertile, live a lot longer and are better suited to the farm’s grass-based system. The farm is ‘100% Yeoganic’, which is the company’s way of being organic and a little bit more – it goes the extra country mile to look after its land, animals and people.
Vanilla from Madagascar is just about the best there is – just like Yeo Valley’s organic British cream. The family farm has mixed them together in its delicious Vanilla Ice Cream. Perfect on its own or on your favourite pudding, just take your time over it.
5. VINTAGE ROOTS PROSECCO
Vintage Roots is the award-winning and leading fully organic, ethical wine and drinks business, and has been since 1986. It’s a privately owned business run by Neil Palmer and Lance Pigott, who are passionate about placing the environment, sustainability and people’s welfare at the centre of their trading.
The Vintage Roots Giol Prosecco Frizzante is light, crisp – and among the best-value organic prosecco wines on the market. Incredibly fruity on the nose, it has pronounced notes of green apple and hints of peach, accompanied by floral notes of wisteria and acacia blossom. At just 11% alcohol, it’s perfect for parties and Christmas morning.
Giol is the oldest Prosecco producer (1427) and switched to organic back in 1987. Grapes are grown on alluvial soils and picked during the coolest part of the day to help preserve their fresh aromatics. It’s also suitable for vegans.
6. WELEDA SKIN FOOD
This enriching, natural balm helps soothe and comfort skin that’s battered by daily stresses – from poor diet to pollution. It’s our best defence against wind and weather – and can miraculously perk up a complexion that’s suffering from lack of sleep.
Weleda Skin Food is a whole body cream for everyday care of dry and rough skin at any age. Whether you use this wonder balm in the run-up to Christmas or buy a tube as a gift or stocking filler, you can’t go wrong. It would be an ideal first moisturiser or a great gift for gardeners.
Weleda skincare works holistically by maintaining health and balancing the body, mind and soul. Pure natural ingredients support the skin functions, stimulating the body’s own processes.
7. TABITHA JAMES KRAAN ORGANIC SCENTED HAIR OIL
This Soil Association-certified organic pre-wash treatment will restore, protect and polish hair. The nutrient-rich and gloriously scented Organic Hair Oil from Tabitha James Kraan has been expertly formulated: it can be used as a treatment before washes, or worn to varnish, moisturise and nurture hair that has been stressed by lifestyle and styling.
Tabitha James Kraan Organic Scented Hair Oil is a truly luxurious oil that smells divine, looks beautiful and would be a welcome addition to any dressing table. It’s also a great introduction to natural hair products: the oil is 100% natural and contains 99% certified organic ingredients. For an added whack of luxury, the bottle also contains Tabitha’s signature Amethyst Stone.
8. THE BARN BEAUTY SALON
This award-winning beauty salon in Somerset offers cutting-edge treatments and holistic therapies including tanning, waxing and skin rejuvenation. You can also book professional makeup for weddings and special occasions, male grooming and even a soothing bathing experience in a raw copper bath equipped with candles and pots of mineral salts, aromatic fresh herbs, essential oils and flower petals.
The treatment rooms benefit from softening recycled plastic rugs sourced from Devon. Recycled timber shelving is positioned in the retail area to showcase The Barn’s vegan and vegetarian brands.
If you know someone who would live some time out, a trip to The Barn would be a perfect gift. Simplicity rules: nature’s honest beauty is evident in every finish, from the natural flagstone flooring and chunky oak ceilings to paints with the highest eco credentials.
9. NOT 1 BEAN COFFEE
Stuck for a gift? There aren’t many people who don’t enjoy a great cup of coffee – and it tastes even better when the beans have been roasted ethically. Not one bean of Not 1 Bean coffee is roasted outside the developing nation that grew the coffee. This means the money from roasting – which represents 99% of the profit in the coffee supply chain – remains where the income and jobs are absolutely vital.
By paying the same workers to roast their own coffee, careers are created and coffee farming becomes a sustainable product across the developing world.
Not 1 Bean coffee is flown the day after being roasted; it never sits in warehouses. This means that not only do farm workers earn much more than just a subsistence wage, but you the consumer receive the freshest possible coffee on the market anywhere.
- BigBarn Local Food Map
- Rosewood Farm All Week Dexter Beef Box
- Ananda Foods Round Up
- Yeo Valley Vanilla Ice Cream
- Vintage Roots Prosecco
- Weleda Skin Food
- Tabitha James Kraan Scented Organic Hair Oil
- The Barn beauty salon
- Not 1 Bean coffee
- Re-wrapped gift wrap
- Tideford Vegan Gravy with Red Miso
- OBCo Original Beard Balm
10. RE-WRAPPED GIFT WRAP
Re-wrapped produces beautiful 50x70cm gift wrap on 100gsm paper, each with its own matching swing tag, plus A6 greeting cards (blank inside for your own message) on 350gsm card and A5 notebooks with 88 pages of 90gsm writing paper (plain or lined).
The company only uses 100% recycled post-consumer waste unbleached pulp, and the designs are printed with environmentally friendly vegetable-based inks. All its products are fully recyclable and designed, produced and printed in the UK.
11. TIDEFORD VEGAN GRAVY WITH RED MISO
Looking for the final touch to your vegan Christmas lunch? Tideford Organic Vegan Gravy with Red Miso is a delicious savoury stock of carrots, celery, onion and garlic – with a twist of black pepper and an umami hit of fresh organic red miso.
Tideford has been making delicious, homemade-style soups and sauces in its Devon kitchen since 1996. Now, 20 years later, Tideford Organics’ love affair with vegetables has taken on a new level, with a re-launch in September 2016 as the first organic, vegan and gluten-free brand in the UK.
Red miso brings a its balance of umami salty-sweetness and tartness to this recipe. It’s made from soya beans, rice and koji culture, and slow-aged to give it a deep and powerful flavour with a long, complex finish. Just as delicious on sausages and mash as on a roast!
12. OBCO BEARD BALM
The non-greasy, fresh smelling, vegan-friendly beard balm from Original Beard Company (OBCo) has been helping customers up and down the UK for almost two years. It would be a perfect gift for anyone who needs to spend less time on beard maintenance and more time on, well, anything else.
It’s a beautifully light, highly nourishing beard balm, designed to offer a light hold while moisturising and caring for your beard and the skin beneath it. Supplied in a generously sized and fully recyclable 50ml aluminium tin, you’ll have enough balm to care for even the most demanding of beards!
Some customers reported that dry skin, flakiness, psoriasis and general itchiness problems cleared up within a week of applying this beard balm daily.
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