This Christmas, choose gifts that are kind to our planet

Now that we have turned back the clock in the UK and can feel a chill in the air, we may be starting to plan for Christmas. 

With growing awareness of the devastating effects climate change has on our planet, a number of companies have been set up specifically to focus on preserving and conserving our resources.  They have created products that would be ideal as gifts for friends and family who are keen to play a part in being kind to the environment and help save the planet.

Trashy Bags Africa is a UK-owned, Ghana-based commercial social enterprise that identified a function for the waste caused by water sachets. 

Poppy Dent, Operations Director, explained that while water sachets are the largest source of safe drinking water in Ghana, they cause waste hazards when discarded after use.

Much like any other single use plastics, these plastic water sachets have become a big problem across Africa because of the lack of recycling initiatives and waste management infrastructure. This is when Trashy Bags Africa recognised that the sachets can be transformed into durable and sustainable products directly from the raw materials.

The range includes rucksack, pencil case, cosmetic case, collapsible shopping bag, laptop sleeve and tote bag. 

Water sachets are the largest source of safe drinking water in Ghana

With up to 70 sachets being used for each bag and any waste left over from the process being recycled into plastic pellets, Trashy Bags Africa is promoting a “Trade Not Aid” approach.

The rucksack, for example, measures 38 x 30 x 12 cm and is made using more than 50 individual used water sachets. The reverse of the rucksack is made from offcuts of fabric to ensure comfort. 

The Trashy "Smart" Bag measures 42 x 32 x 15cm (unfolded) or 22 x 16 x 4 cm when folded into its own base making it convenient and practical.  It is made from over 64 used water sachets, and can carry up to 18kg.

While the Pencil Case is made from over 16 used water sachets, the Cosmetic Bag is made from 48 used water sachets.  The bags are all light and can be compressed down when not in use.

Poppy says all their products are upcycled from the reclaimed plastic sachets and are not reprocessed in any way apart from cleaning, ensuring very little energy is used to add value to a material that would otherwise end up in landfill or burnt.

Each month nearly 200,000 plastic sachets are collected by a network of commercial enterprises, each obtaining an income from their efforts, now giving value to waste. 

Trashy Bags Africa have collected and recycled over 30 million sachets since they started in 2007, and today employ over 30 full-time local people, to design, clean & stitch plastic trash into fashionable and useful bags and other products. 

All Trashy Bag Africa products are available to purchase via their Etsy Shop.

All photos © Lucia Carpio 2022.  Photos above were photographed at Top Drawer trade fair, London,, September 2022. 

Another British company, Wool-Pots.co.uk has been resourceful in converting otherwise discarded wool into sustainable pots for plants, which will be perfect as gifts for gardening enthusiasts.

Wool Pots on show during Wool Month 2022 in the UK in October 2022.
Photo © Lucia Carpio 2022

Founders of Wool-Pots.co.uk say their Wool Pots offer a biodegradable, environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to plastic plant pots, and will help reduce the amount of single use plastic in horticulture.  Manufactured in the UK and Egypt, the end use of Wool Pots mean wastage is minimal.  

The product was created to help farmers reduce the vast amount of unwanted wool and help save the planet.

According to the founders, Wool-Pots.co.uk was formed after they discovered that some 500 million plastic plant pots were reportedly being sent to landfill in the UK every year.  Meanwhile British farmers, in despair, are burning their wool because they have no viable market for their fleeces.  With these two challenges in mind Wool Pots have been created as a viable alternative to plastic pots and a huge benefit to the planet.

"We have friends who farm sheep and it gives us huge pride to continue the British tradition of product innovation and creativity to help them create a new market for their wool, said founder Graham.  "Our Egyptian factory plants two trees for every order under their 'buy one get one tree' re-greening the desert initiative and our Scottish factory reduces transport miles for UK orders and promotes British manufacturing.

For unique home gifts for eco-conscious home-makers, Danish brand Mumutane utilise sustainable textiles for their range of home products featuring traditional African prints presented with Nordic minimalism. Founder Maria Kastrup Lausten sources leftover fabrics from Kvadrat (a Danish textile company that produces and supplies textiles and textile-related products), creating unique cushion covers with a good balance of modern cross-cultural mix.

Maria Kastrup Lausten 

Cushions with African wax print in a Nordic setting

In relaying her brand’s sustainable journey as well as the importance of incorporating a social impact aspect, Maria said African wax print textiles contain many tales and stories of life in Africa, which give the products a special dimension and story.  Every cushion is unique, with the front made of wax print textile sourced from small, local textile shops in West Africa, and the back is made of high-quality wool-blended leftover textiles.

Padded "quiltet"

The environment and social responsibility agenda together with the “give work philosophy” is a mindset that is rooted in the core of the strategy of Mumutane, which became certified as a B Corporation in 2021, said Maria.

Table cloth in African print

Maria added their objective is to create “products with purpose”, which is why Mumutane has a sustainable approach with a focus on minimising textile waste, improving work conditions in low-income countries and supporting production with social conscious and impact.

Images courtesy of Mumutane who exhibited at Design London held at Magazine London in north Greenwich in September 2022.