Your guide to ethical Christmas shopping
It might feel too early to be talking about Christmas, but there are some shopping events coming up soon that you won’t want to miss in the lead up to the festive season.
If you’ve been reading this blog for a few months, then you’ll know that I’m all about supporting small, local and ethical businesses. Shopping locally helps to stimulate local economies while keeping shipping costs and transport carbon emissions low. Small, local businesses also tend to focus more on handmade, small-scale production over mass-produced products and over-consumption, which is something I value. Supporting artisans and local producers also helps to ensure the survival of traditional skills and techniques for generations to come.
Christmas shopping can often be a daunting task at the end of the year, but if there’s anything this year has taught me, it’s the value of slowing down. If you can start your shopping early, you’ll avoid that mad rush in the week before Christmas, and you’ll be safe and sound with shipping times.
From clothing to homewares, these shopping events and online stores are the perfect way to shop mindfully while treating the people you care about.
Markets
The Finders Keepers Market
Check the website for latest dates
More like a festival than a market, this event is usually held in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne a couple of times throughout the year. However, due to COVID, they too have gone online. While it’s a shame to miss out on the epic weekend-long event, the silver lining is 24 hour access to some of Australia’s best designers and makers. You’ll find everything from art prints and textiles to and puzzles.
See website here.
Big Design Market
Check the website for latest dates
The Big Design Market is exactly what it sounds like. Featuring Australia’s best independent designers and makers, this market has a huge range of gifts for your loved ones (and maybe some for you too). They’re also going online this year for obvious reasons, but that means instead of the usual three day market, they’ll be available for eleven days online. They’ve also got prizes to win, so make sure you’re subscribed to their newsletter to enter.
See website here.
Farmers' markets
Check locations and dates with your local council and the Melbourne Farmers' Market website.
Farmers' markets are the perfect place to find local produce, flowers, small-scale wine makers and all the things you need for Christmas dinner. One of my favourite gifts to give (and receive) is a hamper of gourmet food products. You can build your own, or some stalls may have their own hampers for sale. Farmers' markets are the perfect way to support local farmers directly without the middleman, and reduce packaging in the process.
Ethical online stores
If you’re after a more curated collection of gifts to choose from, online ethical stores might be more your style. Make sure you leave time for shipping though. Some of my favourites are:
Photo by britt gaiser on Unsplash