Confession time: we hate Christmas shopping.
I know, bah-humbug, right? But hear us out: we want to love it, but finding that perfect present that’s personal, useful, eco-friendly and also kinda cool is always tough. Whenever this time of year rolls around, we always start panicking about what on earth we’re going to buy.
So to head off the last-minute ‘that’ll do’ buying rush (admit it, you do it too), this year we pitched two of our team against each other in an epic early Christmas battle, to find neat ideas for queer, eco-friendly Christmas presents for you and your awesome humans.
It’s Unicorn’s Prishant vs. Maddie, the ultimate showdown (queue dramatic music 🎵). Here are their picks – and we’ve included their locations so you can keep your orders local and save on your carbon footprint.
Prishant’s Picks
Gifts To Knock Your Socks Off (#DefeetTheNorm)
For those fans of quirky mismatched socks, look no further than LGBTQ+ and women-owned brand, Pals Socks. With wacky animal pairing designs (think dragons and unicorns, T-rexes and triceratops), these socks are equal parts hilarious and adorable.
They’re made with non-toxic dyes and recyclable textile materials, and come in big kid (i.e. adult) and child sizes – so you can be the great friend and the cool uncle/auntie in just one shop.
Based in Philadelphia, USA
Prices start at $12.99 + P&P
X-tra Cool Clothing
Starting as a social mission to bring us comfortable gender-neutral underwear, TomboyX has now expanded into shirts, socks, swimwear and much more. And you’ll get none of that body-shaming ‘one size fits all’* malarkey: they stock sizes XS to 4X in a range of different cuts and styles, all gender-neutral and fabulous.
* Seriously, do those things ever fit anyone?!
On top of all this queer fashion awesomeness, they avoid using harmful chemicals and use a water-recycling program within their manufacturing progress, so you both you and your conscience can stay looking clean and cool.
Based in London, UK
Prices start at £8.00 + P&P for accessories
Gender Fluide, Solidly Fabulous
Never fear – ethical make-up is here! We Are Fluide is a beauty brand which focuses on creating vegan, cruelty-free and paraben-free makeup designed for all skin shades and genders.
They also partner with and donate to LGBTQ+ charities, and their biodegradable, ocean-friendly glitter is made from cellulose from plants and comes in three bright colours: gold, silver and pink. Perfect for getting your shine on!
Based in Brooklyn, NYC
Prices start at $12.00 + P&P
Bamboo-zled by the choices?
Stuck for a gift that someone might actually use? Ever wondered why your toothbrush can’t be as stylish as you are…? Look no further – Bambootique UK has got this one in the bag. They sell all sorts of eco-friendly household products, including razors, menstrual cups, reusable straws, and rainbow toothbrushes. 🌈
These adorable brushes are made with a biodegradable bamboo handle, no plastic involved, and even arrive in a paper box! Gift a dash of colour and eco-goodness to brighten someone’s morning.
Based in Southend-On-Sea, UK
Prices start at £1.99 + P&P
50% Retail, 0% Waste, 100% Awesome
Looking for a one-stop shop to get different gifts for different people? Look no further than Otherwild, the half retail space and half graphic studio chock to the brim with zero waste products.
Alongside its eco mission, Otherwild also creates awareness and supports a number of queer and social justice charities. So I suppose that actually makes it one part shop, one part design studio, one part activist… I’ve lost count. But all the parts are great, go check them out.
Based in Los Angeles, USA
Prices start at $5.00 + P&P
24 Karat Bold
Is there any gift more badass than ‘Fuck Off’ in solid gold? If you’re feeling flush/generous with your gift-giving, Automic Gold has everything from adorable rings and delicate necklaces to bold, fierce statement pieces.
All their gold products are ethical, sustainable, made with 100% reclaimed gold, and in all ranges of sizes and styles. And you can customise for that extra loud, extra special message of your own.
Based in New York, USA
Prices start at $45.00 + P&P
Maddie’s Picks
What’s All The Buzz About?
Bees are super important for the environment, but they’re also cute as hell. AlsoComesInPurple has really put the ‘bee’ in LGBeeTQ with these cute, hand-crocheted bees.
They’re hand-washable, and available in all sorts of lovely queer colour combos. So when it comes to gifts, don’t worry, bee happy!
Based in Berkshire, UK
Prices start at £4.50 + P&P
Resin The Bar For Eco-Jewellery
Who says being eco-friendly doesn’t mean being eco-fabulous? If accessoring is your resin for existence (*chuckle*), then SparklesNest should do the trick, selling eco-friendly hand-made resin jewellery, keyrings and coasters.
And for those of you who love a good un-moulding video, they un-mould tons of their products on camera on their Instagram so that you can enjoy the satisfying, unpeeling goodness. Mmm…
Based in London, UK
Prices start at £7.50 + P&P
Ohhhh, Your Sex(uality) Is On Fire
Not to wax lyrical, but soy candles are the biz: they’re vegan, biodegradable and you can colour them to be as wacky or as proud as you want.
We found shops in Northern Ireland (flynnirishcandles) and the US (trandleboutique), but there are soy candle shops aplenty all over the place for all your queer gift needs.
And if your giftees would enjoy a giggle at something a bit more risqué, you can get them from KrazyKirstyB in less conventional shapes, if you catch my drift… 🍆
Featured sellers based in Belfast, Massachusetts and Brentwood
Prices vary between vendors
Bi The Way…
You didn’t expect us to do this whole article and not mention our own fab merchandise, right? Bi Pride UK has its own eco-friendly snazzy merch, and there’s even a UNICORN range with tote bags and shirts for all you unicorns out there who want to share your pride for Christmas.
All our T-shirts are CO2 climate neutral, vegan-approved and made from organic cotton, and all profits go back into the charity to help the queer community.
Based in London, UK
Prices start at £12.00 + P&P
Mask But Not Least*
*Yes, we put this last just so we could crack that pun. Judge us all you want, but don’t deny you’ve been secretly digging the awful puns. 😉
Forget disposable masks: now that everyone’s masked up for the foreseeable, it makes sense to gift masks with a bit of eco-friendly pizzazz, right?
Hand-made, washable and reusable, these masks by Velvet Jones Burlesque are available in a variety of prints and styles, including sequinned and unicorned masks – as well as some less jazzy prints for everyday and work wear.
Although, when the sequinned ones look that fabulous, we’d probably wear them to work too…
Based in London, UK
Prices start at £15.00 + P&P
—-
So who won our Christmas battle – Prishant or Maddie? You decide – send us a tweet or message on Insta, and let us know your faves (or any other ideas you’ve come across yourself).
And remember, you can always pop some of these on your own Christmas list. Shhhh, don’t tell Santa… 🎄
Written by Prishant K Jutlla & Maddie Jones
