By Makaela Willis, Marketing & Owner Services Assistant
The holiday season has begun, and many people are trying to figure out gifts for their family and friends. Well, GreenTree is here to help. This time of year you can find tags that say ‘Great Gifts’ all over the store to help you find a great gift for anyone – even yourself! So, I decided to highlight a few particularly awesome brands. Let’s talk about 3 different companies that can help you check someone off your list, quick!
This first company has great options for the resident self-care guru in your life or that person who is always on the brink of burn out. Milk + Body is for them! Milk + Body is a local company, founded in Midland, Michigan. Their mission is to use quality nourishing ingredients that work with your skin to keep it healthy, soft, and clean. With sustainable packaging and their belief in creating genuine relationships with their customers and suppliers, you can use these hand selected products to transform your bath time routine into a little everyday luxury. We carry several of their delicious smelling products. (I may be picking up some of these bath and shower products for my friends, family, and myself!) I was very curious one day and picked up their coconut and rose scented shower steamers for my bathroom and I feel like my showers went from mundane to walking into a personal spa! Not only that, but the steamers come in a reusable jar that I could refill with their bulk bath soaks for a Christmas present for a family member who deserves a little extra luxury, too. They take their mission of sustainable packaging very seriously; offering refills for some products, and bulk options for others. They also make eco-friendly soap savers to help you use every drop.
We carry Milk + Body bulk bath soaks in Lavender & Eucalyptus, Milk & Honey, and Rosemary & Spearmint, as well as bath truffles in Milk & Honey, Sea Salt, and Coconut & Rose. On top of these lovely bath time options, they also have shower steamers for us folks who are without a bathtub! We carry their Sweet Orange & Jasmine shower steamers, along with my favorite so far, Coconut & Rose. If you are wanting something a little more exhilarating, we also carry their lux shower steamers in Wintergreen & Menthol. These are great if you take your shower in the morning or need a good boost without breaking out the caffeine. I want to try all their products! I hope you’ll gift a few, try a few, and enjoy them as much as I have!
The beautiful products from African Market Baskets are another great gift option. This company has been a long time staple at GreenTree. We carry these baskets year round, so you can always pick up something for that person who never has enough bags or baskets and loves handmade artisan products. And they come in so many sizes and shapes – everything from small to extra large – perfect for any situation. These beautiful baskets are made by the women in Bolgatanga in Upper Ghana to help supplement their families’ incomes during the summertime. They are hand-woven from locally grown straw.
Their company is also a part of the Fair Trade Federation and they have a strong belief in the importance of Fair Trade practices. They strive for Quality, Value, and Integrity and they have been working for 35 years to create an economic partnership based on dialogue, transparency, and respect.
African Market Baskets follows the Fair Trade Federation principles:
- Create Opportunities for Economically and Socially Marginalized Producers
- Develop Transparent and Accountable Relationships
- Promote Fair Trade
- Pay Promptly and Fairly
- Support Safe and Empowering Working Conditions
- Ensure the Rights of Children
- Cultivate Environmental Stewardship
- Respect Cultural Identity
- Building Capacity
Those are definitely principals worth supporting. I am going to put one of these baskets on my Christmas list next year, or maybe gift one to myself! We have a variety of their baskets all over the store, all you have do is look at the top shelf. If you want to learn more about their mission and these beautiful baskets check out their website.
These are great gifts for adults, but what about the kids in your life? Eco-Kids makes a collection of wholesome, healthy, and unique arts and crafts supplies that are all about the joy of discovery, imagination, creation, and learning. Do you have a little creative person in your life but are trying to cut down on unsustainable ingredients and packaging? Then this company is for you! Here are their goals:
- Simplify children’s toys.
- Remove gender/race biases from children’s products.
- Create time and space for a child’s inner journey.
- Emphasize the joy of discovery, imagination, creation and learning.
- Engage parents and caregivers in their children’s playtime.
- Reduce screen time.
- Reduce/eliminate unsustainable ingredients, packaging and practices.
- Reduce plastic use.
They make all of this easy for parents and caregivers to achieve too! (Hey these also don’t have to be for just kids, if you want to get a little more creativity in your life this would be a great brand for adult kids too.)
How do they do this? They take the water out of their paint, you purchase the powder and just add water yourself, so you do not have to worry about chemicals in the paint or added costs that come from shipping something that is mostly water. Fun fact: Many of the ingredients in their supplies are actually edible, so if some paint is accidentally digested you can have peace of mind knowing that your little creative will be okay. Here at GreenTree we carry their big pack of finger paints, their eco-dough, and their busy box 2!
I hope I was able to provide some gift-giving inspiration for this holiday season. Still not sure what to get? That’s ok, we have many more unique gift options in the store! From jewelry to salt lamps, we have you covered. And if you’re looking for a last minute gift (whether it is for a holiday work party, family get-together, or a white elephant) Steven has put together some amazing gift baskets that you can pick up here in the store or come in and talk to him to make something specific for your holiday plans.