INTRODUCTION

A couple of your friends have just announced that they are expecting and you know what that means! There are a lot of baby showers in the near future! 

Finding a gift for a baby shower can be tricky in the best of times, forget about when there is no register for you to abide by! It may not always be enough to just gift a bunch of toys or clothes. And you also need to make sure that the gift is safe for the baby. The cherry on top would be if it was safe for the planet, too. 

A gift with all these qualities might be a bit hard to find but we are here to help you! First, let’s talk about what could be considered an eco-friendly gift and then we can look at some examples!

WHAT QUALIFIES AS AN ECO-FRIENDLY GIFT?

It might be hard to identify what would be a sustainable gift to give someone. So, here are some questions you should ask yourself before buying an eco-friendly gift:

1. What are the materials that were used to make the gift?

This is the first thing you should be checking is the material used in the making of the gift. It is important that the material is not only non-toxic for the environment, it should also be safe for the baby. You should also make sure that the material used is procured in a non-harmful way.  

2. Who made the gift? If a brand made it, which brand is it from?

Eco-friendly baby products are not easy to find and are even harder to make. It is only fair that the person/people who make the products be fairly compensated for their time and effort. 

3. Is the brand eco-friendly/do they have sustainable practices?

In the case that it was a brand that was behind the making of the product, it would not do to simply make sure that the products made are truly eco-friendly and sustainable. Make sure that the brand actually implements sustainability in everything they do. From the making of the product to the way it is sent to the packaging used - all these are ways in which you can find out if the company truly cares about the environment or if they are doing it just for marketing or on a surface level.

For example, Little & Brave make sure to reuse the packaging that is sent with your products by sending them to other people with their packages. 

4. Is it useful and sustainable?

It is very easy to give a gift that has a temporary value. However, it would be best to gift something that not only is useful for the baby but it is something that can be used even after the baby grows up. This way you are not only supporting the environment but you are also being sustainable. 

Now, you might find this list of factors to be quite daunting, especially the last one. Not to worry, we have your back! For the next part of the blog, we will actually give you some eco-friendly and sustainable ideas for giving as a gift for a baby. 

HERE ARE SOME IDEAS:

1. Handmade toys

This is probably the most obvious and common answer to the eco-friendly baby gift struggle. They are easy to procure and even easier to make, should you know how to. 

Wooden toys are quite sustainable as well as you would be able to use them for quite a long time with some decent care. You can also regift it to someone else for their own baby shower or give it away to a second-hand shop. 

You could also make cloth toys or knitted ones with the help of yarn. These will not be as sustainable as a wooden toy but they are far more easier to make yourself and hence, would be more personal. 

2. Linen clothes

This might seem like a fairly obvious choice. It is quite common to see baby clothes that are made of a blend of cotton and something else that is not quite sustainable like perhaps polyester. 

Make sure that your friend’s baby does not have to grow up with that by giving linen clothes. Not only will this feel comfortable on the skin for the baby but it is also quite sustainable as linen lasts a very long time.

3. Baby slippers

Now this one is not as popular but it will make an excellent gift. It is very hard to find baby shoes that are not made of plastic. It would actually be easier to make the shoes yourself! Since babies have small feet, it would be easy to simply knit small shoes with a bit of wool. There is the added bonus of being able to make it as fun as you want with various colours and patterns!

4. Natural pacifiers 

The first types of pacifiers that come to babies are usually made of plastic or rubber. There are far more eco-friendly options like a wooden one. Not only would it serve the same purposes as a plastic one but it would also be far less toxic for the baby as they would not be in direct contact with plastic. 

5. Eating mats 

One of the worst things about feeding babies is when they start throwing things around and food gets splattered everywhere. So, a solution was made in the form of eating mats! However, it would be even better if the mats were not made of materials that were toxic for your baby, especially since they are eating out of them. There are some mats that are made out of silicone that have excellent suction properties that will make sure that your baby doesn’t waste food by throwing it around while also keeping your baby safe by being non-toxic.

6. Playmats 

Playmats are stable when it comes to baby playrooms. And it is very easy to buy just any cloth playmat you may find as long as it is soft. However, this time go a bit further and make sure that the playmat comes from a brand or a person who has made sure that the materials used are eco-friendly and durable. This will help it last for a long time and it can also be used for any future babies or grandbabies your friend might have!

7. Lotions/shampoos

This is probably one of the more difficult gifts you could give to an expecting mother. However, it is certainly one of the most important. Lotions and shampoos have the most amount of chemicals and they can definitely damage a baby if they are used on them for too long. So, give your friend the gift of an organic baby lotion and shampoo set to get them started. 

8. Organic bibs 

The most convenient bibs are those made of plastic as they would be the easiest to wash off, especially since they get so dirty so quickly. It would be better, though, to use an organic bib that is made out of a material that is good for the baby and will endure for a long while. 

9. Cloth nappies/ eco-friendly nappies

This is absolutely the most obvious thing you should be giving as a gift for a baby shower. These types of diapers are not only made for the comfort of the baby but they were also made with the environment in mind. 

In fact, you could shop here on Little & Brave and take a look at some of our sets so that you will be able to gift them nappies that you can trust to be eco-friendly and sustainable. You could also go a step further and give them a gift voucher while you’re at it!

10. Snap wraps

These adorable pieces of clothing are worn with the intent of making sure that a nappy fits a baby properly. They would be an excellent addition to the wardrobe of a young baby, especially since they are now made in a variety of designs and patterns. 

You can see an example of this with our own snap wraps! There are so many shades and patterns that you can gift them a set! 

These are just a few many ideas for gifts you could give at a baby shower. You could also give gifts that are handmade or knitted! Now comes the problem of trying to find out where you can get these gifts from. Don’t worry we have that covered too!

WHERE YOU SHOULD TRY AND GET THEM FROM:

There are typically a lot of places in which you can get these gifts. Let’s take a look at some of the more popular options:

1. Second-hand shops 

This is the most obvious choice. However, when it comes to shopping for a baby it is far better to be safe than sorry. This is why you must make sure that the places you buy from are absolutely trusted and safe. This is not enough - you should also make sure to clean out anything you buy before you gift it.

2. Facebook Marketplace

This is an increasingly popular platform to procure items. You will also be able to join groups that have been made with the purpose of selling/buying eco-friendly items and you will also be able to learn a lot from some of the other mom’s on there.

3. Verified sellers

As we have said before, it is important that you choose a brand that is trustworthy. They must not only have eco-friendly and sustainable principles but they should also be able to follow them. 

CONCLUSION:

Gift-giving can be a stressful activity, especially when there are factors beyond the norm of making the receiver happy. We hope that this blog has helped you with this process and made it easier. However, the most important thing when it comes to gift-giving is the thought behind it. So, please keep them in mind when choosing a gift!

You can take a look at some of our other blogs like nappy bag essentials and home composting for some more ideas! Visit us on Little & Brave today!