Best sustainable gift guide
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or nothing at all - this is the season to show our loved ones we care about them… or to just give ourselves some self love with a very special gift.
At Nutu, we believe that we as consumers have a huge power and responsibility when it comes to our choices and the way we spend our money. That’s why we’ve decided to share some of our favorite meaningful gifts that can help do good and support the planet. Meet our creative friends and wonderful entrepreneurs striving to preserve crafts, connect us to traditional cultures, live a zero waste lifestyle, support non-toxic, cruelty free products, use environmentally friendly materials and hand-dying techniques, reconnect mind and body, bring the balance and simplicity of the Ayurvedic lifestyle, support the most vulnerable children in our communities and much more.
Your support means a lot for those who are taking risks, chasing dreams and spreading love through what they create.
We wish you a wonderful, green, sustainable, holiday season !
The name orez is zero written backwards. The idea of a conscious lifestyle formed when orez Founders Ramona Barnes and Ana Pincus began to pursue a zero waste lifestyle for their respective families. In the process, they learned that zero waste is an ideal — the path to which creates an elevated mindfulness and simple elegance. They want to inspire everyone to go back to basics, where everything is being reused and nothing is being disposed. They believe that conscious living leads to a more authentic, beautiful and rewarding life. They created orez to share and inspire beauty and purpose in everyday living. By choosing Voluntary Simplicity, you are not only freeing yourself from mindless purchasing; you are also helping to positively impact the world while creating true alignment with your authentic self. @orezlifestyle
Based in Brooklyn, New York, Behind the Hill is a journey run by Maud, a traveler from France whose second home is Mexico. Once an expert advertiser for mass international markets, she now connects distant local worlds through curated trips and shares authentically crafted textiles across the U.S. – all from a vision to bridge old and new cultures.
Behind the Hill comes from a desire to do a lot with a little – to go one step further to make a more meaningful memory, a deeper connection. Each of their designs shows how small acts of care can color the rest of our worlds. Their textiles are made with heart by master weavers in Mexico and Guatemala. The inspiration for each season’s collection is nature’s harvest — how rainfall, sunlight and wind affect the texture and colors of the raw materials. @behindthehill_
Il Fiorista is the first hospitality project by Italian husband and wife Alessandra & Mario De Benedetti, who are pursuing their shared passion for flowers, hospitality and design. Since childhood, the pair have been instilled with the importance of flowers, not just for the beauty they bring to daily life, but also for their environmental, health and taste benefits.
Il Fiorista is one of our favorite places in New York. It’s a light-filled peaceful restaurant with a flower boutique in the front and abundant edible flowers adorning Mediterranean food by the chef, Garrison Price. Their bottled sugars, flowers, herbs and salts make a wonderful gift to those who love to cook or bake. Sourced from the highest-quality ingredients, these products bring the beauty and benefits of flowers to all. They also offer floral beverage classes, taught by mixologists to experience floral mixology and floral design classes that include a glass a prosecco. @ilfioristanyc
Terra and Co is a Los Angeles based, woman-owned company, conceptualized and founded by two sisters, Amra & Azra Hajdarevic. Their mission is to create natural, non-toxic and cruelty-free products. Many oral care products on the market today contain harmful chemicals that are quickly absorbed through the gums. In response, they've created natural and sustainable oral care products to support and maintain healthy oral hygiene. Passionate about healthy and sustainable living practices, Amra and Azra formed Terra & Co. with natural safe products for you and eco-friendly packaging with Mother Earth in mind. If you want to know why you should swap your traditional toothpaste for natural activated charcoal toothpaste, read here
ELMNTL started with Nayoung's vision of creating better sleep/loungewear aligned with her own beliefs of ethical and sustainable fashion. Nayoung was born and raised in Korea, and have worked in New York City over the last 10 years with multiple fashion houses and overseas factories throughout China, India, and Bangladesh. In 2013, a tragic incident with garment workers occurred in Bangladesh resulting in 1,100 dead and over an additional 2,200 wounded. That moment left her wondering how her designs were made and eventually shaped her values towards ethical and sustainable production.
The next major turning point in her own life was when she witnessed first-hand little girls being subjected to adult-like responsibilities because the adults were not being paid a fair living wage. It went against her own beliefs. To her, children should be children. They should have fun learning, and be the future of our society. Nayoung quickly came to realize that the power to make change comes from the brand designers and the demands they make to their manufacturers.
A portion of sales will go toward Save the Children, to support their mission dedicated to helping children in need around the world. @elmntl-nyc
Nestled snugly in the small, mossy seaside town of Port Townsend, WA is the home of Kata Golda. Alison Kaplan, Owner/Founder of Kata Golda finds her inspiration in the natural world, so she tries to begin each day with a walk in the woods or time digging in the garden. She comes from a long lineage of resourceful, creative and artistic women. She grew up surrounded by knitters and spent many childhood days in her mother’s knitting, cross-stitch and needlepoint shop. She was drawn in by the possibility of color and the simple joy of making. Kata and Golda were her great grandmothers who laid the foundation for hand work in her family. While her roots are in wool felt and simple line drawings, she is now pulled to the vivid color and texture of botanical dyed linen, cotton and hemp.
Kata Golda strives to preserve crafts such as needlework, letterpress printing, hand-thrown pottery, hand-dyed textiles, felting and bookbinding. By carefully selecting environmentally friendly materials, using up every little scrap of fabric, and reusing supplies as much as possible, Kata Golda strives to produce zero waste and have the lowest impact on our planet as possible. @katagolda
27,000 trees per day get flushed down the world’s toilets. This results in an irreversible loss of animal habitat, destruction of the world’s most important carbon sinks, and soil erosion. Plant Paper is derived exclusively from fast-growing, renewable sources of plant pulp, such as organically grown bamboo. It’s made without the use of harsh chemicals, bleach or formaldehyde — chemicals used in regular toilet paper. @plant_paper
Medicinals from the Garden & Field - Grown with Organic Practices- Prepared with Love
Grace Galanti is an herbalist, skin care specialist, mother, and star gazer. Her love of plants began as a child during botany walks through a local apple orchard. Nature and the outdoors have continued to provide her with inspiration ever since. Furnace Creek Farm’s elixirs are seasonal and created from a fresh harvest. It takes a few weeks for the herbs to extract in honey and vinegar. The Plant Juices are pure, slow pressed juices from the herbs grown on the farm. @furnacecreekfarm
Elizabeth Grojean is the founder and CEO of Baloo Living. She started Baloo as a way to share the powerful experience of reconnecting mind and body. Her journey began with a trip to Bali to find a quiet space where she could hear her heart. While there, she tried a weighted blanket and just melted. It was a profound experience and she then knew it was something she wanted to share. From there, Baloo was born.
Baloo Living is the only Eco-Friendly, Luxury Weighted Blanket made with lead-free glass microbeads and chemical-free cotton. The deep pressure stimulation of a Baloo Blanket feels like a firm hug, massage or swaddling. It soothes the nervous system, alleviates stress and anxiety, and increases serotonin production - the happy hormone. Baloo was created to express respect and honor for self, for our communities, and for the universal challenges we experience as humans driven to live our most meaningful lives. Baloo donates a portion of profits to the Pajama Program, supporting the most vulnerable children in our communities at bedtime. @balooliving
Red Thalhammer is the founder of Antidote. She says “the true name for chocolate is sharing the love, and the world needs more of that. With it we make friends, provoke laughter, bury anger, court lovers and count our blessings. It is a journey to create an Antidote for humanities' fear and timidity, heart and soul strikes, weak moments and the cold vagaries of the outside world'“.
Antidote uses rich Arriba Nacional beans from the south and west of Ecuador. Rich in cacao, low in sugar. Guilt free. No matter the type of sugar, only high cacao content loves you back.
Red Thalhammer practices direct trade and work mostly with Farm Cooperatives but also with individual farms - sharing Antidote’s commitment to excellence and biologic farming practices. The slow-roasting process maximizes the potency of anti-oxidants and flavonoids to create a nutrient-rich Antidote. @antidotechoco
When Marisa Newman couldn’t find thoughtfully made, great looking objects to use in her everyday routines, she decided to make them herself. After several years of designing and developing each item, she launched MAVE New York collection, a collection that reimagines the world of shaving. The streamlined, sculptural design of the razor was inspired by Constantin Brancusi’s sculpture Bird in Space, whose elegant slender form lends itself ideally to the function of a razor handle. The Moisturizing Shave Cream carries MAVE's signature Fleur Cardamom scent of subtle spices with rich black tea and refreshing citrus. Crafted by the oldest family-run brushmaking business in the US, The Shave Brush handle is made from hardy, high-quality resin designed to stand up to the moisture of the shower. Its soft bristles sweep gently across even the most sensitive skin. @mavenewyork
Elements Truffles is an Ayurveda inspired line of clean chocolates that not only tastes good but does good - for the body, mind and community. Elements Truffles was born at the intersection of two things that make us happy - chocolates and meditation.
Alak Vasa, co-founder of Element Truffles was a trader on Wall Street. She learned to meditate and as she grew in the practice, Alak became more aware of the food she was eating. She noticed that she was integrating a lot of elements of the Ayurvedic lifestyle, that was naturally a part of her life growing up. Ayurveda, also known as a sister science to Yoga was taking her back to her roots. So she decided to create a line of chocolates that are not only healthy and tasty but also integrated this beautiful science that focuses on bringing balance and simplicity in lifestyle.
Element Truffles chocolates are handmade with just cacao and honey. They are infused with Ayurveda superfoods and pure essential oils, which lends to its unique flavor profile and melt-in-the-mouth texture. The purest ingredients have been selected from Fair Trade manufacturers.
Element Truffles donate 25% of their profits towards supporting the wholesome education of underprivileged children in tribal areas of India.
Every item of plastic that has ever been created is still with us on the planet today. More than 8 million tons of plastic trash are dumped into our oceans every year. Plastic waste pieces break up into much smaller bits, which pollute our ocean, kill animals and harm human health.
Marion and Anne, the two co-founders of Zelo believe in small individual steps, saving the world one plastic item at a time! They just launched The Zelo solution : an alternative basic toolkit to take the first steps to low-waste living. A great way to help busy yet eco-conscious people who are not sure where to start to care about the planet. @zelo-world
BOOKS WE LOVE
Make Ink : a Forager’s Guide to Natural Inkmaking by Jason Logan
The Toronto Ink Company was founded in 2014 by designer and artist Jason Logan as a citizen science experiment to make eco-friendly, urban ink from street-harvested pigments. In Make Ink, Logan delves into the history of inkmaking and the science of distilling pigment from the natural world. Readers will learn how to forage for materials such as soot, rust, cigarette butts, peach pits, and black walnut, then how to mix, test, and transform these ingredients into rich, vibrant inks that are sensitive to both place and environment. Organized by color, and featuring lovely minimalist photography throughout, Make Ink combines science, art, and craft to instill the basics of ink making and demonstrate the beauty and necessity of engaging with one of mankind’s oldest tools of communication. @torontoinkcompany
True Colors : World Masters of Natural Dyes and Pigments by Keith Recker
True Colors is about artists who create color from natural materials and about the historical importance and environmental sustainability of this practice. Deep conversations with twenty-eight artisans from every part of the globe reveal their wisdom, traditions, and know-how—and suggest that we ignore what they know at our peril. Traditional approaches to making color offer sustainable options to a fashion system badly in need of them and memorable cultural narratives to a world hungry for beauty and spirituality. True Colors provides an immersive visual experience and an inspiring travelogue of personal stories and practical information from artists who are leaving their mark on the world. @thechromosapien
The Fonio cookbook : An Ancient Grain Rediscovered by Pierre Thiam
In this landmark cookbook, chef Pierre Thiam, a native of Senegal, celebrates fonio, an ancient "miracle grain" of his childhood that he believes could change the world. Grown for centuries in Africa, fonio is not only nutritious and gluten-free, but also as easy to cook as rice and quinoa. The Fonio Cookbook is full of simple recipes for the home cook, with both traditional West African dishes and modern creations. The Fonio Cookbook also takes the reader on a journey to Senegal's fonio-growing region, with evocative photos and stories from harvest season detailing the grain's ease of growth and highlighting the people who transform fonio from crop to edible grain. @chefpierrethiam @yolelefoods
Cocina Holistica: Plant-Powered Recipes Inspired by Guatemalan Superfoods by Kassia Fiedor
Cocina Holistica is a love letter to Guatemala. In her debut cookbook, Kassia Fiedor infuses ancestral ingredients into healing plant-based dishes. Filled with stunning photographs of Guatemala’s countryside and farms, she hopes to inspire renewed respect for indigenous foods in 40 creative, modern recipes. All are gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and dairy-free with a nutrient-dense focus. If you’re from Guatemala, you will feel a connection and familiarity because it is a celebration of the native foods there. But even if you’ve never been to this magical country you’ll be inspired by the delicious and healthy use of ancestral plants and be able to easily substitute for your own familiar veggies. @infusedholistickitchen
