Are you looking for some small items to help you polish off your holiday gift giving? With Christmas only days away, the GreenUP Store has you covered with unique and environmentally friendly gifts and stocking stuffers ranging from $1.50 to $25.
Your stockings can hold all the best gifts, including what’s best for the planet!
All products at the GreenUP Store — located at 378 Aylmer Street in downtown Peterborough — have been specially selected to allow you (and Santa) the freedom to shop with confidence knowing that anything you choose has been carefully sourced and scrutinized to meet high environmental standards while respecting ethical trade, labour, and human rights practices — and supporting local whenever possible.
Under $25
To-Go Ware Reusable Bamboo Utensils Set includes a sturdy bamboo fork, knife, spoon, and chopsticks — all neatly held together in a convenient pouch made from recycled water bottles. This stocking stuffer or gift garnish provides a sustainable solution and a healthful alternative to single-use plastic cutlery.
Twoloom Alpacas insoles are made from 100 per cent alpaca wool and are a must-have for winter in Ontario! They are a great addition to any boot for warm feet all season long. Twoloom Alpacas is a 12-acre farm in the beautiful rolling hills of Northumberland County, so you’ll also be supporting a local farmer when you purchase their products. We also carry their alpaca wool socks and mittens in a variety of colours and sizes.
Reusable stainless steel straws are one of the best-selling items at the GreenUP Store; they have grown in popularity as the #refusethestraw movement has continued to gain momentum. We carry a variety of sizes of straws and their associated cleaning brushes, which can be purchased individually or in packs of two or four. This holiday season we have brought in new colours including bronze, iridescent blue, and rose gold. Brightly coloured reusable straws can make an excellent garnish on your gifts this year, and are a great replacement for a single-use plastic bow.
The Brain Injury Association Peterborough Region (BIAPR) is a local agency that provides a range of support services to individuals living with an acquired brain injury. They strive to engage members in meaningful activities and promote participation in our community as a way of enhancing overall well being and quality of life. Members of the BIAPR have created handmade folk-art festive decorations from reclaimed wood that are available at the GreenUP Store. Decorate your home beautifully this holiday season, with handmade items that also give back to the community.
Do you have a little nature lover on your list this year? The GreenUP Store carries a number of woodland finger puppets that are available in a variety of local species including raccoon, skunk, bat, and turtle.
Also, this past summer, after many years of absence from Ecology Park, a red fox has returned! In celebration of its return, we have made the Red Fox our ambassador for the 2018 fundraising campaign. This means that when you purchase a red fox puppet, you’ll receive a charitable tax receipt for your contribution to Ecology Park. With the funds raised this holiday season, we plan to install features that will help make Ecology Park accessible for all visitors, and you’ll also ensure that our renowned environmental programs will continue for years to come.
Under $10
We have natural soap for all your stockings. The GreenUP Store carries many handmade soap options under $10. Sherrie LaMasurier of Simply Natural Canada is a master soap-maker and alchemist who uses organic, sustainable, and locally sourced ingredients to make her artisan soaps and cleaning products. LaMasurier also offers deodorants, bath salts, and felted products with minimal packaging, labels made from 100% recycled paper, and a refill option whenever possible.
Katie Legere of Free to be is another incredible soap-maker living right here in the community of Peterborough. Her beautiful textured soaps feature high-quality essential oils and natural ingredients such as green clay, cocoa butter, and sage.
Looking for something to help reduce reliance on single-use plastics? Credo Bags of Montreal makes organic cotton mesh produce bags that can be used as an alternative to the plastic ones offered for free at the grocery store. Flimsy single-use plastic bags take one second to make and are used for 20 to 30 minutes, but take over 600 years to decompose! Give the gift of green with this ever-popular reusable stocking stuffer option that everyone can appreciate.
Everyone on your Christmas list likely brushes their teeth (at least some of the time). Plastic toothbrushes end up in the landfill at the end of their life cycle, whereas the bamboo version from Brush with Bamboo is an alternative that can be composted once the bristles are plucked out and recycled. This bamboo toothbrush also features a recyclable cardboard box with vegetable dye printing, and a compostable liner made of cellulose.
Colibri Snack Bags are reusable fabric zippered bags that can hold anything from grapes to makeup. Their interior nylon lining is water impermeable, which means that you can wipe out crumbs easily or toss it in the washing machine when it needs a deeper clean. There are so many fun and funky fabrics to choose from and they are, quite simply, universally useful. Made in Canada and available in a variety of sizes and prints, these bags make lunchtime fun and will reduce the amount of plastic in your life. They’re also great for holding toiletries or storage while travelling, and they tuck nicely into any stocking.
Looking for something cute and cuddly that’s as soft as a lamb? Look no further than wool dryer balls by Moss Creek Wool Works of Hamilton, made of 100 per cent merino wool. The GreenUP Store carries white, brown, and grey dryer balls, which are designed to replace dryer sheets. They reduce dryer time, static, and waste. We recommend using three or more dryer balls and leaving them in the dryer between loads to avoid them being used as cat toys!
Naturally sweet OtonaBEE Apiary honey is the perfect treat for a loved one. At the GreenUP Store, we carry liquid and creamed clover and buckwheat honey in various sized jars to fit any stocking size. OtonaBEE honey is 100 per cent pure, just as the bees made it!
Under $5
Ecomum felted acorns are made locally by Jeaninne Crow and her daughter of Ecomum. The two go out and collect the acorn tops in the fall and attach them onto felted balls of wool to create the sweetest little tree ornaments! Ecomum also makes a variety of textiles, including baby bibs, blankets, and napkins with fun and contemporary prints.
Looking to help your friend or family member kick the plastic straw habit? Let them test the waters with a single package-free stainless steel straw sold all by itself, without any packaging. Pair it with a straw cleaning brush for $2 and then they are really set up for plastic-free sipping!
This Old Flame makes 100 per cent beeswax candles that are hand crafted in Peterborough. We carry various shapes, sizes, and patterns, starting at just $1.50 for tealights! These lovely hand-poured, hand-dipped and hand-rolled candles are made from beeswax from Ontario beekeepers with no scents or dyes added.
What’s more Canadian (and delicious) than a bottle of maple syrup? Golden Treasures maple syrup is from Trout Creek, Ontario and has been in operation since 1994, growing over the years to over 16,000 taps over 300 acres of maple bush in the heart of Northern Ontario. The GreenUP Store carries large litre-sized portions right down to teeny tiny stocking-sized portions in maple-leaf shaped glass bottles.
Lip balm is a Canadian staple for the stocking. Kiss Winter Away with Porcupine Creek Farms natural lip balm. Get your loved one’s lips ready for the mistletoe with this natural lip balm made with moisturizing beeswax, olive oil, shea butter, and cocoa butter, made close by in Stirling, Ontario.
When you shop at the GreenUP Store you are directly supporting GreenUP and all proceeds go back into environmental programs in the Peterborough area — that’s a gift that gives twice! The GreenUP Store is located at 378 Aylmer Street in downtown Peterborough.
Check out www.greenup.on.ca/greenup-store/ for holiday hours, gift ideas, and more.
During the holiday season our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our progress possible. In this spirit, we say simply and sincerely: thank you and best wishes for the holiday season and a Happy New Year from all of us at GreenUP.
All photos courtesy of Peterborough GreenUP.
