Your guide to sustainable holiday gifts for parents

Our parents give us so much, and the  holidays  present the perfect opportunity to give them something back in return. Read on to learn about the best eco-friendly and sustainable holiday gifts of 2020 for parents. Organic pajamas There’s nothing better than a pair of comfortable pajamas once the weather turns for the holiday months. Gift your parents a matching pair of jammies made from sustainable fabrics like organic cotton to keep them warm (and give them an excuse to take cute holiday photos).  This set  from Hanna Anderson comes in a ton of different festive patterns and colors with sizes for the whole family, and they’re super affordable as well.  Related: The sustainable wardrobe: it’s more accessible than you think Hand-woven baskets Help your parents decorate with a cute artisan gift like Lola & Mawu baskets made from upcycled vintage indigo fabric and natural undyed straw. The baskets are hand-woven out of indigo shawls made from locally grown cotton, handspun and dyed with natural vegetable pigments. Some of the fabric is 30 or 40 years old, so the textiles have varying shades and textures from age. All are woven in Bolgatanga, Northern Ghana. Low-flow showerhead If you have a little extra money to spend, why not help upgrade your parent’s home with an environmentally-friendly appliance?  Nebia , for example, makes low-flow showerheads that feature atomizing nozzles. Or, splurge for the Spa Shower 2.0 with re-engineered spraying nozzles for optimal temperature and coverage. Apart from saving up to 65% of water when compared to standard showers , they look super sleek and futuristic, too. Bamboo bathrobe Go along with the above shower theme with a fuzzy bathrobe made from  sustainable materials . Make your parents feel like they’re at the spa with one of  Cariloha’s  unisex robes, made of a super-soft blend of bamboo viscose and Egyptian cotton. The bamboo fabric is naturally moisture-wicking, odor-resistant and allergy-resistant. Or, try these waffle robes from  Coyuchi , made from organic, GOTS + Made Safe Certified cotton sourced and woven in Turkey. Loungewear Quarantine made 2020 the year of loungewear, so it only makes sense to end the year with some too.  GALERIE.LA  prides itself on high-quality sustainable loungewear made with Fair Trade principles and eco-friendly materials. Customers can even use a badge system to designate and search for purchases based on individually sustainable values such as recyclability and  vegan materials.  Matcha kit Inspire your parents to stay healthy with a superfood latte blend like the options from Golde. Cacao Turmeric offers a sweet and savory alternative to hot cocoa, with added health benefits thanks to its blend of seven essential  superfoods  that support skin, debloating and stress balance. Drink it on its own or add it to smoothies for a powerful antioxidant punch. The popular  Make Your Matcha Kit  includes everything you need to whip up a delicious and healthy Matcha latte, including a tin of powdered pure Matcha and a bamboo whisk. Fancy composter Composting  is usually reserved for those living in cities that support curbside compost bins or people with room in their yards for a bulky spinning composter. Enter Vitamix, the company that brought us one of the world’s most powerful blenders, and its compact  FoodCycler FC-50 . This high-tech composter only needs about one cubic foot of space and a power outlet to work. A carbon filter lid eliminates odors (meaning you can keep it conveniently inside your kitchen), and the removable waste bucket makes it easy to transport your newly-processed nutrient-rich fertilizer from the composter to your garden. Personalized wood cutting board Give a gift that is both decorative and functional for the holidays, like a personalized wood cutting board.  Etsy  offers plenty of beautiful options to fit any budget, with options to personalize anything from names to family recipes and even skylines. Not into personalization or don’t have time for a custom order? Check out  Totally Bamboo’s  cutting boards, shaped into different states with laser-engraved cities, sights and attractions. Wine and cheese set For parents who love a good cheese board, opt for this  Wine & Cheese Set  made completely from upcycled wooden chopsticks. Perfect for couples, the set includes a stylish 11-inch charcuterie board with two matching wooden coasters. The company is carbon negative, so you can feel even better about your sustainable purchase! Face masks Since everyone needs face masks these days, go for one that supports a good cause! Proceeds from sales of  these masks  go toward animal conservation thanks to a partnership between WNC Nature Center and Wildlife Artists. If you’re more into the ocean,  these  ocean-themed masks are made using recycled ocean plastic waste and sold at-cost by PADI to help raise awareness for ocean pollution. Vellabox Candles aren’t just perfect for housewarming gifts, they’re also a hit around the holidays.  Vellabox  offers a gift that keeps on giving with monthly subscription boxes delivering artisan candles made from natural materials, with options for one-month, six-month or twelve-month packages. The candles contain lead-free wicks, use phthalate-free fragrance oils and are made using sustainable 100%  soy , coconut or vegetable waxes. Images via Hanna Andersson, Lola & Mawu, Nebia, Coyuchi, GALERIE.LA, Golde, Foodcycler, Totally Bamboo, ChopValue, Pexels, PADI and Vellabox

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Your guide to sustainable holiday gifts for parents

10-year-old leukemia survivor wins trips to NASA with an award-winning bandage dispenser design

Bridgette Veneris is a 10-year-old Australian who not only battled leukemia and survived, but also designed a sterile waste-saving bandage dispenser design that’s won her a trip to NASA . Veneris got the idea for the design during her stay in the hospital, where she noticed her parents and nurses having difficulty unwrapping adhesive bandages. Her bandage dispenser design won the national littleBIGidea competition , which awarded her with a trip to NASA.

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10-year-old leukemia survivor wins trips to NASA with an award-winning bandage dispenser design

A look into a Turkey sweatshops use of Syrian child labor to make ISIS uniforms

Syrian refugee children are working 12-hour shifts for a little over a dollar per hour to make ISIS uniforms in a Turkey sweatshop, according to The Daily Mail . The children, reportedly sent by their parents, work in a shop that makes uniforms, backpacks, and other military gear for the Syrian market. While the factory owner Abu Zakour concedes that school would be a better place for the children, he says the parents want their children to work. Complicating the issue is the language barrier and other social barriers that dissuade Syrian children from attending Turkish public schools.

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A look into a Turkey sweatshops use of Syrian child labor to make ISIS uniforms

Greenery-infused nursery school in Japan brings children closer to nature

Rather than orient the two-story building towards the surrounding urban jungle, the architects turn attention inwards with the design of a ring-shaped structure centered on an inner courtyard. “The concept of its design is to provide enough space for 160 children to play around in the nature and also for all their parents and nursery staff to feel safe,” said the architects. Outdoor corridors with rounded eaves and railings ring the central green space. Circular shapes and rounded forms are design…

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Greenery-infused nursery school in Japan brings children closer to nature

Meet the Sustainability Sisters

Amy and Annie Longworth are both successful sustainable business professionals. Where did their parents go right?

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Meet the Sustainability Sisters

Danish Study Links Co-Sleeping To Decreased Risk of Obesity

Co-sleeping — when babies and young children share a bed with one or both of their parents — has now been linked to reduced obesity . According to a new Danish study, children who regularly co-sleep with their parents are 70-percent less likely to be overweight when compared to kids who never sleep with their parents. So what’s behind the correlation? Although researchers aren’t clear on why the co-sleepers were slimmer, they have some theories, such as kids who co-sleep may have a greater sense of emotional support, whereas children who are not allowed to sleep with their parents may feel rejected, and in turn, negative feelings may increase the risk of obesity. READ MORE > Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: child rearing , Children , Co-sleeping , green parenting , Health , Inhabitots , kids sleeping , obesity , parenting , sleep

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Danish Study Links Co-Sleeping To Decreased Risk of Obesity

Police Officers Keep Cool in the Heat With Air-Conditioned Bulletproof Vests

If you’ve ever seen police officers walking around in full gear during a heat wave, you’ve probably felt a little faint just looking at them.  Lucky for them, scientists from the  Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) have devised a new  “smart” protective garment that cools down your body instead of keeping it heated up.  With a mini-fan and a cooling water system, police officers are way more likely to be able to stay cool under pressure.   Click ahead to check out this innovative new garment! READ MORE > Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: air conditioners , air conditioning , bulletproof vests , climate-controlled clothing , climate-controlled fashion , eco-fashion , EMPA , Ethical Fashion , green fashion , policemen , Sustainable Fashion , sustainable style , Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology , Switzerland , wearable technology , Zurich

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Police Officers Keep Cool in the Heat With Air-Conditioned Bulletproof Vests

Are the New LEGO Friends for Girls Sexist?

LEGO rang in 2012 by launching a new line of toys , LEGO Friends, which are aimed at girls 5 and up. No big deal, right? Actually, to some it is a big deal. A petition was launched at Change.org is demanding that LEGO to stop selling out girls with the new collection, arguing that the new line of toys feeds young girls a narrow set of stereotypes. So far, some 30,000+ people have signed the petition already. Will you join them? Head over to our sister site Inhabitots to read our analysis of the issue and vote in our survey. MORE > Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: change.org , Inhabitots , lego , lego friends , marketing , minifigs , parenting , parents , petition , sexism , toys

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Are the New LEGO Friends for Girls Sexist?

UK Solar Prices Tumble, Boosting Rush of Installations

Image credit: Solarcentury Earlier this year, my parents installed solar PV panels on their home in England . Not long after, my brother installed solar panels too . As solar prices ahve tumbled, and householders have reported higher than expected returns, more and more households are taking the plunge. (Four of my parents’ neighbors now have solar.) But can it last? And should it?… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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UK Solar Prices Tumble, Boosting Rush of Installations

Sen. Jim Inhofe Sick from Swimming in Lake Where "Sustained High Temperatures" Caused Toxic Algae Blooms

Photo: Public domain via Wikimedia Commons Senator James Inhofe is, as you may be aware, the nation’s foremost Congressional climate change denier. He revels in the role, mocking Al Gore at every chance he gets, belittling climate scientists, and vociferously insisting global warming is the greatest hoax ever to be perpetrated on the American people. So you can’t help but derive a little schadenfreude from Mr. Inhofe’s recent respiratory illness, which he contracted from swimming in Grand Lake, OK, where “sustained high temperature… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Sen. Jim Inhofe Sick from Swimming in Lake Where "Sustained High Temperatures" Caused Toxic Algae Blooms

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