Passion Lilie’s Ultimate Ethical Gift Guide 2025
Shop small. Support women. Celebrate sustainability.
It’s officially the most wonderful time of the year! If you, like us, are already in gift prep mode, we’re here to help. We love to take the guesswork out of gift giving for you, so we’ve rounded up some of our favorite sustainable and ethical gift ideas for 2025.
These are gift ideas we love and think everyone on your list will, too. Best of all, we’re focusing on small businesses, women-owned brands, New Orleans brands, and BIPOC-owned companies. These businesses are doing great work to support their communities, and we want to see them thrive. In a tough economy, it’s more important than ever to seek out these companies and show them they matter.
Mother-in-law gift, Favorite Things party, or friend gift:
One of the most versatile gifts on our list – the Honey Girl Organics Gift Set is the perfect gift for tons of people on your list, because who doesn’t love clean, toxin-free skincare?! Their products are so fresh, they’re certified as organic food! We love that this woman-owned, Hawaii based brand makes all their skincare in small batches using organic ingredients.
P.S. – It’s also an excellent gift for the tween and teen girls in your life. You’ll win instant street cred for introducing them to a high-quality, ethical skincare line.
✔️ Women-owned brand
✔️ Organic ingredients
✔️ Ethically made
Teacher Gift, Host/Hostess Gift
Sawa Sawa Handmade Sisal Wine Bag
We’re low-key obsessed with everything Sawa Sawa offers and does to support women in Kenya. They work with female artisans in Kenya who make gorgeous bags, jewelry, and décor. Each purchase directly supports a woman and her family. Many artisans have gone on to start small farms, hire neighbors to help with childcare and harvests, and invest back into their villages growing the local economy from the ground up.
We love the idea of purchasing a sisal gift bag and adding a bottle of wine or box of local chocolates for a thoughtful, ethically made gift.
✔️ Black-owned
✔️ Woman-owned
✔️ Non-profit organization
✔️ Ethically made
Mom Gift, Daughter Gift, Best Friend Gift
Beatrix Bell has such an eclectic and wide variety of jewelry, there’s almost certainly something for everyone on your list. Your bestie who rides in Muses? Sparkly shoe earrings. A group sibling gift for mom? A peapod necklace with a pearl representing each child. Bea has pieces ranging from simple to ornate, classic to edgy, and everything in between. Each piece is handmade with high quality materials. Some of her most popular pieces are made from historic artifacts like roman glass, Czech beads, and even antique glass Mardi Gras beads.
✔️ Woman-owned
✔️ New Orleans brand
✔️ Handmade
Animal Lover Gift, Dog Parent Gift, Stocking Stuffer
The way I sighed with happiness when I discovered this brand! They’re literally the most perfect gift for the dog lover in your life. They’re cute (obviously) but they’re so much more. Each purchase benefits Conscious Step’s partner, Best Friends Animal Society, which provides a no-kill sanctuary for thousands of good boys and girls while advocating for the 8 million companion animals that wind up in shelters each year – providing food, treatment, and adoption opportunities. Their socks are sustainable and ethically made with GOTS certified organic cotton. Conscious Step is Fairtrade Certified and a member of 1% for the Planet, A global network donating at least 1% of annual sales to environmental solutions for a healthy planet.
✔️ Fair Trade brand
✔️ Organic materials
✔️ Supports animal welfare
Teacher Gift, Friend gift, Parent Gift
We absolutely love Succulent Friends, a fellow woman-owned brand and self-professed gift lover. Ann, the founder, curates gorgeous boxes filled with socially responsible goodies for every occasion, or you can pick your own products from her thoughtfully chosen selection of succulents, bath bombs, chocolate bars, books, and so much more. We love the Cozy Moments Box for the holidays, but browsing her options has me thinking of all the perfect, unique combinations of gifts I could create and send to friends near and far.
✔️ Woman-owned
✔️ Small business
✔️ Socially conscious
Ornament Swap, Coworker Gift, or Neighbor Gift
Passion Lilie’s ornaments are handmade by an artisan in India who uses his skills to help pay for his brother’s medical care. His ornaments are made with so much love and careful craftsmanship that each one is truly a work of art. We love giving something pretty and unique alongside a gift card for people we cherish like coworkers, teachers or childcare workers, people who clean our house or deliver our mail.
✔️ Woman-owned
✔️ New Orleans brand
✔️ Handmade
Stocking Stuffers, Teacher Gifts, Sibling Gifts, Friend Gifts
This year, everyone on my list is getting Piety and Desire bon bon boxes. It’s a New Orleans business that makes the most beautiful chocolate I’ve ever seen. Each piece looks so much like a work of art that I (almost) don’t want to eat them. We love Piety and Desire’s “bean to bar” strategy – they make their chocolate starting from cacao (i.e., cocoa beans) that they roast, winnow, grind, refine, and temper into bars, bon bons, and other confections.
The way our products are produced is important to Passion Lilie, and we appreciate that Piety and Desire sources their cacao via Direct Trade and Conscious Trade relationships, ensuring farmers are paid fairly and the supply chain remains ethical.
✔️ New Orleans brand
✔️ Handmade
✔️ Ethically sourced ingredients
Gifts for Kids, Gifts for Babies, and Stocking Stuffers
There’s just no way we could narrow down Fair Trade Winds’ kids and baby gifts. Like Passion Lilie, Fair Trade Winds is a Fair Trade Federation member, so you can shop confidently knowing their artisans are paid fairly and treated with dignity. On my Christmas list: crochet orange slice rattles for every baby I know, dino hand puppets for stocking stuffers, and Little Alphabet Explorer Sets for all the blossoming readers in my life.
✔️ Fair Trade
✔️ Handmade
✔️ Family business
Gifts for you!
As you’re checking off gifts for everyone else, don’t forget your own list! Let your loved ones know what you’ve been eyeing, and make sure they know your sizes. Passion Lilie has the perfect holiday outfits for all of your festive events – Santa brunches, corporate parties, hotel hopping with friends – we’ve got you covered. Check out our organic cotton wrap dresses in seasonal colors and designs and you’ll feel like a million bucks (while only spending a few) all season long.
✔️ Woman-owned
✔️ New Orleans brand
✔️ Handmade
Give thoughtfully this year.
Every purchase has power. Supporting small, local businesses and sustainable, ethical gifts is your vote for a better world. Thanks for shopping small and supporting these incredible makers with us this season.
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