The season of gifting is upon us!
While we discourage wasteful hyper-consumption, we know that gifting is a way to show gratitude for your nearest and dearest. And, thoughtful consumerism is an opportunity to support small businesses that are buoying the local economy.
Here is our list of local and sustainable gifting ideas.
Fashion and accessories
1. Valley – The Label
Valley – The Label is a creative studio based in Cape Town, South Africa. They create small-batch, plastic-free, bold, authentic, and slow jewellery for people who want to look good and feel good, knowing that their precious pieces will last for longer than a season. The brand is are committed to only producing what they can sell and constantly adapting or expanding their offering to include the coveted and carefully sourced materials that are available to us.
- Prices from R850
- Browse here
2. Gasm Studios
Tshegofatso Choenyane creates wearable art for your ears with fun and funky statement designs. GASM Studios designs have been spotted on the runways of Lagos Fashion Week and SA Fashion Week.
- Price range R80 – R300
- Browse here
3. St Reign
St Reign is a slow fashion, minimalist brand offering handcrafted made-to-order leather bags. Each bag is cut and made by hand from beginning to end. They believe in the merging of craft and design and aim to preserve age-old leather crafting techniques, like the saddle stitch, used by skilled artisans.
- Price range R1350 – R2700
- Browse here
4. BROKE
BROKE is a cross-cultural apparel brand championing non-conformity and individuality. Officially launched in Cape Town in 2020, BROKE draws much influence from 90s pop culture.
- Price range R399 – R1999
- Browse here
5. Plasticity
Since 2017, plasticity. Has re-imagined waste materials and transformed them into functional everyday, upcycled products, and accessories. The majority of the plastic waste used is sourced locally from local recyclers. Based in Graaff Reinet – an area that suffers from high unemployment rates – they also aim to offer skills-based training to people in their community.
- Price range R120 – R3000
- Browse here
For home
6. Nectr
Made in small batches, non-toxic and all-natural, Nectr’s candles are made with 100% pure beeswax, sourced sustainably from South African beekeepers. Beeswax candles are hypoallergenic, burn longer than other waxes, and emit a delightful natural honey aroma.
- Price range R165 – R610
- Browse here
7. Ash Ceramics
Whimsical ceramics made by Cat Ash, in Cape Town, add a special touch to any home.
- Price range R180 – R840
- Browse here
8. Least Effort Most Reward Cookbook
An illustrated, digital cookbook containing 21 pictures and plant‑based Afro‑Asian recipes by Parusha Naidoo. Parusha shares her favourite hits – all delicious dishes from or inspired by the continents of Africa and Asia that fit her philosophy in life and cooking of Least Effort Most Reward. For every copy sold, R50 is donated to provide someone with two meals a day for a month to FoodForward SA.
- Price R200
- Browse here
9. Plants
The gift of greenery never goes amiss! You can stop by your local indigenous nursery or check out our favourites Happy by Nature (Cape Town) and the JFF Plant Shop (Johannesburg).
10. Mungo
Founded in 1998, Mungo is the first South African brand to be Global Organic Textile Standard certified. Mungo products are designed, woven, and finished at a weaving mill in Plettenberg Bay where they create woven goods using contemporary weaving techniques to create quality products for people to treasure.
- Prices from R200 (for towels)
- Browse here
11. Beagle + Basset botanical dye kit
It’s a workshop in a box! The kits allow you to explore the ancient techniques of extracting colour from plants. You can choose between two botanical dye kits – bundle dyeing a silk scarf or dyeing a skein of wool.
- Price range R1200 – R1360
- Browse here
12. The Book Lounge gift voucher
If you’d like to give the gift of a good read, you can support an independent bookstore by buying a voucher to spend at the Book Lounge’s physical store, or online, for an amount of your choosing.
- Buy a voucher size of your choosing
- Browse here
Children
13. Petit Fox
Petit Fox is perfect for parents who care about the planet and who love quality clothes – here parents can buy quality clothing for their kids without spending a fortune or damaging the environment.
- Prices from R35
- Browse here
14. reign + sun
Fun, fresh, stylish, and practical 5-panel caps, beanies, and stylish gender-neutral clothing for your little ones, handmade locally in Cape Town.
- Price range R180 – R365
- Browse here
15. Imibongo kaMakhulu Dolls
A mom-owned handmade soft toys business based in Johannesburg. They are on a mission to create more diverse representation during play with beautiful Black dolls while still engaging little ones in the magic of learning and development through play.
- Price R420
- Browse here
16. Liv Bespoke Kids
Handcrafted and hand-carved wooden heirloom toys that are made with love in Port Elizabeth.
- Prices from R220
- Browse here
17. Nehanda Design
Baby nursery mobiles that are handmade from felt and wool. Designed to entertain newborns and create a love for Earth’s beautiful wildlife. By purchasing a nursery mobile you will be supporting the training, upliftment, and employment of local women in Cape Town who assist with the stitching of these special products.
- Price available on inquiry. All nursery mobiles are made to order. You choose the theme, colour palette, and which elements you’d like included in the mobile.
- Browse here
Body
18. Khween Shebar
Always on our list, Khween Shebar is a cold-process, all-natural soap studio founded by Mosa Skosana. Mosa’s goal is to create skincare that is ethically made and sustainable. Khween Shebar’s pure, natural soaps and lotions are made to heal and take care of skin and hair.
- Prices from R130
- Browse here
19. Wild Olive Artisans Perfume
Their current offering is eight different synthetic-free fragrances made in-house in Cape Town from a selection of natural materials sourced from biodynamic farms and producers whose raw materials are reputable and respect the manufacturing process.
Try the Discovery Set which comprises five 100% natural perfumes including Plantifolia Lignosa, Rosaria, Flora Capensis, Florae, and Vetiveria Citrata, each presented as natural spray in a 3ml glass vial.
- Prices from R550
- Browse here
20. Daily Peach
An all-women team that believes in building a circular economy, Daily Peach, focuses on reducing waste in the cosmetics sector with their handmade makeup remover and toning pads. Both the cotton and bamboo pads are 100% compostable.
- Price range R125 – R499
- Browse here
Kitchen
21. Cultivate Collective
Cultivate Collective is here to promote and amplify the participation of Black and Brown talent in one of this country’s flagship enterprises. Wine represents an opportunity for all South Africans to contribute, develop, and celebrate.
Their online marketplace offers wines crafted by some of South Africa’s most innovative and interesting winemakers. Each bottle includes tasting notes, with behind-the-label stories from our members.
- Price range R90-R382 per bottle
- Browse here
22. Native Nosi
Mokgadi Moloko Mabela, founder and director of Native Nosi, is a third-generation beekeeper. Native Nosi is a company that produces and sells honey, wax, and organic and indigenous by-products – from honey and skincare to candles and beverages. Their products are special in that customers are given exactly what the bees made: the company won’t tamper with the honey produced by the bees in any way.
- Prices from R80
- Browse here
23. Ubuntu Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Ubuntu Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a locally made olive oil brand that was established from a desire to connect people to the benefits of olive oil in a way that is fresh, positive, and attractive, and that exudes the uniquely African philosophy of community and sharing.
- Price R130
- Browse here.
24. Queen of Chai
Queen of Chai is run by a wife and husband team who pride themselves on offering a selection of quality teas. They support clean living and try to source the base of our products straight from the farm.
They sell Black, Lemongrass, Honeybush, Green, and Rooibos loose tea leaves and compostable reusable tea bags made with whole spices. Queen of Chai’s latte range consists of Golden Milk and Masala Chai, which is made from pure spices.
- Prices from R80
- Browse here
25. Siki’s Coffee
Sikelela Dibela saw the power coffee had to bring people together, and that’s exactly what he did. His first coffee shop, Siki’s Koffee Kafe in Khayelitsha, is an active social hub for entrepreneurs, creatives, and coffee lovers in the heart of the neighbourhood. The Kafe is situated inside his mother’s garage, introducing high-quality African coffee to the township of Khayelitsha, and now to the locals in Claremont too!
Siki’s coffee is a well-balanced combination of beans from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Burundi, highlighting a strong African coffee ethos.
- Price range R130-R345 (Siki’s Home Roasted Blend)
- Browse here
Experiences
26. Botanical Society membership
For the outdoorsy friend, the greatest gift you can give them is, well, the outdoors. A Botanical society Membership gives them free access to all SANBI National Botanical Gardens and many other perks.
- Price R562 (for an adult annual membership with unlimited, national access)
- Browse here
27. AMAZI Beauty Bar
AMAZI Beauty Bars provide high-quality self-care treatments ranging from manicures to massages. Pop in for a little spoiling at our Beauty Bars at select Woolworths stores across the country. The AMAZI products are all 100% natural, vegan, and made in South Africa.
- Prices from R100
- Browse here
28. Yoga or meditation class voucher
The gift of stillness and presence is always a blessing. Consider gifting a voucher to a local yoga, meditation, or wellness studio, such as The Nest (Johannesburg) or Holding Space (Cape Town).
The Nest is an inclusive wellness space offering holistic health services to all. It is a space built around the values of inclusivity, simplicity, fair representation, freedom of self, connection, community, harmony, self-celebration, and self-expression. We have a yoga studio, alternative healing therapy room, vegan café, and zero-waste grocer.
- Prices per class start at R120 and packages are available
- Browse here
Holding Space is a yoga studio on a mission to decolonise wellness and spiritual practices. They aim to create a welcoming and inclusive space with an offering of yoga classes and meditation sessions.
- Prices per class start at R80
- Browse here
Feature image: Cottonbro Studio / Pexels
