15 Eco Gifts for Teachers
School is nearly out for summer. And that means an end of year ‘thank you’ gift for your child’s teacher.
It’s hard enough deciding what gift your child’s teacher might like. When you factor in affordability and sustainability, it can be triple the headache!
With this in mind, we have curated a list of fifteen gift ideas that meet our gifting criteria of beautiful, useful and eco-friendly. Each one also comes in at under £15, with many costing considerably less for those on a tight budget.
If you want a quick look at our take on the dos and don’ts of gifting for teachers, scroll down past the list.
15 Gift ideas
Before we get on to the gifts, let’s think about the wrapping. Wrapping consciously is a great way to make your gift even more green. Go for recycled and recyclable paper. Or - better still, use a RAPPU furoshiki made from recycled fabric and organic cotton. This will ensure that your wrapping is as eco friendly as the contents of the parcel. Slip the wrapping techniques instruction booklet (comes with every RAPPU wrap) in with the gift. This will help the recipient reuse the wrap.
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One can never have too many coasters - and a coaster is something teachers can make use of both at school and at home. Check out Create Gift Love’s beautiful £12 wooden coasters. They are specially designed as gifts for teachers and can be personalised with the names of both teacher and child. We particularly like the unusual and striking spiral words design, but they also do a pretty printed floral pattern. Handmade in the New Forest from sustainably sourced materials, the coasters are available in a choice of woods. They are sent ready for gifting in a hessian bag.
2
Pencils make a great teacher gift as they always come in handy. Even better - a set of pencils that remind teachers they are appreciated every time they use one! Pencil Me In’s brightly coloured box of four is printed with affirming messages such as ‘best teacher ever’ and ‘thank you teacher’. The set costs £7, and for an extra 50p you can have the teacher’s name added to the ‘thank you’ pencil. Each pencil has a good quality eraser on the end, in the same colour as its pencil. Specific pencil colours can be requested at the time of purchase.
3
Pens and pencils are at the heart of the teacher’s tool kit - but where to keep them? In an eco-friendly recycled newspaper pencil pot, of course! Paper High’s £5.99 pencil pot from Protect the Planet will brighten any teacher’s desk. Paper High is a company that teams up with small ethical co-operatives in Asia to create a range of eco-friendly gifts. If you order one of their pencil pots from Protect the Planet, you will receive a random (but beautiful) colour selection.
4
A reusable shopping bag is another of those items that always comes in handy. These £10 Kind Bags recycled bags from Authentic House are useful, eco-friendly and beautiful. They fold into a small pouch so they are easy to carry around. Made from recycled plastic bottles, in a bid to keep them out of landfill, they are also water resistant and have reinforced stitching for added strength. Just the ticket for transporting piles of exercise books. The bags are available in a good choice of patterns, including a safe black and white Gingham if you’re unsure of the recipient’s tastes.
5
Seed bombs make a fun and eco-friendly little gift for teachers who are into nature and gardening. Sow Many Seeds’ pretty seed bomb bonbons are themed to look like a gift box of cakes (although not to be eaten, of course!) The seed bomb bonbons cost £12.95 and come with full instructions for planting. All seeds used have been inspected and licensed by Defra, and the box is made from 100% recycled Kraft card.
6
From jotting down lesson ideas to recording school life anecdotes, all teachers need a notebook. This beautiful Notes range from Vent for Change is super-sustainable. Not only are the notebooks made from 100% recycled paper and card, the company also gives 5% of their sales revenue to support educational projects around the world. This makes a Vent for Change notebook doubly suitable as a teacher’s gift. Details of all the projects they have supported are available on their website.
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Chocolate is always a useful gift idea if you really don’t know what to get. From a sustainability point of view, it’s now much easier to find chocolate with sound eco-credentials. Chocolate and Love are one such company. All their chocolate is Fairtrade and traceably organic. They use FSC certified paper for wrapping and the silver inner wrappers are compostable and entirely plastic free. It should, of course, be emphasised that the product is also delicious and beautifully wrapped. Their Chocolate Library Box collections (£9.85 to £14.50) make an appropriately themed gift for teachers.
8
There are plenty of eco-friendly keyrings around, and they make affordable ‘thank you’ tokens for teachers. We particularly love these £7.50 sea life keyrings made from marbled recycled ocean plastic. Not only are the keyrings super cute, they have a great back story. Matt and Jonny, the brothers from Brothers Make, recycle waste plastics to create useful objects and keep plastic out of landfill and the ocean. Check out their story and fascinating description of the recycling process on their website. Their recycled plastic decorative plant pots are beautiful too, and both sizes come in at under £15.
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Your child will probably know whether their teacher is an enthusiastic pet owner. If they are, this particular interest offers a good source of gifting ideas. Dog bandanas are fun, but also useful for keeping dogs cool in summer and warm in winter. For some dogs, they can also be calming. Check out Studio 306’s cheerful range of £12 dog bandanas. Studio 306 is a Haringey-based creative project set up to help people recover from mental health issues. Their products can be purchased through the Big Issue online shop.
10
Soap is yet another item that always gets used, one way or another. Hanini Skincare’s products are the last word in sustainability. Not only are they plant-based, natural and plastic free, they are also inclusive. All packaging is printed in Braille and the company creates products such as handled soaps to aid accessibility. At just £5.06, the Hanini Travel Soap Kit makes a charming, affordable and useful teacher’s gift. The kit includes a soap of your choice (scented with essential oils or unscented) and an organic cotton wash cloth, housed in a handy, swivel-lidded tin.
11
Many primary (and indeed secondary) school teachers have an interest in nature and the environment. Accessories for feeding birds are sure to go down well, and there are lots to choose from. The National Trust’s £10 ceramic Vierno bird feeder makes an attractive and useful addition to any garden. Purchasing from the National Trust also supports the work they do in conserving our precious historical heritage and natural environments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. If you want to support the separate and independent National Trust for Scotland, visit their online shop at nts.org.uk/shop/
12
A tea towel is another of those items one can never have too many of. You can also look out for a themed tea towel if you happen to know a teacher’s interests. If possible, go for naturally eco-friendly linen or hemp. Organic cotton is also an eco-friendly choice. This beautiful £12 organic cotton tea towel is from the World Wildlife Fund’s Wild Isles collection - a collaboration between the WWF and the RSPB. And it’s not just useful, beautiful and eco-friendly. 100% of the profits from your purchase will go towards protecting UK species and habitats. A perfect example of thoughtful gifting!
13
Book tokens are sometimes seen as lazy gifting. We think this is a great pity, particularly when you don’t know much about the recipient’s personal tastes. For book lovers, a book token is a real treat. As a teacher gift, it is also very appropriate. Teachers can treat themselves to a book for personal use, or choose something for their classroom. It’s also a way of ensuring that the recipient gets exactly what they want - a much more sustainable approach than giving a potentially unwanted present. National Book Tokens can be spent in both chain bookstores and independents, as well as online. They never expire and you can purchase any value from £5 upwards.
14
Buying a charity donation in lieu of a gift is a great way to cut down on pointless or unwanted presents - and make sure that the money you spend goes where it’s really needed. Teachers tend to be a public spirited bunch, and many will be pleased with such a gesture. Most charities run a virtual charity gift scheme nowadays. We would like to showcase the charity RAPPU supports - the Batemans and Satkaarya Trusts, who work with disadvantaged children in Chennai. Their wish list scheme allows you to choose what your donation will buy. Items under £15 include text books for a child or two footballs. If you are able to go up to £20, you can fund items such as a month of healthy snacks or a school uniform.
15
Like book tokens, gift vouchers give the recipient the fun of shopping and the chance to choose what they truly want. With sustainability in mind, go for an eco-friendly store with lots of different categories to choose from. The Green Turtle was set up to offer environmentally friendly and plastic-free alternatives, and make it easier for us all to shop a bit more sustainably. Their departments include gifts, home and garden, baby and child, and out and about - so lots to choose from. Green Turtle gift vouchers can be purchased to the values of £5, £10, £20 and beyond. In order to save on resources, the voucher is emailed along with instructions on how to redeem.
The etiquette of teacher gifting
Find out about interests
Although you probably don’t know the teacher particularly well, your child does. Quiz them about their teacher’s likes, dislikes and interests. Ask other parents too.
If in doubt…
If your child can’t lead you in the right direction, go for something safely generic such as chocolates, soap or notebooks.
Avoid personal taste
Be careful about choosing something with an unusual pattern that might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Jewellery, items to wear and highly perfumed products are generally best avoided - unless you are confident about a teacher’s tastes.
Check gifting policy
Your child’s school should have a ‘gifts’ policy, sometimes called a ‘gifts and hospitality’ policy. It’s well worth checking so you don’t inadvertently create an awkward situation by contravening the policy with your gift. Typical stipulations include no cash gifts and no hospitality. Also, no gifts over the value of £30.
Clubbing together
Buying a joint gift with other parents can be helpful if budgets are tight. Check that the greater amount of spending money doesn’t contravene the school’s gift policy. If in doubt, ask the head or a member of the school leadership team.
Choose useful
It’s a good idea to go for something the teacher can make use of. Items that come in handy in the classroom often go down well. As with gifting for any other occasion, choosing something useful is always the most eco-friendly route.
Choose sustainable
Check out the eco-credentials of any product you choose. Each item in the curated collection above has been picked for its sustainability profile, as well as for being useful, beautiful and affordable.
Choose socially responsible
Many ethical businesses support charitable causes through donating a percentage of their profits. Most larger charities also have online shops with some great products on offer - some of which we include in our ideas list below. Taking all this into account when choosing your gift adds an extra touch. For example, buying from a company that supports educational projects.
Support small businesses
Small businesses often have a less complex supply chain and hence a lower carbon footprint. You’re more likely to find something unique and handmade, and customer service is often more personalised and helpful. It’s easier to get a sense of the real person behind the business when shopping small - and every order you make will genuinely mean the world to them!
Include a message
While thoughtful and carefully chosen gifts are always appreciated, a heartfelt note of thanks matters the most. They can be a real boost for teachers to look back on when the going gets tough.
Involve your child
The gift will be much more meaningful if your child has been involved in choosing, buying, wrapping and writing a card. Encourage younger children to make their own card.
Happy end of term gifting and have a wonderful summer!
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