Eco-Friendly Baby Gifts for New Babies & Parents | UK
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Looking for eco-friendly and sustainable baby gifts for newborn babies or their parents? Here are my top environmentally-conscious baby gift suggestions for all budgets.
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Quite regularly an SOS email will land in my inbox from Moral Fibres readers needing help. Lately, quite a few seem to be on a particular theme – readers looking for suggestions for eco-friendly new baby gifts.
I love shopping for new baby gifts. I’d say it’s my favourite thing to shop for. I’m definitely the type of person who oohs and aahs at tiny baby grows and sleepsuits, and even tinier gloves and hats.
What can I say, my two kids are growing fast. My oldest is 12 this year, and my youngest is nearly 8. I do sometimes get nostalgic for the days when they were tiny newborn babies. Of course, each age brings its own joy, but I can’t help but get misty-eyed at cute little outfits.
Cuteness factor aside, buying gifts for new babies can be tricky. Having had kids myself, I know what baby things are useful, and which aren’t particularly practical, so I’m happy to pass on my parental knowledge. As such, my guide is packed full of genuinely useful eco-friendly baby gifts.
I’ve also got ideas for gifts for new parents, as well as some no-spend gift ideas, to make this guide work for every single budget. Use the quick links below to jump to a specific section or keep scrolling for the full post:
Eco-Friendly New Baby Gifts:
- Sustainable Baby Clothes
- Eco-Friendly New Baby Gift Sets
- SuperLooper Gift Card – AD
- Books & Toys
- Bibs & Baby Towels
Sustainable Gift Ideas For New Parents
Ideas For Eco-Friendly Baby Gifts
If you want to say welcome to the world, little one, then here are my Moral Fibres top picks for eco-friendly new baby gifts that parents will actually use and appreciate:
Sustainable Baby Clothes
Clothes are always a great gift idea. However, there are a few pointers you might want to take heed of. Unless the baby is premature, I’d avoid gifting clothes in newborn sizes, as these are grown out so quickly. Both my babies were big and didn’t fit in newborn sizes for any more than a week or two at most.
Another size to perhaps avoid is the 0-3 month size. We were kindly given a lot of clothes in this size, but less so in 3-6 or 6-9 month sizes. My advice? Go for a bigger size. Do think about seasonality though – that pair of baby shorts may look incredibly cute now, but in 6 months is it going to be too cold for shorts? Something to think about!
For eco-friendly baby gifts, I’m a big fan of Boody Baby. Every item in its Eco Baby collection is made from organic bamboo, spun into supersoft fibres. From sleeveless bodysuits to baby vests, bibs, and t-shirts you’ll find a host of eco-friendly clothing in white, pink, or blue, costing from £5.
All of Boody’s items are produced adhering to the highest standards for both the planet and its workers. For peace of mind, Boody Baby carries Oeko-Tex’s “Confidence in Textiles” label. This is an independent certification that shows that all of Boody’s sustainable baby clothes are free from both pesticides and harmful chemicals.
Sign up for the Boody mailing list, and get 15% off your first order.
Do also check out my guide to sustainable baby clothes for more eco-friendly baby gift ideas.
Eco-Friendly New Baby Gift Sets
If you want to gift a new baby gift set, then this new baby eco-friendly gift set from Aphrodite & Ares – available at Not On The High Street for £26.90 – contains beautiful organic and vegan newborn baby essentials.
Inside the cardboard box you’ll find:
- An extra-soft organic cotton muslin cloth – these are so handy at feeding times for catching spit-up.
- An organic cotton baby hat and mittens – you can choose between plain or striped versions. Mittens help stop babies from scratching their faces, so are super useful to have.
- A vegan soap bar enriched with certified organic shea butter, suitable for sensitive skin – perfect for baby bath time.
- And a sweet card to record the baby’s first details
SuperLooper Gift Card – AD
Babies outgrow five different clothing sizes in the first year of their life alone. A gift card from SuperLooper (from £15 for a month’s subscription) means that your recipient can dress their baby affordably in beautiful preloved clothes as their baby grows, whilst finding a loving home for their baby’s outgrown clothes.
This clever online swap shop means that when their baby outgrows their current clothes, the parents can simply swap the clothes for the next size up. Plus there’s no need to pay for postage when buying preloved items.
You can buy cards for a 1, 6 or 12-month baby clothing rental subscription. A month’s trial means you can potentially revolutionise their shopping habits. Or, if you know they’re already into renting rather than owning baby clothes, gifting them a card for a 6 or 12-month subscription can help make their lives that little bit easier.
As well as helping to protect the planet by reducing waste and saving carbon and water, renting rather than owning baby clothes helps save money, storage space and time. It really is the gift that keeps on giving.
Books & Toys
I really loved it when people bought us books for my babies – specifically board books. It’s lovely to have a little collection of books to enjoy as the baby gets older. Books can be picked up cheaply secondhand or new, and don’t take up much space.
Generally, I don’t recommend buying toys for new babies, as toys don’t get played with for a good few months. If you did want to buy a toy, I’d say go for a wooden one. I’ve got a whole guide on how to buy sustainable wooden toys if you want to buy a toy as an eco-friendly baby gift.
Organic Bibs & Baby Towels
Something that I found that was incredibly useful to receive as new baby gifts were bibs and towels. You might think of bibs just for feeding time in older babies, but even newborn babies need bibs for catching spit-up and drool. They really help cut down on clothes washing.
These organic cotton bibs from the Tiny Alpaca Store on Etsy (from £7.99) are a great choice for an eco-friendly baby gift. These are available in a range of pretty colours and are made from 95% organic cotton certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS).
Towels are also incredibly useful, particularly hooded towels, which help keep little ones warm after their bath. This soft and snuggly hooded towel – £19.99 from Tiny Alpaca – is made from organic cotton and is sure to be a bathtime staple for years to come. My kids still use their hooded towels from their baby years now!
Sustainable Gift Ideas For New Parents
If you are looking to give a gift to new parents, then here are my top eco-friendly and ethical suggestions. I’ve also got some no-spend eco-friendly baby gift ideas, so keep reading for those.
Baked Goods
When you’re a sleep-deprived new parent sometimes only a sugar hit can help you get through the day. That’s why baked goods make for such a thoughtful gift idea.
Letterbox New Baby Biscuits
These new baby biscuits from The Kitsch Hen (£25.50) are a thoughtful treat for new parents in need of a sugar rush.
Each box includes 12 hand-iced delicious vanilla biscuits, packed into a sturdy recycled and recyclable gift box. They’re packaged to fit through a standard letterbox, so no one needs to be waiting at home for them to arrive.
Do note that the biscuits are vegetarian-friendly, but not vegan-friendly. Wherever possible The Kitsch Hen uses locally sourced ingredients. This includes organic free-range eggs and unbleached flour from a local windmill.
Letterbox Vegan Brownies
If you’re looking for a vegan alternative, then Vegana Bakes (£18.75) sends delicious fudgy and gooey vegan brownies by post, all made to order. Crucially the boxes fit through most standard-size letterboxes – the postman doesn’t need to ring the doorbell and potentially wake a sleeping baby or parents!
Despite being packaged in a narrow box, the postbox brownies are carefully packaged to make sure they travel safely. They don’t have to be eaten straight away (although no shame if they are!). Instead, they can be stored in the fridge – this makes them extra fudgy – and should be consumed within 10 days of receiving them.
Eco-Friendly Hamper Gifts
A hamper full of delicious treats also makes for a great eco-friendly baby gift for new parents. Some delicious snacks to munch on one-handed for some much-needed energy, or a little drink to wet the new baby’s head never go wrong!
Social Supermarket, a UK-based social enterprise marketplace, has curated a delicious range of gift hampers from £15.99, packed with socially conscious food and drink treats – catering for both vegans and non-vegans.
These collections of indulgent treats – all from social enterprise brands – ensure that your gift gives back socially and/or environmentally. This makes for a great ethical and eco-friendly baby gift idea.
Food Delivery
Another idea that I love is sending a gift voucher for some pre-made nutritious meals, that new parents just need to reheat. Cooked food that can be heated up in a pinch is any new parent’s dream!
Planty makes 100% plant-based meals, prepared by chefs and then flash-frozen to lock in the nutrients and flavours. Each meal then comes in a 100% recyclable, compostable or reusable container, and is delivered using carbon-neutral delivery.
Meals stay frozen for 24 hours – giving ample time to decant the food into the freezer to be enjoyed when needed.
Planty is working towards B-Corp certification, to help demonstrate its sustainability credentials. Alongside this work, Planty donates any excess food and locally sources its ingredients where possible.
Its gift cards can be bought in any denomination and can be redeemed across multiple orders (including subscriptions) and never expire.
Ethical Flowers
If you want to send flowers, Arena Flowers (from £22) is a good place to look for ethical flowers. Describing itself as the UK’s most ethical florist, Arena sources all of its flowers from ethical suppliers or Fairtrade-certified farms. Arena also works with charity partners, such as Bread and Water for Africa UK. This charity exists solely to provide access to international support for community-led projects in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Its beautiful blooms arrive at your door in recycled, recyclable or compostable packaging. This means everything can be reused, recycled, or popped in your compost bin when you’re done with it.
No-Spend Gift Ideas For Parents With New Babies
Of course, you don’t have to spend money on new baby gifts. Some of the best things people gave us when we had our children weren’t gifts, but their time. Some of my favourite no-spend ideas include:
- Dropping off a home-cooked meal that can be easily reheated.
- Dropping off homemade baked goods.
- Offering to sit and hold the baby whilst the parent takes a shower, a bath and/or a nap.
- Offering to babysit an older child, if they have one.
- Offering to walk the dog, if they have one.
- Offering to clean their bathroom or kitchen, or to hoover, or do some laundry for them is a dream come true. Especially the laundry. For something so little, new babies sure do go through a lot of clothes.
- Offering a lift to a medical appointment or somewhere they need to be. Always a much-appreciated gesture!
If you have any more eco-friendly baby gift ideas or more no-spend ideas then, as always, do let me know!
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