Whether you've had all your gifts bought and wrapped since the start of December or are frantically using the rest of exam season to buy your loved ones all the socks and chocolates your local Sainbury’s has to offer, we hope this guide can help you minimise your environmental impact while supporting our local businesses this festive season.
THE REFILLERY
Let’s start with an Edinburgh sustainability staple. Throughout the year, The Refillery offers a fantastic selection of fresh and dried produce to buy zero-waste in your own containers.
At this time of year, vegan candles, reusable tea and coffee filters, and beeswax wrap packs would make particularly lovely gifts.
They also offer gift cards which can be used throughout 2023 (if you can’t decide what to buy now…). If you’re still in Edinburgh, they even offer bike delivery - both convenient and sustainable!
Locations: Newington Road, Corstorphine, Waverley Market.
GRASSMARKET, STOCKBRIDGE, AND LEITH MARKETS
This may be the easiest and most direct way to support local independent traders across our wonderful city. These weekly markets run throughout the year but are particularly vibrant around the festive period.
As well as a variety of food and drink, many traders sell jewellery, knitware, and homeware which would make delightful gifts. If you can brave the Scottish winter, I highly recommend giving these markets a visit.
Grassmarket: Saturdays 10am to 5pm.
Stockbridge: Sundays 10am to 4pm.
Leith: Saturdays 10am to 4pm.
W. ARMSTRONG & SON
How to count the time I’ve spent wandering around these shops…
Armstrongs is a well-established Edinburgh institution with a few locations around the city. They offer a vast collection of second hand and vintage clothing and accessories from across the decades.
Not only does second-hand clothes shopping avoid the negative impacts of the fast-fashion industry, but there’s something incredibly meaningful about receiving a less common garment which someone has put effort into choosing.
From experience, Armstrongs haven’t let the ‘vintage’ label unreasonably push their prices up.
Locations: Grassmarket, Teviot Place, Clerk Street, Cockburn Street.
PIE IN THE SKY
After 50 years on Edinburgh’s Cockburn Street, Pie in the Sky is a treasure trove of funky clothing, accessories, and other memorabilia.
This place is brilliant for both cheaper little trinkets (think earrings, badges, pins etc) and statement clothing pieces - this place has the best collection of the iconic ‘Run and Fly’ dungarees (which are only produced in small batches and particularly size inclusive).
Location: Cockburn Street.
TILLS, ARMCHAIR BOOKS, EDINBURGH BOOKS
Other second-hand book shops are available (but these are my favourites!). Between these three shops, there’s plenty of fiction and non-fiction books appropriate for any bookworms you know.
Additionally, if you’re inspired to have a New Year clearout of your own bookshelves, these shops also buy books to resell - a wonderful way to regenerate the Edinburgh reading community.
Locations: West Port (Armchair and Edinburgh books), Newington (Tills)
If anything in this post has taken your fancy and you purchase gifts from the shops we've recommended, we'd love to hear about it! Photos and messages can be sent to @consciouschange.soc on Instagram.
In the meantime, we'd like to wish you all a very happy and healthy festive period from the Conscious Change committee!
Holly Derrett, 14th December 2022