For many of us, our workplace is our second home, making our colleagues our second family. Much like a family, you and your co-workers work towards a common goal and giving gifts to colleagues and co-workers helps boost morale and promote happiness in the workplace. With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns may have left your favourite teammate, manager or colleague feeling blue and maybe even slightly less productive. Here are some gift ideas to help bring back positivity to the workplace and motivation for your team.
1. Potted plants for work desks from eco|stems
If you’re based in Toronto, consider shopping for a desk plant for your colleague from eco|stems. You can make a purchase online or in-store and have it delivered anywhere in the city. The eco|stems’ store is proudly powered by Bullfrog Power, a Canadian green energy source using wind and low-impact hydro. They hold a large variety of succulents, cacti, air plants, flowering plants and even terrariums. All their flowers and plants are locally grown in Ontario and during the summer months, all their plants are grown within the city. You can even make a plant subscription with eco|stems for your entire office. No matter how more or less plant savvy your colleague is, eco|stems can provide you with all the help you need to give the right plant to your colleagues.
2. Fuel for the daily grind from Spirit Bear Coffee
Any Canadian workplace is incomplete without coffee and if your co-worker loves their caffeine, Spirit Bear Coffee is the way to go! The Spirit Bear Coffee is an organic and fair trade coffee company located in Port Coquitlam, BC. With your coffee purchase from the Spirit Bear Coffee Company, you will be supporting an Indigenous Canadian business. The founders were inspired by the Spirit Bear in Indigenous culture, a symbolic gift of peace and harmony to all creatures on earth. Since their inception fifteen years ago, Spirit Bear Coffee Company has grown to 600 stores nationwide, competing with mainstream coffee houses, such as Tim Hortons and Starbucks.
3. Reusable glass bottle for fueling up through meetings from Grosche
From Ontario, the Grosche Venice Frosted Water Bottle with Carrying Sleeve is a great gift for colleagues who love staying hydrated or are always on-the-go. This stylish and functional bottle works for both hot and cold drinks, has a removable protective sleeve, a carrying strap, a bamboo lid and has zero plastic! Fits in standard water bottle storages, bags and car cup holders, and is perfect for working out, camping, school, for travel or the office. Your colleague - and the planet - will be grateful for the number of paper cups you helped them save from ending in the landfill.
To top it all off, Grosche has a giving back program, the Safe Water project, and has provided clean, safe drinking water in six countries so far, including South Sudan, Uganda, Malawi, India, Pakistan, and The Philippines.
Find Grosche water bottles in our Earth Day and On-The-Go Gift Boxes.
4. Start the day on a bright note with an eco-friendly journal from Ecojot
If your colleague is one of the last ones left to go paperless at work, then a sustainable journal with a personalized written note inside is a great gift option for them. Made of 100% post-consumer recycled paper and in Canada, Ecojot has several options of quirky and fun journals to choose from. Based out of Toronto, ON, the Ecojot paper is made entirely from old waste paper in Cascades mill in Québec and all their inks and glues are vegetable-based.
5. Make a statement on the commute with a Lunch bag from SoYoung
If your colleague brings packed lunches to work, then a lunch bag can be a great gift to make them feel appreciated and recognized. A female-run, Canadian lifestyle brand, SoYoung makes stylish and sustainable lunch bags for adults and children that are sure to make neck turns at your workplace. They have a wide range of bags made of different sustainable materials, including linen, cotton, and even washable paper. In their Paper Collection, their bags have a washable paper exterior that is a combination of the tactile feel of paper and durability of leather, while being eco-friendly.
SoYoung calls its lunch bags: “the sustainable, stylish and self-empowering way to do lunch”, so if you have a colleague going through a rough patch or just a pick-me-up for no reason, this thoughtful gift could do the trick.
6. Gift sets to pamper themselves through the weekend from Rocky Mountain Soap Co.
If your team has pushed through a crazy schedule for a tough deadline and reached the desired results, it may be time to reward them (and yourself) for the feat. Let your colleagues indulge themselves in Canadian-made, natural beauty products from Alberta by the Rocky Mountain Soap Co. Their Summertime Collection and Lavender Love Gift Set are great options to gift from. All their products are 100% natural, not tested on animals, GMO-free and locally made. Even their goat’s milk in some of their creamiest products is sourced from Alberta! This present will definitely make your lucky colleagues feel valued and recognized - more good for future productivity!
Whether you are buddies at the workplace or have a more formal relationship, these ideas are sure to help you make stronger connections in your professional space. Research actually proves that good relationships in the workplace are essential to long-term happiness, so consider these an investment for the future and no matter what the occasion or reason, a gift given from any colleague is always a pleasant surprise!
Let us know what your favourite eco-friendly gift ideas are on Facebook and Instagram @goodearthgifting. Learn more on our TikTok @goodearthgifting!
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