Canadian Gift Guide

I heard about Credo bags about six months ago, just when I had finished all of my Christmas shopping early. I remember the timing because I had already bought my parent’s Christmas gifts by this point – a couple of little treats and two tickets to see the orchestra perform with a Beatles tribute group.

My parents are somewhat at a stage in their life when they’re kind of over collecting ‘stuff’ for the sake of stuff. Thus, many of the gifts I purchase for them in particular must have a strong functional element to them.

My mom is a bit of an eco freak (and I mean that in a nice way) – she was hauling sturdy canvas reusable shopping bags to the grocery mart when I was a wee tot in our Volvo wagon station in the 90s, well before the 21st century anti-Christ (the plastic shopping bag) was publicly masticated. Since then we’ve seen a huge boom in promotional reusable shopping bags. My personal collection includes some from Telus, Yellow Pages, IKEA, a college, a paper company, a hockey team, and a couple I actually purchased from President’s Choice before the whole thing exploded.

Reusuable shopping bags are half the battle though – consider how many of the products you’re loading up in your cart (and eco-friendly bags) are wrapped in plastic? While this is somewhat unavoidable on the manufacturing side until food processors relook at their policies, you can do something about the fresh produce you buy.

Credo Bags

Enter Credo bags. There are several manufacturers out there, but I dig that Credo makes their products in Canada from renewable materials like hemp and bamboo. They offer a pretty diverse selection of reusable bags for your shopping pleasure, including ones for wine, baguettes, and bulk (beans and pasta, not so much for spices).

This is a gift I would easily consider getting for my mom for Mother’s Day (which again, I didn’t because her gift this year was a fancy brunch and a trip to an art gallery), her birthday, or Christmas because it’s reasonably priced, has a definite function, and fits in with my mom’s existing life choices while still being a surprise.

Credo Bag Produce Gift Set (Organic Cotton) – $30

Credo bags are available individually, or you can pick up a nice 4-pack gift set in regular ($28) or organic ($30) cotton.

Credo Bag Eco Shopping System 2

Alternatively if you want to deck out someone to be a full-fledged eco-shopper they have gift sets in the $60 range that are great for housewarming gifts, especially for those moving out for the first time.

Great Gift For:
– Whoever does the grocery shopping
– New homeowners
– Eco-minded buddies
– Teachers

Great Gift Giving For:
– Mother’s Day / Father’s Day
– Housewarming Gifts
– Gratitude
– Host / Hostess