Ibu Trade specialises in Eco Gifts, Handmade Gifts & Original Gifts

Eco-logical

ibuTrade is eco-logical as we support individuals and organisations who create products that are socially and ecologically sustainable in that they minimise the negative impacts on the environment and those that live within it. An eco-logical approach is the environmentally friendly alternative to the environmentally destructive conventional means and methods of production. At ibu we like the term eco-logical as it does not imply a moral obligation to protect our environment but emphasises the rational justification for doing so. Our Earth is our home, it logically follows that we must look after it if we are not to be homeless. Likewise in business, for industries to be maintained, they must value and nurture the natural resources that they are dependent on.

Why eco-logical?

We are in the midst of an environmental crisis, or what Al Gore refers to as a “planetary emergency”, due to the interconnected calamities of climate change, water shortages and deforestation. Most Australians are aware of this even though, to date, this crisis has had a minimal impact on our daily lives. We may be affected by water restrictions, live in a drought zone, missed the snow at Thredbo or have merely noticed slight changes in the climate of our local area. Overseas, the impacts have been dramatically more significant with islands disappearing below rising sea levels, coastlines eroding and increased incidents of natural disasters. These tragedies are by no means ends in themselves but have cumulative ongoing effects; disease, dispossession, death.

In Australia, we are not losing our homes, our land or our lives,…..yet. This does not mean that we won’t. Insurance companies are already refusing to insure houses along certain “at risk” areas of our coastline. Best case scenarios envisage the demise of the Great Barrier Reef within fifty years and an increase in mosquito borne diseases, among other life-threatening consequences. Worst case scenarios see Sydney as a modern day Atlantis.

These scenarios however are based on an assumption of inaction. They model the Earth’s future environmental conditions presupposing that we will continue to pump greenhouse gases into the air with coal based electricity, that we will persist in our dependence on petrol-fuelled cars, and that we will maintain our current trajectory of inefficient energy consumption.

Besides a diminishing minority of scientists, there is worldwide consensus that action is required now. This is evident in Australia from climate change’s sudden prioritisation on the political agenda. Industries are being forced to rethink their methods of production and their use of valuable, diminishing resources. As a result, some businesses are now embracing the precepts of sustainable design with a view to protecting our Earth and our species future. ibuTrade is one such small business with big principles.

How Are ibuTrade Products Eco-logical ?

ibuTrade favours Producers that meet the following eco-logical criteria:


Products are sought that reduce the use of non-renewable resources.

• This may involve the use of recycled or biodegradable materials and excludes products that contribute to the depletion of finite resources.
• The production process must minimize the environmental impact.
• No harmful chemicals, we love organic.
• Low energy consumption
• No decimation of natural habitats. No coral or non-plantation timbers found at ibuTrade.
• For these reasons, ibuTrade favours traditional methods of production.

Waste management must minimize the environmental impacts and have no negative social impacts.

• Recycling or re-using waste is encouraged.

No animal testing

• All ibuTrade products are guaranteed not to have been tested on animals.

Carbon neutral

• Some of our Producers are Carbon neutral, as is our web server. To be carbon neutral does not merely involve "buying off one's guilt" by purchasing carbon offsets used for activities such as tree-planting. A genuine "carbon neutral" business employs eco-logical measures within their business practice wherever possible. This incorporates all of the criteria mentioned above.