2 Great Canadian Small Businesses to Shop this Christmas

We’ve just come through the retail madness of Black Friday week and I am feeling like I need a breather. A little cleanse, perhaps, from all of the mass marketing campaigns of large corporations and a refocus on small businesses. As we’re still in the midst of holiday shopping season, I wanted to share about two Canadian small businesses that have some great sustainable products–Uncle Mike’s All Natural Products and More Than Lips. So whether you’re needing something to gift to others or something to gift yourself, these two Canadian small businesses might just be the place to look!

No affiliate links in this post, just some straight up love for small businesses.

Uncle Mike’s All Natural Products

My household are repeat customers of Uncle Mike’s. I originally heard about this company through a friend and bought an assortment of products for a gift basket. Since that was the case, I didn’t actually get to try out the products myself but heard the rave reviews.

This Fall when I was visiting Saskatoon, Saskatchewan I had the chance to visit the Uncle Mike’s store and production shop and picked up some products to try out myself–and a few more for gifts too. It was pretty cool to see behind the scenes of the shop and to hear Mike talk passionately about his business and the products he makes.

It’s just one more reason to love and to shop small businesses: the owners truly care about the products they are putting out into the world.

About Uncle Mike’s

Uncle Mike’s All Natural Products started in 2008 when founder Mike Zimmer decided to try creating his own salve using natural oils for his dry, damaged climber’s hands. What began as a personal DIY solution quickly turned into a passion project. After experimenting with essential oils and basic ingredients, Mike expanded his efforts to craft a full range of natural alternatives, from deodorant and soaps to beard oil, aftershave, and more. Today, every product bearing the Uncle Mike’s name is handmade in a small workshop located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. His products are tested on friends (not animals) with a lot of them being vegan-friendly, and all composed entirely of natural ingredients.

Shop Uncle Mike’s Here: https://unclemikesnatural.com/

Uncle Mike’s Products we’ve Tried and Loved

Uncle Mike’s has a number of great natural products. These are a few of the one’s we’ve tried and gifted so far.

Natural Handmade Soap

These lovely bars pictured below are all set to be stocking stuffers (let’s keep that between us!), but other bars of Uncle Mike’s soap have been used and loved. We’ve tried other natural bar brands but they rarely ever stack up to the quality, scents, and long lasting-ness of Uncle Mike’s.

Muscle Mud

Uncle Mike’s Muscle Mud was a suggestion from Uncle Mike himself as I was sharing some of my recent injuries and aches and pains. I was hesitant because I had tried all the A535s and the like, but when you’re in pain it’s worth a try. I do much prefer the idea of using natural ingredients when rubbing something directly on my skin. The muscle mud resulted in a nice sensation after being rubbed onto aching muscles–especially a post-workout type ache.

This tin is small but don’t let that deceive you. You don’t need much of this salve for each use so it goes further than you’d expect!

Foaming Hand Soap

As you can see we are well on our way through this foaming hand soap. This is a great and effective natural option for your hand soap. And, to help with the sustainable factor, you can buy bulk refills and reuse the original pump container.

More Than Lips

I learned about More Than Lips this year through a contest promotion on their Instagram page. I was really excited when the lip balm arrived in a recyclable (and in my mind reusable) paper mailer and then was even more excited when I saw the cardboard tube the lip balm was in.

About More Than Lips

More Than Lips is a small, woman-owned, family-run Canadian company founded by Jessica Longarini in 2019. What began as homemade lip balm made in her parents’ basement has grown into a full-fledged brand committed to merging self-care with sustainability.

More Than Lips products are vegan, cruelty-free, crafted from ethically-sourced, natural ingredients, and packaged in eco-friendly, compostable containers. This is a brand that believes you shouldn’t have to choose between caring for yourself and caring for the planet.

Each lip balm is hand-poured in Toronto, reflecting the company’s dedication to quality, love, and environmental consciousness.

More Than Lips Lip Balm

This is the first item I’ve been able to try from More Than Lips and I am impressed by the quality. This lip balm is far smoother than any other natural ones I’ve tried. The scent is pleasant but not overwhelming which is an important feature to me.

It is great to see not just a focus on the sustainable ingredients, but also the sustainable packaging in the cardboard lip balm tube and the paper mailer that the lip balm arrived in. This product would make a perfect little stocking stuffer!

Shop More Than Lips here: https://morethanlips.net/

Reasons to Shop Small Businesses

Small businesses are important parts of our community. We love supporting them and writing about them. Check out this post for some reasons why to support small businesses: 6 Reasons Why to Support Small and Local Businesses

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