Robin Christmas Decoration

This gold-coloured robin is cast in recycled aluminium by a metalworking workshop in India and imported by Namaste, a UK Fair Trade company. The bird stands on a branch and is worked on both faces, so it reads the same from either side as it turns on its red velvet hanging cord.

The robin has been a Christmas emblem in Britain since the Victorian period, when postmen wore red uniforms and were nicknamed robins, and the early Christmas cards they carried began to show the bird itself.

Aluminium can be melted down and recast repeatedly without losing its properties, and recycling it takes considerably less energy than producing new metal. The workshop employs local metalworkers and puts part of its income into community projects. Casting has long been a male trade in India, and the workshop has been opening it to women as newer equipment makes the heavier stages more manageable.

How to Care for Your Aluminium Decoration

Wipe the robin with a soft, slightly damp cloth and dry it straight away, since water left to sit on the surface can dull the gold-coloured finish. Keep abrasive pads and metal polish away from it, as they wear through the finish to the bare metal beneath. Wrapped in tissue between seasons, it will keep its colour for many Christmases.

• Material: recycled aluminium, gold-coloured finish
• Size: 9 x 10cm
• Hanging: red velvet cord
• Made in: India
• Decoration only, not a toy.