What in the heck are you supposed to get your “green” friends for the holidays or on special occasions when they keep telling you that just about everything is wasteful? Can you find an item that will make them happy, but also meet their expectations for generating less waste? What the heck even is an eco-friendly gift? No worries, whether you’re buying them recycled gold jewelry or practical household items, the gift ideas in this post are going to answer all of those questions.

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What’s the Deal With “Eco-Friendly” Gifts?

Living an eco-conscious lifestyle is becoming more common. People are recognizing that they have a personal responsibility AND the power to take better care of the earth. Simply by changing their actions, they can create a real change. Even if you don’t subscribe to this lifestyle, you probably know someone who knows someone that does. You know, that one person who will probably talk your ears off about no longer using single use plastic straws because they saw that one turtle video. People are paying closer attention to what they consume and pursuing minimalist, zero waste, low waste, and other eco-friendly jargon lifestyles.

Taking charge of your actions to make a positive change is a beautiful undertaking. However, it isn’t always easy to finance. That’s where holiday gifting can come in handy, if you know what to get. I bet you could ask anyone who is eco-conscious what’s one thing on their eco-wish list, and it’s likely to be on this list! Also, when you’re not as far into your eco-living as someone as you love, you might not know what to get them. Below, there are several great sustainable gifts ideas for the the people in your life that are going green. Maybe you’ll even find something you love and become a little more green right along with the person you’re searching for gifts for? That would be the ultimate gift, for sure!

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Related: View ALL Holiday Gift Guides

Eco-Friendly Gift Ideas

1. Wool Dryer Balls

Help your friends kick the toxic dryer sheet habit. Buy a bulk order, and you can share 2-3 wool dryer balls with all of your friends.

2. Glass Lunch Containers

Reusable glass lunch containers are perfect for packing snacks, lunch, and storing dinner leftovers. These containers come in different styles. Since they’re made of glass, you can even cook in them! The 1 compartment glass container is perfect for a big salad. 2 compartments is perfect for 2 snacks. The 3 compartment glass lunch container is perfect for meal prep.

3. Reusable Straws

A reusable straw and cleaner that your friend can take with them while they are on the go is an easy way to help them focus on their eco-friendly lifestyle. You’ll be helping them say NO to single use straws, and thus protecting wildlife that are easily harmed by single use plastic straw pollution.

4. {Gift Card} to an Eco-Friendly Clothing Brand

When you buy less and choose well, you want to shop with brands that put the environment and living beings as their number one priority. Read this list of eco-friendly clothing brands to find the perfect one and give your eco-conscious loved one a gift card for them!

6. Your Leftover Glass Jars

Stop! Don’t throw those glass jars away anymore! Ask your friends if they need any for their bulk shopping trips or for food storage purposes. You would be surprised to find that they might love some of those jars that people usually discard of so easily.

7. Beeswax Wraps

Beeswax wraps are the “green” version of plastic wrap. They use natural cloth and beeswax to more successfully cover food than any cling wrap I have ever used. Plus, the wraps don’t cause plastic pollution! Abeego beeswax wraps are my favorite. They are available in several different sizes so that you can avoid using plastic for all of your food storage needs, no matter the size of what you’re storing. For your vegan lifestyle friends, vegan food wax wraps are a nice alternative.

8. Cash or Gift Card

Does your green friend have a big item in mind that they’re saving up to purchase? Cash or gift cards can go towards a big ticket item, such as a large outdoor composting system or tickets to a conference they want to attend to learn more about their new eco-friendly lifestyle.

9. Philanthropic Donations

Every year we host a birthday fundraiser to plant trees for Little Boo’s birthday. If your friend insists on “no gifts,” ask them what environmental group or cause they are most passionate about. You can then donate to said organization on their behalf.

10. Indoor Compost Bin

Composting, or letting food rot in a manner that will turn it into fertilizer, is a great way to divert food waste. When we simply throw plant foods in the trash, the process of them breaking down creates harmful gasses that contribute to negative climate change. There are so many different ways to compost. Some companies even pick up your food waste and compost it for you! A small indoor compost bin is perfect if you don’t create a large amount of food waste and instead want to create your own compost for your garden.

11. Plant Based Milk Maker Machine

A nut milk maker helps people avoid all the plastic packaging that comes with frequently purchasing milk. Also, it helps to create all different types of milks that aren’t typically sold in stores, such as oat milk. The Tribest Soybella milk maker is not just for soybeans – it can make all types of milk. It uses heat to make milk, which can take away nutrients, but there are other options. For a plant based milk maker that makes milk at a cold temperature, and one that has an even cooler built-in strainer, pre-order the Almond Cow milk maker. Whichever you choose, they both take the hard work out of making your own fresh, plant based, preservative-free milk right in your own kitchen.

12. Eco Tools Makeup Brushes

For the makeup lovers in your life, a set of eco-friendly make-up brushes is a simple, yet effective, gift.

13. Waterpik

Waterpik has a range of systems that are great alternative to floss. One typical pack of floss has a lot of plastic for such a small product. You can buy eco-friendly floss, but then you’d have to keep buying it. Waterpik uses water to achieve the same result as floss, and it is Dentist approved. For those that are always on the go, a cordless Waterpik is optimal. The classic Waterpik water flosser is a bulkier and needs to be plugged into an outlet.

14. Tushy bidet

Using a bidet helps you clean your hind parts better after you potty, and it can possibly help cut down on the amount of toilet paper you use! I recommend the Tushy Bidet that you can easily attach to your toilet by yourself.

15. Stainless Steel Lunch Containers

Leak proof, stackable stainless steel lunch containers are something that your friends and family will love for storing their lunch or leftovers. Being leak-proof is a big deal because it can be used more frequently and will actually help instead of make transporting food a dreadful task. This is one of those products that helps make the new tasks associated with sustainable living a little bit easier to manage.

16. Kombucha Kit

Do you have a friend who rants and raves about ‘booch? Kombucha is a really healthy drink that requires a very specific brewing routine. For those who have never gone through the process before, it could be tricky. That’s why brands have created kombucha brewing kits! This is a perfect gift to help your zero waste friends stop buying bottles and bottles of kombucha by creating their own in a reusable jar, and then drinking it out of their own reusable cups!

17. Produce & Shopping Bags

If you want to stop using plastic shopping bags and also share that easy eco-lifestyle tip in the form of a gift, get your people some reusable bags! I have a whole list of reusable shopping bags that you can choose from. You can get different styles to fit everyone’s personality! Reusable produce bags help avoid those film-like plastic bags in the produce area of stores. They’re really the worst, and more end up in natural habitats harming animals than they do being properly recycled. Let’s break that bad habit by sharing reusable bags with all of our friends!

18. An EXPERIENCE!

Share an experience with your eco-friendly friend. Gift them a mini road trip to a beautiful natural park to keep it simple and sweet. If you want to go all out, book an eco-tourism trip anywhere around the world.

19. Reusable Thermos/Mug

This is one gift that I received that I can not get enough of. My reusable thermos by U Konserve is a must-have for EVERYONE, whether you want to be green or not. It keeps my tea hot for so many hours that it feels magical. For avid tea or coffee drinkers, this cup is the perfect gift. Get yourself one while you’re at it!

20. Recycled Gold Jewelry by AU-Rate

If your loved one loves to wear jewelry, make it ethical and sustainable for them! AU-Rate recycles gold into new modern pieces that are absolutely beautiful! Ethical jewelry is so thoughtful, as well – you are gifting with pure love when you share jewelry pieces that help and not harm the makers.

Hopefully this post helped you to understand a little more about what eco-friendly gift giving is all about. We don’t have to participate in extreme consumerism in order to give good gifts, but sometimes buying a very timeless and useful product is the best eco-friendly gift you can give someone. I hope these green gift ideas help you to find the perfect items for your family and friends, and even for yourself. Enjoy your celebrations, and give good gifts – gifts that are good for the people and the planet!

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Comments

Jamala says

November 30, 2018 at 8:28 am

Hi Addie! Thank you for this informative post..I didn’t realize ..there were so many sustainable products available.. ….in fact this is an excellent gift list for all year long for birthdays… thanks for sharing

- Addie says
  
  December 14, 2018 at 1:34 pm
  
  Hey Jamala, you are so welcome! These gifts definitely would be great no matter the time of year! I hope you get to share some of them with your loved ones!