Our Sustainable Gift Picks for the Holidays

The Holidays are the most wonderful—and wasteful—time of year. Whether it’s the tens of billions of dollars spent on gift wrap in the United States, or the millions of rolls of wrapping paper bought in the UK (the vast majority of which is unrecyclable so ends up in landfill!), or the tens of millions of tons of food waste across the globe…the aftermath of the Festive Season can be ugly. But human nature dictates that we love to give and receive things! So here are some ideas which are genuinely environmentally responsible, and most of which don’t require any wrapping at all. And even if things could do with wrap, like the pencils, grab some scrap materials and try the furoshiki technique, or use the paper from your Who Gives A Crap toilet paper, or repurpose old magazine or newspaper pages. A sprig or few leaves from an indigenous tree will brighten the package and add an extra touch of love.

Seed Pencils

Have a student in your life? This is a cool and eco-friendly gift to help them do the study and then give back to the planet! The pencil has seeds for flowers, herbs or vegetables inside, so once the pencil is all used up and too small to hold, pop it upside down in some soil, water it, and voila! Suddenly you have a pencil-borne tomato plant, thyme, or daisies! Your student friend is nurturing the soil, the air we breath, and our little pollinators.

Seed Paper

Have you got a friend or loved one who needs pretty paper for a writing notes on, or who’s producing invitations to an upcoming special event? Seeded paper is gorgeous! It isn’t particularly new, but it’s getting prettier and ergo more gift-worthy (or gift wrapping worthy…what’s better than a gift containing another gift!). Available in loads of colors, sizes, designs, and with a huge variety of seeds, this is a wonderful alternative to standard paper! In fact, you can even get it in small shapes to use as sustainable confetti or table decorations—there is the right seed paper for everyone! But maybe you’re the crafty type…or have children who’d love to be involved in the gift giving experience…how about making seed paper for yourself? This is an extra special personal touch for notes or gift tags.

Adopt an Animal

The number of animals on the critically-endangered, endangered, vulnerable, or near threatened lists is getting frighteningly long! So when you symbolically adopt an animal on behalf of someone as a gift, you’re both able to say you’re doing something about the scary statistics, not just sharing the shocked-face emoji on social media. WWF offers adoption packs with or without a plush toy (we’d encourage without, unless this is for a child) and with photos and species information, and some of their local ecoregional websites offer geographically specific animals to adopt. There are other adoption companies, but make sure you do some reading to validate where they spend the funds.

If you’d rather give an actual furry friend, adoption is always the best place to start, too…pounds and shelters are seeing a huge influx of unwanted animals (especially, but not only, dogs) which were purchased to help deal with lockdown. Sadly, that saw growth of often unregulated, unwatched, cruel puppy farms or puppy mills. And as predicted, now the poor animals are at risk for a second time, as people start to get back to their normal, active lives and no longer want the responsibility or burden. So if you’re in the market for a life-long, amazing, furry BFF find a local shelter and rescue a loveable animal!

Experience Life

Whether it’s a trip to the cinema, a wine tasting, a fine dining dinner, an animal sanctuary or a live show, this is something everyone can enjoy! Sharing time and space with a loved one cannot be overdone (yes, 2020… and 2021…we got that message, thank you), so do a cooking class together, take a trip to some hot springs, or wine and dine. Or if you’d prefer to give something just for one, gift some musical or dance lessons, buy a massage or pedicure. I’m sure you get the picture—the list of possibilities is limited only by your imagination! Pamper someone. Make memories.

Sustainability Starts Here

Sometimes we don’t know exactly what our friends want or need, and sometimes giving sustainable gifts like shampoo bars or bamboo scrubbing brushes doesn’t land right. So why not go for a gift card? The recipient gets the joy of exploring the retailer’s website and choosing exactly the right thing to help them on their sustainability/low waste journey. We all start somewhere different, and we need to meet people where they’re at. Make sure your gift card will cover a couple of possible choices of products, including shipping, and choose a small business to support, not a multinational corporation. We particularly love A Drop in the Ocean, ette, and EcoRoots. You can skip the plastic cards by purchasing directly from a website. Email the card or print it out on some recycled paper.

Subscriptions

Once upon a time this would have meant a magazine delivered to your door once a month or every quarter. But in this digital age it can mean almost anything! A year’s access to an audiobook club like Blinkist, Scribd or Kobo, or a TV streaming platform, an e-magazine, or a climate newsletter like The Planet from Alexander Verbeek or The Phoenix from Eric Holthaus; or a music streaming platform or fitness App subscription (DYK that Chris Hemsworth can lead your child…or, you know…you…into a restful night’s sleep in his health & wellness App?!). There are endless options in this category! Your subscription recipient will be entertained, educated, and think of you whenever they tune into something they love!

For the Children

The main message here is always go battery free. Preferably plastic free, too, but there are some instances where plastic is the safest or most appropriate for the child. In that case, try thrifting before seeking something new. And assuming the child doesn’t have specific needs to be met, then you can look to books, puzzles, card games, board games, and wooden toys. All of which could, of course, be thrifted or given as hand-me-downs. Then there’s things like seed growing kits, art supplies, or crafty items like air-dry clay. Experiences are another great option too, but admittedly this is slightly more difficult for a child you don’t live with.

In the Bag

These Mavis by Herrera handbags, totes, clutches, and purses are genuinely beautiful and absolutely stand for sustainability as whole—this brand supports all three pillars of sustainability: Social, Economic, and Environmental. Even if you don’t grab a bag for someone (or yourself!) this time, read Mavis Carolina Herrera’s story and what she does for the planet and her people, and feel inspired! The bags are hand crafted by Indigenous Artisans in impoverished areas of the Global South, bringing fair wages, economic independence, and empowerment to women who’ve never experienced this; the company donate one pair of shoes for a child in a developing country for every bag sold; all materials used are upcycled and repurposed; they offer a 45% discount for a follow up purchase if you’d like a new bag within a year of your original purchase (and take the old one to repurpose again!); AND given the economic instability most of us are feeling, they offer a ‘pay what you can’ option! You’ve probably already hit the link to her website…

Kitchen Whiz

We all love home made food. But some of us are better in the kitchen than other. So if you’ve got a culinary gift, give it to people! Maybe you can pickle like no-one’s business, or bake up a storm, or do jam which toast just can’t get enough of….whipping up some foody goodness says Love better than the French do. Use upcycled or thrifted glass jars, maybe some of your home made seed paper to add a label, some earthy twine to affix it with, and you’re good to go with an amazing, delicious, thoughtful, and cost effective gift. (If anyone’s wondering, I like strawberry jam best and shortbread cookies are a winner. 😉)

You might have noticed that many of these gift ideas have the added bonus of being…well, last-minute-friendly! Whether you’ve just found out you’ve got an extra guest for Christmas Dinner, or you’ve just been too busy living life to buy stuff, these are some genuinely environmentally-responsible gift ideas. We need to stop our obsession with over-consumption, and make an effort to reduce the inordinate, incomprehensible amount of wasted paper gifts and food which happens at this time of year. We wish you a wonderful, happy, healthy and sustainable Holidays!