Have a friend who hates plastic straws and plastic bags? Someone who cares about the environment and is committed to recycling and turning off the lights when they leave a room?
Or, maybe that’s you!
Whether you’re looking for gifts for eco-friendly people or prefer to avoid supporting unsustainable practices, this article is for you!
Eco-friendly gifts are a great way to become more “green.” As a conscious consumer, you probably already strive to find the perfect gift with minimal impact on the environment.
This guide covers some of the top eco-friendly gift ideas you can get for the special people in your life.
Inexpensive Gifts for Eco-friendly People
Reusable Grocery Bags
Reusable produce bags, such as these from Amazon, are a staple in most environmentally conscious households. Similar to plastic bottles, plastic grocery bags from your local grocery store can take up to 1,000 years to decompose and often end up in the ocean, where they pose a huge threat to sea life and marine ecosystems.
These reusable grocery bags are both eco-friendly and practical. Since they collapse into a small pouch, they’re also easy to bring to the grocery store and don’t take up much room when not in use!
Reusable Straws
Reusable straws are an awesome gift idea for the eco-conscious. Like plastic bottles and grocery bags, plastic straws often end up in oceans, which can be potentially dangerous to sea life and marine ecosystems.
Many environmentally conscious consumers are turning to reusable metal straws, which are easy to clean and last for years, instead of constantly buying and recycling single-use straws.
As an added bonus, many of these reusable metal straws come with a carrying case so you can take them with you wherever you go!
Stainless-Steel Water Bottle
Even if someone purchases water in BPA-free recycled plastic bottles, they’re still adding to the plastic pollution problem. Reusable water bottles, on the other hand, offer a zero-waste solution to the plastic water bottle dilemma.
But while more environmentally friendly than recycled bottles, reusable plastic water bottles can feel cheap.
Instead of recycling single-use plastic bottles to reduce one’s carbon footprint, many people are purchasing reusable stainless-steel water bottles. So, for environmentally conscious people looking to avoid single-use plastic like the plague, a plastic-free stainless steel water bottle is an excellent gift!
Bracelet Made From Recycled Ocean Plastics
4Ocean makes incredible beaded bracelets from recycled ocean plastics. Not only are they beautiful, but every purchase generates a donation to the Ocean Recovery Alliance in an effort to clean up our oceans and protect marine life.
These bracelets come in various styles, and they’re more than sustainable fashion products as they’re made from plastic that’s removed from the ocean. Ultimately, your family member or friend will love the aesthetic of these products. But what they’ll love even more is knowing that the gift helps to reduce single-use plastics floating around in the ocean.
Ocean conservancy is crucial for the oceans to survive. And the more awareness promoted, the better!
prAna Organic T-shirt
Many companies are Fair Trade partners and produce certified recycled organic cotton t-shirts. But at around $25 per shirt, prAna is an affordable option anyone will adore!
prAna makes organic t-shirts that promote animal welfare. The company also offers clothing that’s sustainable and aligned with the Fair Labor Association.
These shirts use recycled polyester and organic cotton throughout the production process. Thus, the recycled and natural materials that go into their creation ensure any environmentally friendly person will be happy to add these shirts to their gift list, regardless of whether they’re on the giving or receiving end!
All in all, these shirts are sustainable gifts not only because they use recycled materials in their construction, but because it’s a sustainable business that produces them. Needless to say, we cannot recommend prAna enough!
Beeswax Wraps
Beeswax wraps are a zero-waste alternative to plastic wrap, which is used in kitchens all across the world.
Similar to non-toxic beeswax candles and lip balms, these wraps are a great gift idea for any environmentally conscious individual on your holiday shopping list.
Some people find they even work better than traditional plastic wrap! Not only can you use these wraps for covering food, but they can also be used to cover a bowl of cereal in the morning and so much more!
3-Pack of Bento Boxes
Speaking of food storage, bento boxes are an excellent way to lessen waste. Not only are these super cute, but they come in a bunch of fun colors.
Bento boxes allow people to go zero-waste with their lunches, and because they come in a pack of three, your gift recipient can send one to school or work without worrying about whether or not they’ll lose their lunch box.
Not only do these boxes save money over buying individually packaged snacks and lunches, but they’re also better for the environment. Of course, since these bento boxes are reusable, they’re sustainable products that ensure no one recipient ends up with too much lunch-related waste.
Go Green Gifts Ideas for Women
Vegan Soy Candle
Vegan soy candles are a must-have for any woman who enjoys practical home decor. They look incredible, smell great, and serve as a relaxing gift that will fit perfectly in any home or apartment.
A gift from a candle company like Vegan Scents is sure to be appreciated by anyone who receives it. These candles have a variety of scents and look lovely when in use.
Plus, they’re vegan and made with soy wax in the USA. That means no animal products and no imported materials, which minimizes waste by using locally sourced materials.
Reusable Cotton Rounds
Reusable cotton rounds are the perfect gift for women who love to use beauty products. Made from organic cotton, these rounds reduce waste and help eliminate the need for wasteful makeup remover wipes.
Their cost-effectiveness makes them a particularly great gift during the holiday season when budgets are tight for many of us. We’ve all purchased makeup remover wipes before, so this is a reusable product that also helps the environment!
thredUP Subscription Box
A thredUP Subscription Box is a perfect sustainable gift for an eco-conscious woman. This is because each box contains high-quality clothing that’s guaranteed to be secondhand, gently worn, and in great condition.
Thus, when you purchase a subscription for your special lady (or any other female in your life), she’ll receive new clothes without expanding her carbon footprint through the production of additional clothing because the shirts have already gone through the entire supply chain beforehand.
What’s more, thredUP partners with non-profit organizations around the world in order to provide a sustainable source of income for women looking for work.
Eco-Friendly Christmas Gifts for Women
Grayl Filtering Water Bottle
A Grayl Filtering Water Bottle is one of the pricier sustainable gifts – because they’re worth it! Rather than solely focusing on recycled plastic bottles and BPA-free features, this bottle allows people to drink water from any source with confidence.
The Grayl makes use of a double filtration system that ensures clean and safe drinking water, so it’s an excellent gift for anyone who is worried about the safety of tap water or just needs to stay hydrated throughout the day.
What’s more, these bottles can be used to drink safely from potentially unsafe sources all over the world. It’s a great way to ensure your giftee is comfortable and hydrated no matter where she is!
One432 Upcycled Home Slippers
One432 is a company we couldn’t possibly recommend enough, especially for anyone looking for sustainable gifts for women. They offer a variety of different products, but one of the best is their Upcycled Home Slippers.
These slippers are made from recycled wool sweaters and make use of recycled cotton yarns to turn old clothing into new things. This ensures that no sweater ends up in a landfill when it could be used for a comfortable pair of slippers instead.
Of course, recycled materials and environmentally-friendly production processes aren’t the only cool things about this company. Their products also promote fair labor practices and give back to organizations that protect women’s rights.
All of their work is done in accordance with socially responsible standards, which means you can be positive that One432 shares your values when it comes to sustainability and social justice.
Skwalwen Botanicals
Skalwen Botanicals is a company that’s well known in the sustainable skincare space. Whether lip balm, skin cream with plant-derived butters, or other skincare products that use organic oils, this brand is something any woman will enjoy having on the bathroom counter.
The company uses sustainably harvested wild plant ingredients to create these high-quality products. It’s as if you went into your own backyard to gather everything needed to make an incredible skincare product!
Go Green Gifts Ideas for Men
Alcohol may or may not be what the man in your life wants. But if it isn’t, perhaps these eco-friendly options will work:
Conscious Step Socks
Conscious Step Socks is an excellent brand for sustainable gifts for men. This is because they offer a wide variety of eco-friendly socks, all of which feature designs with positive messages and inspiration.
And let’s not forget that they use GOTS Certified Organic Cotton. That’s Global Organic Textile Standard, the worldwide ecological and social standard for organic fibers.
These socks are made using a manufacturing process doesn’t harm the environment or contribute to climate change in any way.
Additionally, all of their designs are original, meaning people won’t just be wearing any old green socks. Instead, these pieces offer an extra touch of style that your giftee will appreciate.
EarthHero Sustainable T-shirt
EarthHero is making massive moves to create its eco-friendly online marketplace. This is where people can find products sourced, manufactured, and shipped sustainably. Every brand this company partners with is taking steps towards creating a more sustainable future.
EarthHero’s value isn’t just in their sustainable practices – they also encourage people to understand the power of their purchases. The company is forming a community focused on changing companies’ habits, public policy, and other consumers’ tastes and opinions.
Bamboo Toothbrush
For those who use a regular toothbrush, switching to a bamboo toothbrush is an excellent way to go green. Isshah has affordable options for men and women alike, making it easy to switch out your stock of toothbrushes.
Plus, the packaging is 100% biodegradable and made from craft paper. Ultimately, this is a much better option compared to the plastic toothbrushes that have become commonplace in the industry.
Eco-Friendly Christmas Gifts for Men
Plant Hide Wallets
Our Vegan Wallets come in a variety of colors, styles, and multiple types of leaf leather. The options include Teak leaf, coffee bean, and garlic leathers. But we plan to come out with more vegan leather options, as well.
If you’re looking for something for the special lady in your life, we have women’s Vegan wallets, too!
Each leaf leather wallet includes a triangle coin keychain to carry coins. This ensures your coins are always within reach and sustainably stored for when you need them most!
The best part about these faux leathers? They’re incredibly durable and don’t damage the environment!
These wallets are eco-friendly and sustainably made in Thailand. The packaging is made out of paper to minimize plastic waste. We’re always looking to make our products even more environmentally friendly while putting the best quality into every product that we sell.
But other options exist if your loved one is not into vegan fashion!
Shoreline Shaving Kit
Men love grooming products, and if it’s cruelty-free and ethically sourced, that’s even better!
The Shoreline Shaving Kit is a shaving set uses natural ingredients to encourage the perfect shave every time. But what’s even better is this set is plastic-free, uses vegan-friendly ingredients, is ethically made, and is reusable.
The kit includes orange and lavender shaving soap, 10 double-edge razor blades, a drawstring hessian travel bag, a user manual, and an eco-friendly gift box that holds everything with no impact on the environment.
Besides limiting its environmental impact, this company supports some great initiatives. These include The Ocean Cleanup, Surfers Against Sewage, and Keeping Our Shorelines Clean.
Best Eco-Friendly Gifts for Children
Eco-Kids Arts and Crafts Busy Box
The Arts and Crafts Busy Box from eco-kids can come in handy when young ones are stuck inside on a rainy day, making it the perfect non-toxic eco-friendly gift for kids. It’s filled with exciting supplies for kiddos, offering them the option to create fun shapes using super soft eco dough or scribble and draw with crayons.
The kids can also learn origami or make beeswax candles if they want! This box is perfect for long car rides, playdates – it really complements any time indoors, which makes this box so special!
Mokulock Wooden Blocks
Mokulock Wooden Blocks are just one of the many great eco-friendly gift ideas that exist for young children. Block play is a great way to develop fine motor skills, problem-solving abilities, cognitive thinking, and more.
Mokulock wooden blocks are made from sustainable wood gathered from 5 types of trees, but what’s even more impressive is that the wood used is from trees that have fallen. Thus, no trees are taken down to make these toys.
The wood is natural, meaning the company does not treat it with anything; no chemicals, oils, or glue. These sets come with six basic types of building blocks that allow them to express their creativity as they build.
Stainless Steel Lunch Box
While stainless steel lunch boxes might not sound like a fun gift idea, these are excellent for children who bring their lunch to school. These have BPA-free lids made from silicone and come with a lifetime warranty.
The company manufacturing these lunch boxes, TAVVA, ensures each piece will last a lifetime. But what’s even more impressive is the fact that these keep fresh produce and sandwiches as fresh as possible. Thus, you’ll help kids effectively minimize food waste and, with your advice, keep food scraps minimal.
Plant Grow Kits
Plant grow kits are a great idea for all ages and come in various different types. You can grow succulents, orchids, cacti, and even mushrooms!
What’s more exciting is that some of these kits not only give you the option to grow one plant but multiple plants at once. This saves time as well as money because the kit comes with everything you need to grow multiple plants.
That being said, these plant kits are great for avid gardeners too! There are kits for outdoor and indoor use, so kids can even grow these as a fun way to decorate their home.
Eco-Friendly Christmas Gifts for Children
GOT Bag Ocean Plastic Backpack
The GOT Bag is an excellent eco-friendly gift idea for children because it’s not only stylish but functional. Girls and boys alike want to carry backpacks that have an element of character, so this one is perfect.
This backpack has a trendy design inspired by the idea for social-first, sustainable fashion. The brand focuses on cleaning oceans of plastic pollution and raising awareness with each purchase, as well, which makes it perfect for inspiring young people to become more eco-conscious.
Lovevery’s 70-Piece Block Set
Lovevery’s 70-Piece Block Set is another excellent eco-friendly present idea for young children. This is an age-old game that has been around for centuries, providing hours of fun and entertainment along the way.
As you know, there are many toys out there nowadays but they don’t necessarily benefit children in any real way. But this block set teaches kids hand-eye coordination, creative thinking, motor skills, problem-solving skills, and more.
But what’s more, is the fact that these sets are heirloom-quality. It comes with 70 pieces of solid wood parts that include a bead threader, rolling ramp, wheels, arches, and shape sorter. It’s also possible to convert this into a pull car!
How to Keep Eco-Friendly Gifts Sustainable
You’ve found an incredible gift, whether it’s recycled jewelry or something to inspire a green thumb, and now you need to keep your gift as sustainable as possible. Here’s what you’ll need to make this happen:
Eco-Friendly Gift Wrap
A present is no longer a surprise if you don’t wrap it. So, the question remains: How can we wrap gifts without damaging the environment?
For the majority of gifts, it’s important that you don’t just give a gift in a regular paper bag. This doesn’t help the environment, and it’s one of the easiest ways to make your gift unsustainable.
Instead, find eco-friendly wrapping paper or re-use something from your home! There are many creative options out there for you to try.
Some people use reusable clothe to wrap presents. Others like to use recycled newspapers. Feel free to be as creative as possible!
Eco-Friendly Packaging
Every product sold comes with its own packaging. Well, most products, at least. If you’re buying fresh produce, all you need to do is avoid produce bags.
However, if you purchase something that’s boasting sustainability, make sure the packaging is eco-friendly. This usually means recycled packaging or paper. But some companies will get creative and uncover innovative ways to package eco-friendly products without violating sustainability.
Eco-Friendly Gift Bags
Eco-friendly gift bags are another easy way to avoid breaking sustainability. These gift bags are commonly made from recycled paper, and some even use other biodegradable non-toxic materials!
If you want to re-use a gift bag you’ve already received, feel free to do so as long as it’s still in good condition. This is the perfect excuse to repurpose a gift bag!
Eco-Friendly Gift Boxes
Eco-friendly gift boxes play a similar role to eco-friendly gift bags, but they’re often sturdier. They’re also great because they keep the gift secure and protected from any potential damage that could happen during transport or storage.
These eco-friendly gift boxes are typically made from recycled materials like milk cartons. But you can be creative here as well!
Concluding on Eco-Friendly Gifts
Plenty of eco-friendly gift ideas have been listed in this article, and many more exist! Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide what you’d like to give and what would make the most significant impact in your loved one’s life.
If you’re on the fence about what to get someone, you can’t go wrong with an eco-friendly gift. This is especially true if your loved one has a passion for the environment.
Don’t forget: When you buy eco-friendly gifts, you’re not only enabling better quality products; you’re also giving people something they can treasure in the process.
If this article has inspired you to go green and think more about sustainability, don’t hesitate to share! We’re active on social media and always appreciate your help reaching more people!
If you’re looking to give a gift that benefits the planet, consider one of these sustainable options. Make sure to keep the packaging sustainable as well, because it’s just as important!
If you have other suggestions or ideas for this subject, please leave them in the comments section down below!