We have put together a list of 20 eco-friendly gift ideas that will help you to find the perfect gifts for your loved ones. These gifts won’t only delight the receiver, but they will also have a positive impact on our planet. We have included not only gifts from sustainable brands but also DIY and intangible gift ideas to give you some inspiration. Whether you would like to make your own gifts or buy them, think about their impact. This year we encourage you to find eco-friendly items from sustainable brands and to forget fast-fashion companies, Amazon, and other businesses that are trying to convince you to buy their products by greenwashing. As these companies have actually nothing to do with sustainability, and they are only trying to convince the consumers otherwise to profit more money, they are harmful to the businesses that are actually trying to make a difference. We want to make sure that these truly sustainable brands get the attention and support they deserve. As the climate crisis continues to be an issue, affecting everyone around the world, the change is needed more than ever before. It is time to change our consuming behavior and start focusing on eco-friendly, sustainable brands. Let’s make sure our purchasing decisions don’t burden our planet but have a positive impact instead!
DIY Dried Lavender Candles
Handmade candles are an amazing gift for people who appreciate homemade products. Here is a great recipe for Dried Lavender Candles!
DIY Coffee Body Scrub
DIY body scrub is easy to make and a great gift for people who like to spoil themselves with homemade beauty products. You can find an easy recipe for coffee body scrub here.
DIY Vanilla Coffee Soap Bars
These vanilla coffee soap bars are easy to make an eco-friendly option for soaps bought from a grocery store. Check the recipe here.
DIY Beeswax Wrap
Make these beautiful beeswax wraps for your family and friends! Beeswax wrap is a great alternative to plastic food wraps. Here is a guide on how to do it yourself!
The Farmstand
The Farmstand is a self-watering, self-fertilizing hydroponic garden, which makes it easy to grow your own food. This is a perfect gift for people who want to grow their food in an eco-friendly way at home. You can buy The Farmstand here.
Living Composter
Living Composter is a biomorphic composter that turns your food waste into fertilizer. Instead of throwing your food waste away, they can be turned into fertilizer that can be used for your plants and vegetables. You can buy the Living Composter here.
LifeStraw Water Filter Pitcher
A water filter pitcher is an easy way to filter your drinking water at home. This water filter pitcher will protect you from bacteria, parasites, microplastics, lead, mercury, and chemicals including PFAS, chlorine, organic chemical matter (pesticides and herbicides). It will also reduce dirt, sand, and cloudiness and therefore improve the taste of your water. Get it here.
Handmade Coconut Bowls
Sometimes buying from smaller sustainable brands can have a huge benefit for people and the planet. By buying these Jungle Culture coconut bowls, you will be helping to provide the local farmers in Bên Tre region in Southern Vietnam with a secondary income, as well as preventing more coconuts and trees being needlessly burned as waste. Buy these beautiful, handmade coconut bowls here.
Canvas Lunch Bag
This canvas lunch bag is a great gift for busy people who always have their lunch on the go with them. The bag is strong and durable, made of waxed canvas. It is water resistant and easy to clean! Buy it here.
Amber Fort Hemp Bedding
Amber Fort creates beautiful sustainably made hemp beddings. These beddings are an amazing gift for anyone! Check them here.
Organic Basics
Organic Basics is a Danish brand, selling underwear, activewear, and other essentials. Their products are made ethically in Europe with organic cotton, TENCEL™, and recycled materials. Sustainability is the core mission of the brand and that’s why they are only partnering with factories that care about their impact. Check out Organic Basics here.
Carys Martin Holding Cup
By buying one of these beautiful holding cups, you will help to plant trees. With every purchase, the shop owner will donate a portion of the sale to the organization called One Tree Planted. Get your holding cup here.
GOT Bag
The GOT bag is the world’s first backpack made of ocean plastic. By buying their items you can support the important work of turning ocean plastic waste into something useful! Check their items here.
Sustainable Wair Sneakers
The mission of Sustainable Wair is to move to a more circular fashion industry, where the textiles are reused instead of wasted. Their sneakers are 100% vegan, sustainable, upcycled, ethical and natural. Check them here.
All Earth Mineral Cosmetics
All Earth Mineral Cosmetics is a beauty brand that is kind to your skin, animals and the planet. Their aim has always been, and remains, to source natural ingredients that meet the highest standards of quality from importers and suppliers around the world that, themselves, share the same standards. Check All Earth Mineral Cosmetics here.
Havvarstudios
There are many smaller sustainable brands selling beautiful jewelry pieces. Havvarstudios is one of them! Their jewelry is made from the highest quality, ethically sourced, recycled 18K gold vermeil and sterling silver metal. Check their collection here.
Zero Waste Book
Zero waste book is a great gift for people who are interested in learning more about zero waste lifestyle. There are many related books on the market, here are our suggestions: 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste and A Zero Waste Life: In Thirty Days. Both of these books can also be found from the Apple Book Store.
Baby Clothing from From Babies With Love
If you want to support sustainable brands that have impact on people, From Babies With Love is a great brand to look at! From Babies With Love sells sustainable clothing for babies and 100% of their profits go to charities that help abandoned and orphaned children. Check their clothing here.
Eco-Dough
Eco-dough is a fun gift for creative kids. This play dough is nontoxic and made of natural ingredients. You can buy your own eco-dough here.
‘Gift It Forward’ StartSomeGood
StartSomeGood is a crowdfunding platform and innovation agency dedicated to empowering social entrepreneurs. They offer multiple ways to gift changemakers who wish to create a positive social impact. In the StartSomeGood platform, you can choose to give social entrepreneurs the tool to build a successful social enterprise by gifting them a place in the 10-week Good Hustle program or sponsoring their membership to The Starting Good Network, a community of like-minded social impact innovators that also provides access to exclusive resources, coaching and mentorship. You can also gift these on behalf of someone to upcoming social entrepreneurs from disadvantaged communities (Indigenous, refugees, migrants, women, etc.) through StartSomeGood’s partners.
´Gift It Forward’ is a great option to support social entrepreneurs. If you are interested to donate, you can do it here!
Donate To Charity
If you feel bad about buying material gifts but you still want to get something for your loved ones, donating money in their names to their favorite charity organization is an amazing way to do so! There are many local charities in need of donations and they would be happy to receive the gift this year.
Experience
A great gift to your loved ones is to share an experience with them. Take them to their favorite restaurant or buy them tickets to their favorite concert. There are hundreds of ways to delight your family and friends by spending time with them!
These were our 20 eco-friendly gift ideas we wanted to share with you. Hopefully, you got some great ideas for what to get for your friends and family for this holiday. Let’s be responsible for our consumption and only buy things that have a positive impact on people and our planet!
Author: Oona Yletyinen
