10 Best Eco-Friendly Gifts
Giving brings great joy and warms the soul but the commercialism and waste produced during celebrations can dampen our festive cheer and leave us feeling a bit conflicted about gift-giving.
When it comes to gift giving, we recommend giving an experience or if possible (and time permits), hand make a gift rather than buying one. Here's our list of the top 10 environmentally sustainable gift ideas to surprise and delight.
1. Give an experience or activity
Checkout experience giving sites like RedBalloon, Adrenaline, Experience Oz or ClassBento to give them an experience of a lifetime. Has your loved one always wanted to try a new activity like tennis or yoga? Why not get them a tennis lesson or gift voucher to that yoga studio down the road?
2. Pamper package
From bath bombs to skin scrubs, there are a ton of DIY homemade beauty recipes online. The great thing about making beauty products is you know exactly what goes into them, they’re inexpensive and you can personalise the packaging.
3. Arts and crafts abound
Can you knit, sew, bead, paint or build something? Why not put your existing skills to good use? People without these skills appreciate something handmade so get cracking and knit a beanie, sew some reusable produce bags, make a bracelet, paint a picture or build a native bee hotel for their garden.
4. Grow something
If you have green thumbs, you should get potting. A potted succulent bowl is a great gift you can make from propagating your plants or growing a potted herb garden from seeds for the low cost of a pot will also be a gift well received.
5. Put on your apron
Delicious bites never go astray! There are loads of scrumptious Christmas recipes for those that love spending time in the kitchen. Make a batch of rocky road, gingerbread, chutney, or jam to gift to your foody friend. Visit Delicious, Taste or Better Homes and Gardens for other recipe ideas.
6. Take time out
This is the perfect gift for busy parents or those that always put others first. Give them a baby, pet or house sitting IOU so they can take a well-deserved break. It will mean more to them than getting something they’ll never use and is also a great last-minute save if you’ve been a bit late to the party with organising a gift!
7. Freshen the air
Scents never go astray. For those that have a diffuser, Eco Aroma offers essential oil gift packs for every mood or buy some wicks and wax and use your favourite scent to make candles in a recycled jar or tin.
8. Regift
Do you have something you’ve never used or that is surplus to your own needs that someone else would love? With re-gifting a few simple rules of etiquette apply; don’t use the gift before re-gifting it, re-wrap the gift, and don’t give the gift back to the original gift-giver.
9. Reusable travel ware
A reusable drink bottle, coffee cup, stainless steel lunch box or travel cutlery set is perfect for those that need some sustenance on the go or for the outdoor adventurer.
Image source: Frank Green
10. Donate
For the person that has everything make a donation on their behalf. Word Vision has an extensive gift catalogue to suit all budgets. You could buy a blanket, a bike, or jobs training for First Nations Women. For the animal lovers out there, at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) you can adopt a platypus or koala.
For more gift ideas, visit our Eco Gift Guide and check out our blog on Furoshiki: The Art of Fabric Gift Wrapping to reduce wrapping paper waste.