Hello everybody! Spending money and buying presents is in no way, shape, or form, the only way to show your loved ones that you love them. And during the holiday season, we overconsume significantly more than any other time of the year. To me, sustainability is just as important during the festive seasons as any other time of the year, and since I started zero waste I have been giving sustainable gifts, not compromising my ideals for any wishlist. To make sustainable gift-giving easier I have made a guide (that of course does not include every option out there, but certainly a lot) and I hope it will help you. I think one of the most important things, besides giving ethical and sustainably produced gifts, is making sure that the gifts we give will actually be used because any product that is bought but ever used can not be sustainable. So I hope some of these options will inspire you to look into green, but good, gifts for this holiday season. (ALSO just as an FYI technically there is some advertisements in here, in the sense that I aha am recommending my own book, and brands that I have previously worked, beeecause I really like them, so for transparency, I wanted to make that clear as well)
Green Gifts:
Miild organic eyeshadow kit // Ana Luisa recycled gold necklace // CHNGE organic cotton tee // Bagabu deadstock bag // Elate eco concealer // Wituka organic cotton tee // Lunel restored vintage sunglasses // Vivaia recycled plastic slippers // Mahla organic hoodie dress // Keeping It Natural plastic-free lipstick // Organic Basics socks
Votch vegan watch // Black Buddha recycled silver ring // Grün recycled bag // Dilling organic cotton shirt // Treedom plant a tree gift // Gittemary’s Bæredygtig Badass book // Zero Waste Path soap bar // Boobalou safety razor // Wair recycled sneakers
Run With The Wolves Soy wax candles // Klean Kanteen reusable water bottle // LastSwap reusable cotton swab // Eco Lunch Box Stainless steel lunch box // Lavinia nail stone // Net Zero Company silicone baking mat // Get Aquare water-saving tap
Experience gifts:
Gifts do not have to be physical things we wrap, they can be experienced, and honestly, these are my favourite gifts to both give and receive. I also always wish for experience gift cards and the like from people I know will otherwise buy me fast fashion or electronics. It is a sneaky way of making sure your gift will be more sustainable too. Here are my favourite experience gifts
Resturants vouchers // dinner party invitations // concert tickets // picknics // museum/theatre visits // hotel/spa experience // game night // fitness workshops // ceramic/painting workshops // talks/lectures // movie tickets // thrift shop shopping spree // hikes/camping trips // bowling // sewing classes
Second-hand gifts:
gifts do not have to be new in order to be great, and actually, there are tons of pre-loved second-hand options when it comes to gift-giving. If you have to find a gift for someone who has a very specific wishlist, but you don’t want to buy the item from new because you don’t want to support the company, you can look on online second-hand fora or Facebook groups for people selling those items. In terms of vintage and generally preloved fashion, you can use Etsy, Depop, Zadaa, and other online platforms to find both specific things, or to find inspiration.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Traditional Danish Christmas Food // Made Vegan
Homemade gifts:
another thing I love is making something for the people you love. Again, giving a gift does not have to be expensive new things, there are other ways of expressing love. If you have a specific skill like sewing, ceramics, painting, building etc use that to make something personal. I love doing watercolours, and this year, I am painting both gifts and greeting cards for people. You can also make jewellery, or makeup (check out my recipes). You can also make planters and give green gifts, ooor something edible like a cookie mix, a voucher for dinner, or something fermented or pickled.
Zero Waste Wrapping:
Giving a sustainable gift also comes with conscious packaging, as gift wrapping paper and ribbon often isn’t recyclable. Instead, there are a couple of different options, all of which costs nothing, or very little. The first option is to use what you have at home like scarves or kitchen towels as wrapping, generally, anything that can be reused. You can also use fabric scraps or boxes that you have laying around. If you have these things already, or if you don’t want to give those away that you have, they can often be found in thrift shops for next to nothing. You can also save wrapping that you get and reuse that, but when it breaks, looking into reusable wrapping options is a great zero waste switch.
