Giving and receiving gifts is a wonderful way to strengthen your relationship with a friend or loved one. When you give a well-chosen, thoughtful gift, it’s very rewarding seeing the smile on the recipient’s face. It’s even more rewarding when you know that the gift is also sustainable, eco-friendly, and kind to our planet.
Sustainable Gift Ideas
Unfortunately, everywhere you look, you’ll see advertisements telling you to buy the latest, most expensive, unnecessary gift. Not only are these gifts hard on your wallet, but they aren’t always the best choice for your loved one or our planet. Between shipping air miles, the use of plastic, or trash into landfills, there can be a large environmental cost to your gift.
That doesn’t have to be the case. Shopping sustainably can be easy, no matter who you’re gifting or what they like. Whether for a birthday, Christmas, or just to say thanks, consider these options below.
Gift Time and Memories with an Experience
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One of the most sustainable and valuable gifts you can give is an experience. Gifting an experience gives your recipient the joy of receiving, the anticipation of waiting, the delight of participation, and then the long-lasting memories. What more could you want?
Think about whether you’ll plan and organize the experience yourself or whether you’ll gift a voucher. Some ideas include:
- A voucher for a massage, hair, or nail appointment
- An outdoor adventure such as rock climbing, hot air ballooning, or white water rafting
- Pre-booking a day out for an experience like wine tasting
- Meeting up for a nice meal out
- Organizing a picnic or a city tour
You can also consider a subscription box or a year-long membership to provide your loved one with a gift that will keep on giving! However, it’s important to consider whether your gift will be useful and relevant for its recipient.
Cook an Edible Gift
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For a personal gift that shows how much you care, you can’t go wrong with something edible. On a birthday, a homemade cake is an obvious gift to give, but there are many other ways you can share food with your loved ones. It’s a bonus if you’ve been able to grow or locally source some of the ingredients too.
Some great edible gift ideas are:
- Cookies (gifted in a second-hand tin)
- A casserole or freezer meal to ease some stress
- Homemade bread
- Jam, chutney, or pesto
- Gift a favorite recipe card, along with some of the key ingredients to get your recipient cooking
Get Creative with Handmade Gifts
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Another way you can show your appreciation is with a handmade gift. Think about your skills and what you could create for someone else. Are you good at drawing or perhaps photography? Can you do pottery or woodwork? Whatever your talents, putting them to use to make a handmade gift is a wonderful idea and incredibly meaningful.
Some simple and effective handmade gifts you can give include:
- Handmade card
- Knitted or crocheted gift
- A painting or drawing
- A handmade mug or bowl
Thrift and Upcycle a Secondhand Gift
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Another spin on a handmade gift is thrifting and upcycling! There are bound to be some fantastic thrift stores in your neighborhood, so stop in for a visit and see what they have on sale. Adding a fresh coat of paint to some furniture or patching up a stylish item of clothing is a lovely way to create a sustainable and thoughtful gift.
Consider upcycling the following:
- Furniture, such as a chair or side table
- Clothing, perhaps a t-shirt or a jacket
- Photo frames
- Plant pots or herb planters
Grow Your Own Gift
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If you’ve got green fingers, consider growing your own gifts. Flowers, indoor plants, and edible herbs are all wonderful gifts and especially meaningful if you grow them yourself. As well as meaningful, these kinds of gifts are easy on your wallet and practical for the recipient.
Consider gifting plants like:
- Mint, basil, thyme, or parsley
- Orchids or peace lilies
- Tomato plant
- House plants, such as a Monstera or Fiddle Leaf Fig
Gift a Donation in Their Name
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For the person who has everything, consider donating in their name to a cause that’s important to them. You can tailor this gift to match the person you’re gifting to, and you can give to a charity that embodies them and their values.
For example, some of the following organizations usually accept donations, making a lovely gift:
- A local women’s refuge or homeless shelter
- An Environmental protection agency, such as the World Wildlife Foundation
- An international charity like World Vision or The Red Cross.
What To Consider When Buying a Sustainable Gift
Whatever gift you decide to buy, it’s important to remember sustainability. There are a lot of things to consider to make sure that your gift is sustainable.
Consider What They Might Want or Need
Socks and underwear have a bad reputation as terrible gifts, but honestly, are they really that bad? Receiving something practical is much better than something that you’ll never use. When you’re buying a gift for someone, think about whether they need or want it or whether it’s going to sit on a shelf gathering dust.
Shop Local
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Next time you’re buying a gift, consider buying locally. Buying a locally made gift not only adds a personal touch but is also more environmentally friendly. It would be a shame for you to seek out an eco-friendly item only to fly it halfway across the world and arrive in plastic packaging.
Another bonus to buying local is the support you can give to a local artisanal business. When you buy locally, you know that your money is going back into your community.
Buy From Companies with Sustainable Practices
It’s important to buy from companies with genuinely sustainable practices. We’ve all seen greenwashing, and there are a lot of products on the shelves that claim to be “Sustainable!”. To find a product that is sustainable, research the companies that you’re supporting and consider their practices at different stages of the business.
Buy Recycled or Sustainably Produced Items
In addition to researching the business practices, also consider the materials that your gift is made from. Buying a gift that’s either made from recycled materials or sustainably produced materials is better for the environment and is likely to lead you to a gift that is well-created and long-lasting. That’s a wonderful way to show your appreciation to a friend or family member.
Use Eco-friendly Packaging and Gift Wrapping
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So you’ve bought your gift, and you’re getting ready to wrap and put a bow on it! Don’t forget to think about the environmental impacts of the packaging or gift wrap that you’re about to use.
Instead of buying wrapping paper and ribbons that may just end up in a landfill, some of the following options make great gift-wrap (and often become a second gift themselves!):
- Children’s artwork
- Old newspapers or magazine pages
- Tea Towels
- Scarves
- Second-hand cookie tins.
Final Thoughts on Sustainable Gifting
A thoughtful, meaningful, and eco-friendly gift is sure to bring a smile to your recipient’s face. Whether you’re giving a gift to a sibling, friend, partner, or colleague, there are so many ways that you can show your appreciation without it needing to cost you or the earth.
Happy gift-giving!
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