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Looking for the best eco-friendly gifts for your family, friends and co-workers? This post has so many thoughtful and unique eco-friendly gifts that the special people in your life are sure to love!
Give green this year! This guide is all about the best eco-friendly gifts for any occasion.
One of the most important parts of reducing our ecological footprint is to reduce our buying and reuse often. Therefore, purchasing gifts and living a sustainable lifestyle can often conflict. But I know you’re looking for extremely thoughtful gifts that are also good for the planet. In this post I’ve created a detailed list of the 25+ best eco-friendly gifts including experiences, subscriptions, charitable gifts and sustainable gifts for the home.
An awesome way to give green is through experiences where you purchase the experience for the person or gift them the cost of the experience so they can book it themselves. In addition, subscriptions are also one of the best eco-friendly gifts as you’re not necessarily always purchasing a physical product but an online service. Lastly, we’ve also listed some sustainable gifts for the home that replace items such as plastic bags and plastic wrap eliminating the need for unnecessary waste. Keep reading to see the detailed list of the 25+ best eco-friendly gifts!
Best Sustainable Experience Gifts
1) A Workshop
This could be an online or in-person workshop. Pick something you think they’d love or something you know they mentioned they’d like to learn. Some example include soap or candle making, knitting or crocheting, and pastry or pasta making.
2) A day on the mountains
A day pass for skiing, snowboarding or hiking at the local mountain resort is always a great gift for someone in your life who loves the outdoors.
3) Gift card to a favourite farmer’s market or local thrift store
For the person in your life who loves local markets and thrifting, grab them a gift card to their favourite spots so they can go out and enjoy an afternoon of shopping at their favourite spots!
4) A National Park pass
A National or Provincial park pass is another great gift option for outdoor lovers and something they can enjoy all season long!
5) A dinner date
Everyone enjoys a night out with their loved one. Give a gift card for a date night to their favourite restaurant.
6) Tickets to a show or concert
A great gift idea for your musical friends! Give a ticket to a musical, play or concert for their favourite artist.
7) Tickets to a SPORTS GAME
For your friends who love sports, tickets to a sports game is always a great gift. Whether its hockey, baseball or basketball, every sports game is a fun experience that anyone would enjoy!
8) Gift card to the movies
For your movie loving friends and family – buy them a gift card to the local cinema. Perhaps get two tickets so they can bring along someone for a fun movie outing!
9) Wine, beer or spirits tasting at a local winery, brewery or distillery
This is such a fun experience that anyone of drinking age can enjoy! A local tasting or tasting tour is a great gift that keeps on giving, and who knows, perhaps they will find a delicious new wine that they will bring to next month’s game night!
10) A day at the spa
I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t enjoy a day at the spa to relax and take a break from the stressors of life. Pick up a gift certificate or book in their favourite treatment, whether that be a facial, massage, or mani-pedi.
Best Eco-Friendly Gifts for the Home
11) Compostable phone case
A great sustainable swap that anyone in your life would love, especially someone who needs a new phone case. An awesome Canadian brand that I recommend is Pela Case. They have so many different colour and case options, you’re sure to find something that they will love and that is also good for the environment!
12) Silicone storage bags
These reusable bags are the perfect alternative to plastic zip lock bags. They are a great addition to any household and can be used for food storage, freezing food, packing lunches and more!
13) Beeswax wrap or a beeswax wrap making kit
Beeswax wrap is the perfect replacement for plastic wrap. This is a great addition to any kitchen and something that everyone will love!
14) Rechargeable Candle lighter
I received this as a gift for my birthday and absolutely love it! This lighter is much easier to use than a gas lighter and they’ll never need to buy another lighter again, just recharge and re-light those candles!
15) Cork yoga mat or yoga blocks
The perfect gift for the yoga lover in your life! Many yoga mats and blocks are made from pvc or other harsh chemicals. Cork options are 100% natural, non-toxic, and naturally antimicrobial – all things the yogi in your life is sure to love!
16) Hydroflask
Cute, stylish and indestructible. A hydroflask is the perfect gift for the person in your life who needs an emotional support water bottle!
17) Kindle or e-reader
A great gift for the book lover in your life. A Kindle or e-reader is a great option to reduce the amount of physical books bought and makes reading so convenient as you can travel with hundreds of books on one little screen!
18) Travel mug
Perfect for the coffee addict who always needs a coffee on the go! A travel mug, or even better a collapsible mug is perfect for them to keep in their bag, so when they stop at the coffee shop they have a great reusable cup option.
19) Local and sustainably made candles, soap or body products
Local and handmade products are always a lovely gift. I can often find these at markets. local bookstores or small downtown shops. For my Canadian friends – Charcoal and Rose Petals has some amazing products.
20) Re-fillable home products
This is a great gift for someone who just moved to a new home. Re-fillable home products come in the form of cleaners, hand, dish and laundry soap and more! You receive 1 bottle for each product and only reorder the necessary product tabs. You add the tabs to water to create the final product and this significantly reduces the plastic bottle waste in the household as you no longer need to keep buying new product bottles over and over. The company that I use and love, is Blueland.
21) Compostable cloths
These cloths are the perfect gift for anyone and everyone! They can be used for washing dishes, cleaning, as a face cloth and more. If you’re using them in the kitchen the best part is that they are top rack dishwasher safe so it’s easy to wash them regularly without having to run a full load of laundry. Since the cloths are fully biodegradable, it can be placed in the compost bin when needed!
Best Subscriptions and Charitable Gifts
22) Subscription to favourite streaming service for the year
A streaming service subscription is a gift that keeps giving all year long! Some examples of subscription services include Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV and Amazon Prime. You could also give 3 months or 6 months if this is more within your budget.
23) Yearly subscription for audio books, Books, music or meditation
This is another gift that would last all year! Whether the special person in your life is into audio books, e-books, music, or meditation, there is a subscription for them! Some examples include Audible, Kindle Unlimited, Spotify, Apple Music, or Headspace.
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24) Grocery or meal kit subscription
A meal delivery service is a great gift, especially for the really busy person in your life. Meal kits are also proven to reduce waste as they only provide the food needed for that specific recipe ensuring food waste is significantly reduced in the household. Some examples include Hello Fresh, Goodfood, and Chefs Plate.
25) Coffee bean subscription from a local, fair trade company
This is another great gift for the coffee lover in your life! They are going to be buying coffee anyways so why not gift them a subscription from a local roastery or fair trade company. This is a great way to support both local and sustainable coffee practices.
26) Donation in their name to an environmental cause they are passionate about
There are people in your life that will tell you that they really don’t want anything. A great way to honour that but still show them you care, is through a donation in their name to a cause they are passionate about. Some examples of environmental causes to support include 4Ocean, Rainforest Alliance, and Sierra Club Foundation.
27) Subscription to ride share, bike ride share or A transit pass
This gift is great for the person in your life who uses public transit or bike share services often. Gifting them 6 months to year of transit is a gift that they will use almost everyday. It’s a great way to give something significant without purchasing anything new.
This was a complete guide to the best eco-friendly gifts for any occasion. I hope this helps you find great gifts for the special people in your life!
