I haven’t been too active on this blog lately but I decided I wanted to make a gift guide to compile all my Instagram/Tiktok posts about sustainable gifts and brands, as well as add a few more for different price ranges. If you’re celebrating over Zoom this year (if you’re in the US please do) there are still so many things you can do and give this season, and do so sustainably!.
Disclaimer: I may make a small commission off of some of the links shared
Gifts under $20
These are some less expensive gift ideas for friends, coworkers, family friends, and stocking stuffers!
1. Plaine Products travel sizes
Plaine Products is a bath and body product company that is a certified B corporation, part of 1% for the Planet, and is carbon neutral! They offes a refill program with their stainless steel bottles. Once you’re finished with your product, you remove and save the pump for your next order, send back the bottles, and they sterilize them for reuse. The best part? They offer $5 travel sizes of their body wash, body lotion, shampoo, conditioner, and hand sanitizer! I absolutely love the rosemary mint vanilla scent body lotion. The full sizes are $30, but they come in bulk size and in my opinion, totally worth it.
You can use my code WORTHNOTWASTE for 20% off!
2. Endangered Species Chocolate
Endangered Species Chocolate makes delicious chocolate that gives back- 10% of their profits go to save wildlife through their various partners such as the National Forest Foundation, The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, and Friends of the Sea Otter. They are also FairTrade certified and many of their ingredients are grown in North America. A bonus is that on the inside of the wrappers, they highlight different vulnerable animal species and some fun facts about them! (On the inside of my milk chocolate bar I learned about sea otters and it was a great time). They are available at lots of chain grocery stores in the US, including Target and Whole Foods. They recently released a line with oatmilk and a holiday selection! They’re also an inexpensive gift at $3 a bar.
3. Bestowed Essentials Bar Soap
Bestowed Essentials is ran by a two person team that makes plastic free bath and body care. Their products are vegan and cruelty free, and choose a new earth-minded cause to contribute to each year. In 2019, they partnered with Ocean Blue Project to collect one pound of ocean trash per order! They have many different bar soaps available at $6.49, such as green tea and eucalyptus, pumpkin spice, lavender, orange, cucumber and spearmint, dead sea mud and tea tree, and just in time for the holidays, peppermint dream!
Use code WORTHNOTWASTE on Earthhero for 10% off
4.Conscious Step Socks
After you turn 18, socks always make a great gift- for that reason there will be socks that do good for the earth and its people on this gift guide. Conscious Step makes fair trade socks out of organic cotton and gives back to different causes for each order- and you get to pick which cause! There are socks that save the ocean, save dogs, cats, socks that help LGBTQ+ youth, socks that contribute towards education and breast cancer, and socks that plant trees. And that’s only a handful! If you know someone who really loves sharks or the rainforests, contribute to a cause in their name and give them some socks to go with.
Use code WORTHNOTWASTE for the socks on Earthhero for 10% off
5.Bee's Wraps
Bee’s Wraps make a great small gift for a friend or family member looking to reduce waste (or save money) in regards to food packaging waste. They are an alternative to foil or plastic wrap that are reusable and at the end of their life, compostable! You simply warm up the wrap in your hands and you can wrap them around the oddly cut fruit, piece of pizza, or wrap it around a bowl. This is a really great priced 3 pack of beeswax wraps from Bee’s Wrap, a company that uses GOTS certified cotton and sustainably harvested beeswax from the US, and organic jojoba oil.
Use code WORTHNOTWASTE on Earthhero for 10% off
6. House of Marley Headphones
Unfortunately, most tech nowadays is made using unethical labor and unsustainable materials, yet people tend to lose or want more electronics all the time. If someone you know is in need of a new pair of earbuds, these House of Marley Smile in Jamaica earphones are made ethically and from sustainable materials like FSC certified bamboo, recycled aluminum, and they plant a tree for each order! They are also pretty affordable at $15.
Use code WORTHNOTWASTE on Earthhero for 10% off
Gifts Under $50
7. Baleen Jewelry
Baleen makes ethical jewelry made out of recycled metals in the US. A lot of their options are under $50 including this simple small v necklace and these adorable blinking eye stud earrings.
Use code WORTHNOTWASTE for 10% off
8.Blueland Holiday Hand Soap Duo
Blueland is a refillable cleaning company that makes refill tablets that dissolve in water to produce cleaning products with compostable packaging, and reusable bottles that are absolutely gorgeous. This year they have a Holiday Hand Soap Duo that comes with a set of three holiday scents: evergreen, gingerbread, and peppermint (when I purchased it they were out of evergreen but they may be back in stock now!) They are also a woman of color owned business.
9.Klean Kanteen
Klean Kanteen is probably the most famous reusable zero waste brand, as part of 1% for the planet and a certified B corporation. Their insulated TK wide holds hot drinks longer than most other reusable mugs (including the Hydroflask!), and my boyfriend absolutely loves his insulated water bottle.
Use code WORTHNOTWASTE for 10% off
10.Sustainable Kids Gift Box
If you have some children in your life who love crafts and the Earth, or a parent going insane with at-home learning, this sustainable craft gift box from Earthhero is a wonderful idea. It contains 4 sustainable craft activities like a mini candle making set, sustainably made crayons, an origami making set, and a set of eco-dough!
Use code WORTHNOTWASTE for 10% off
11.Handblown Recycled Glasses
Verve Culture makes gorgeous handblown glasses made out of recycled glass by artisans in Mexico, and each glass is perfectly unique. They would make a beautiful Christmas or housewarming gift, and come in a set of 4, making them well worth the price at $12 a glass.
Use code WORTHNOTWASTE for 10% off on Earthhero
Gifts Under $100
12. Tentree Clothing
Like the name implies, Tentree plants ten trees for every order. Not only that, but you are able to enter the code you get with your order online and see where in the world your trees were planted and what species they are! They are an extremely ethical and sustainable company, using materials like cotton, Tencel fiber, and occasionally recycled polyester. They have both men and women’s clothing, and their sweatshirts look amazing.
13.Oakywood Wireless Phone Charger
Oakywood makes sustainable electronics accessories out of FSC certified wood, steel, and cork, and are handcrafted in Poland. They have a one year warranty on their products, and also plant a tree for each order! This wireless phone charger is definitely an electronic you wouldn’t mind keeping visible, as a mix of artwork and functionality.
14.Kinship Beauty Eco + Glow Set
This Skincare by Hyram-approved skincare brand packages all their products in recycled ocean plastic- while glass and stainless steel are great options, they can come with a high carbon footprint. Recycled plastic is an awesome alternative because we reuse waste already created, and in Love Kinship’s case, clean up the ocean. This 3 piece eco + glow set features a pore detox Mint Mud Mask, a Hydrating Gel Cream Moisturizer, and Self Reflect reef-safe SPF30 sunscreen.
15. Self Care Gift Box
Gifts over $100
16. Reprise Plant-based Leggings
Although most activewear, even sustainable brands, make clothing out of virgin or recycled polyester, Reprise is a new sustainable brand that makes activewear out of Tencel ! Tencel, unlike polyester, is a plant based material made out of Lyocell fiber that does not emit microplastics into our waterways in the wash. I have a pair myself and they are more comfortable and soft than any Fabletics I’ve owned. I have the Aspen leggings which are a great basic pair, but their Willow leggings also have a lace-up detail that makes them really unique.
17. GotBag Recycled Bags
18. Girlfriend Collective Recycled Winter Coat
Girlfriend Collective is known for their ethical and sustainable activewear made from recycled plastic bottles, but they also sell winter coats! If you’re like me and live in a cold climate (hello, below 0 Chicago winters), a good coat is a must have. If you or someone you know is in need of a new one, I highly recommend checking out this amazing company.
19. GroupHug Solar Panel
One of the coolest things I’ve learned about this year, the GroupHug solar panel is a panel designed to be hung in a window that has a charging port to charge USB devices! Not everyone can go solar, but charging your phone has never been more green.
20.BackMarket Refurbished Tech
Yes, you can have an iPhone in a more sustainable economy no matter what internet trolls say. Backmarket allows for perfectly good technology that was abandoned for whatever reason be refurbished to its former glory and resold. I even asked for a secondhand iPad and iPencil this Christmas, and I know many others have been pleased with the devices they received’s performance. If you’re looking to get a new device for someone or yourself, please know most are not made ethically and profit from planned obsolescence- it’s best to save your money and get your screens secondhand!
Non-item gift ideas
We all love getting gifts, but sometimes the most sustainable option is something someone chose themselves or something that goes beyond a physical gift. Here is a bonus list of non-item gifts!
21.Climate+ Carbon offsets
Almost everything nowadays emits greenhouse gas waste- our dog’s food, our choice of coffee beans, our Netflix streaming sessions. Luckily Tentree’s Climate+ program allows you to purchase amounts of trees planted to offset emissions of various activities. New parent? offset a year’s worth of their child’s diapers, books and clothes. New pup? offset its entire life of food and dog waste (I did this for both of my dogs!). Want to offset all the waste from the wedding you had last year (luckily) before the world turned upside down? You got it!
22. Adopt a whale!
With the Whale and Dolphin Conservation, you can adopt a whale for yourself or a family member or friend for a year! This money supports the WDC reduce plastic pollution in cleanups, end whaling and animal captivity, work with international governments to create and maintain designated Marine Protected Areas, and perform scientific investigations of ecosystems and their habits.
23.National Park Membership
It’s no secret that National Parks in the US are struggling right now, and gifting someone who loves the outdoors a park pass would be a wonderful gift to support our green spaces and give the gift of nature.
24.Gift Cards
Gift cards are great because they can be sent digitally last minute, and it ensures the person gets what they really want. Some great places to give gift cards to are to local restaurants they love, small businesses in the area that need the support, as well as sustainable small businesses.
Some sustainable businesses that offer giftcards and lots of different products are Earthhero, Package Free Shop, Made Trade, Ten Thousand Villages, and Simple Switch.
