5 Creative Gifts for Environmentally-Conscious Friends

Last Updated on November 21, 2024 by Paola Castillo

Various cultures worldwide have traditions involving gift-giving during the holiday season, here are our Gifts for Environmentally-Conscious Friends. They serve as ways to show thanks and appreciation. Moreover, holiday gifts from parents, close friends, relatives, or life partners hold sentimental value—making them more memorable. Without a doubt, gift-giving traditions make the holidays enjoyable.

However, gifting isn’t an environmentally conscious holiday tradition. Americans produce 25% more waste from Thanksgiving to New Year than they do the rest of the year—suggesting an extra million tons of trash per week. At this rate, the planet might run out of landfill space before the next generation’s kids celebrate their first holiday.

Fortunately, it’s not too late to change. This coming holiday season, make the first step toward mindful, environmentally conscious celebrations by opting for sustainable gifts. Your presents shouldn’t compromise the planet.

Instead of the usual expensive, plastic-wrapped materialistic holiday items, gift your friends the following creative, practical eco-friendly packages:

Gifts for Environmentally-Conscious Friends: Sustainable Makeup and Skincare Kit

Modern-day beauty products focus less on vanity and more on self-care and relaxation. Both men and women find peace in their daily beauty routines.

Unfortunately, beauty products contribute to the planet’s growing plastic waste problem. Reports indicate that the global beauty industry produces over 120 million pieces of plastic packaging, and 79% go straight to landfills. 

Skin and facial beauty routines shouldn’t make the planet ugly. Instead of the conventional makeup and cosmetic products, make your sustainable skincare gift package with the following:

• LastRound by LastObject: Cotton pads play a crucial role in any skincare routine. Most people use over a thousand rounds per annum—which all end up in the dumps. For a more sustainable approach, switch disposable pads with LastObject’s cotton round alternative: LastRound. You can reuse each pad up to 250 times!
• Give ‘Em Lip Color Intense Lipstick: Get rid of the lipsticks that always come in excessive plastic packaging! The Beauty Counter packs its Give ‘Em Lip Color Intense Lipstick products in ethically sourced cardboard tubes. These tubes leave an 83% diminished carbon footprint.
• Blue Clay Cleansing Bar Soap: The Blue Clay Cleansing Bar Soap by Herbivore Botanical is a vegan-friendly and cruelty-free alternative to commercial facial cleansers loaded with chemicals.

Gifts for Environmentally-Conscious Friends: Plastic-Free Bathtime Essentials

Bathrooms generate a significant amount of plastic waste. Everything from large shampoo bottles to specially packaged beauty soap bars adds to your carbon footprint. If you want your loved ones to take eco-conscious baths, gift them the following:

• Chanel No. 5 Bath Soap: While Chanel No. 5 is an iconic fragrance beloved by many worldwide, it comes in excessive paper and plastic packaging. The Chanel No. 5 Bath Soap serves as a more sustainable, less wasteful alternative.
• Ethique Shampoo Bar: Ethique carries a wide range of eco-friendly shampoo bars. These are vegan, compostable, soap-free hair products that come in ethically sourced packaging.

Gifts for Environmentally-Conscious Friends: Comfortable, Eco-Friendly Clothing

Fast fashion tricks consumers into wasting money on the latest clothing trends. Reports show that Americans generate over 17 million tons of textile waste per annum—most of which ends up in landfills. Encourage your loved ones to escape the wasteful mindset of fast fashion with these sustainable clothes:

• Organic Cotton Shirt: Manufacturing a single piece of cotton shirt wastes over 5,700 gallons of clean water, so ask your friends and family to switch the organic pieces from The Classic T-shirt.
• Sustainable Underwear: Organic Basics showcases a broad range of sustainable underwear. They strive for an inclusive collection designed for women of all shapes and sizes.

Gifts for Environmentally-Conscious Friends: Eco-Conscious Travel Necessities

With most states loosening their stringent COVID guidelines, people are starting to travel once again. Are your loved ones avid travelers as well? Gift them the following items to minimize the negative environmental impact of their trips:

• Printed Tote Bags: These trendy printed tote bags from Juvale can replace the plastic bags used at bazaars, shopping centers, malls, and grocery stores.
• Refillable Water Bottles: Hydro Flask carries an array of cure, colorful insulated water bottles. These bottles can keep cold drinks chilled for 24 hours and hot drinks warm for 12 hours.

Gifts for Environmentally-Conscious Friends: The Paper- and Plastic-Free Living Space Starter Pack

Help your loved ones eliminate plastic and paper products from their daily routines! Sustainable alternatives like the following can reduce the need for toilet paper and bottled water, among other wasteful items:

• 10UA Under Sink Water Filter System: The 10UA Under Sink Water Filter System is an easy-to-install filter that produces on-demand potable water at any time. Your gift recipient would never need to buy another bottle of water again.
• Dual Nozzle Toilet Bidet: Gift your loved one a Dual Nozzle Toilet Bidet from the Veken Store. Ask them to clean with this water sprayer after using the toilet instead of solely wiping with toilet paper. After all, toilet paper is both wasteful and unsanitary. Not only do they add to one’s daily waste products, but they don’t even clean the bottom properly.

Explore Your Non-traditional Gifting Options This Coming Holiday Season

Do not compromise functionality for sustainability when looking for non-traditional gifting options. Coming up with sustainable products is one thing, but creating a list of mindful, eco-conscious, and functional presents is another. 

Ensure that your recipient finds your gift helpful. Even vegan, eco-friendly items classify as holiday waste if they serve no actual purpose. Your loved one might just set your present aside in their attic.

Also, don’t stress over re-gifting. Statistics show that society wastes billions on unwanted presents annually. Re-gifting is the better alternative to letting unused gifts collect dust in your drawers or storage boxes. Give your redundant, purposeless gifts to someone who needs them more. Of course, avoid re-gifting within the same social circle.