If you’re in need of useful and quality eco-friendly gifts that are truly kind to the Earth, here’s a simple gift guide to get you started in the right direction. In this day and age, it’s important that we maintain a sustainable and eco-friendly mindset. It can be incredibly exhausting to always be prepared with reusable options, and it’s difficult to know what products are actually safe for the environment and which ones just have the catchy “eco-friendly” tag slapped on the box.
When shopping, try and be mindful of checking the ingredients list and product information. Check to see what went into making that product. Is it truly what’s being advertised or did the manufacturer bet on you not reading the back of the box?
For those of us who aim to be conscious consumers or who look to encourage friends or family to join the Eco-friendly trend, each of these products are a “greener” swap for their more common plastic and non-recyclable counterparts.
Here are some of the best eco-friendly gifts that you can buy right now – and feel good about afterward!
The Growing Candle
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It’s a candle that lets you grow a mini garden at home.
Over 400 million candle containers are disposed of each year in the U.S. alone. This candle encourages you to hold on to the container. These candles come with wildflower seeds embedded in their paper labels. So once you’ve run out of wax, the label includes instructions on how to plant the seeds in the ceramic containers.
Handmade Lokta Paper Journal
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No trees were harmed in the making of these journals!
These journals are handmade by Nepalese artisans, so with every purchase of these journals you’re supporting local artists and developing communities, so you can be a conscious consumer! The paper is made from the Lokta bush that grows up in the Himalayan mountains and they use natural vegetable dyes on the outside of the journal.
A Zero-Waste Starter Kit
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The perfect starting point for a friend who wants to cut back on their plastic use.
This starter kit comes with six items that commonly involve using single-use plastics. There’s a mesh grocery bag that is perfect for using with produce so you can forget about reaching for those plastic bags at the store. Another great addition are the biodegradable bamboo toothbrush and beeswax wraps that help with storing leftover food. You also get a recyclable lunch box, stainless steel straw set, and biodegradable travel cup.
Gift Wrap That Grows
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Don’t let your eco-friendly gift be wrapped in something that still hurts the environment!
Often we overlook what we’re wrapping our gifts in. Most of the time (also depending on where you live) gift wrap can’t be recycled and will end up being tossed in the trash. Instead, make the conscious decision to wrap your gift in paper that can also grow flowers. The paper is embedded with hundreds of wildflower seeds, so not only will your friend have a beautiful garden but they’ll also be helping save the bees!
Stainless Steel Wine Tumblers
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Ditch the red plastic cups for your next get together.
These tumblers are insulated, so any hot or cold drinks will stay the perfect temperature for hours. They’re great for hanging by the pool, spending a day at the beach, or going to parties with friends. You’ll never need to know which cup is yours at a party ever again.
Shampoo Bar Sampler
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A helpful option for those of us who don’t know what hair type we have.
It’s always annoying to shell out $15+ on a single product only to find out your hair or skin just does not agree with it. This shampoo bar sampler kit is the perfect gift for any friend who wants to cut down on all of the plastic shampoo and conditioning bottles. Each kit comes with five heart-shaped shampoo bars and details explaining what they’ll do for your hair!
You can also check out their body sampler and face sampler kits.
Natural Non-Toxic Yoga Mat
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Gone are the days of dealing with pieces of rubber falling off your yoga mat.
Normal yoga mats shed bits of foam and rubber the more wear and tear they go through, which can’t be recycled and could eventually end up in the ocean. This mat is made out of natural and sustainable materials such as organic jute fibre and PER. Each mat is also made without any heavy metals or toxic chemicals, so the more you sweat during your practice, your mat won’t smell.
Roll-Top Backpack
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All material is made 100% using recycled plastic bottles.
This high-quality backpack is perfect for day-to-day needs such as commuting to school or work. Its design is perfect for both women and men. There’s a padded pocket that fits any laptop up to 15.6 inches. The outside coating is PFC free, which allows for waterproofing without the need for harmful substances.
Up-Cycled Bluetooth Speaker
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Quality sound without the guilt.
This handheld and portable Bluetooth speaker is a great gift for anyone who likes to DJ at social events. It’s made using a sturdy bamboo fibre, recycled aluminum and plastic, and organic cotton. Keep the music going wherever you go.
Biodegradable Pela Phone Case For iPhone X
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Every time you upgrade your phone, you’re throwing out a plastic phone case that can’t be recycled.
Pela phone cases are 100% compostable, so when you upgrade phones you don’t need to feel guilty swapping out cases. Each case is made out of Flax shive and a plant-based polymer. They’re equally as durable as a regular case, you also don’t need to worry about all of that annoying plastic packaging that comes with traditional phone cases.
Compostable Bento Box
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No more unnecessary waste at lunchtime!
Easily reduce your carbon footprint at lunchtime by ditching all of the plastic baggies and paper bags for a reusable bento box. It’s adorable and compact, and there’s no fear of smooshing your sandwich anymore! And years later when you’re done with it, you can take it to a commercial composting site to be properly disposed of so it won’t hang out in a landfill.
Vintage Dictionary Page Art Prints
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Any cat and superhero lover will get a kick out of these up-cycled dictionary page art prints.
The artist behind these prints uses pages out of early to mid-1900s dictionaries. No two prints are alike. Each page the superhero cat is printed on is unique and original. With each order you get a set of three unframed 8×10 inch prints to hang in a bedroom, office, or living room.
Up-Cycled Vintage Record Coasters
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A perfect household gift for any eco-friendly music lover.
Each pack comes with six vintage vinyl LP records that have the original labels intact. The records are protected in a clear Mylar coat so the labels won’t wear off due to condensation. Every purchase is a fun surprise of which coasters you’ll receive since they’re up-cycled and not being factory-produced.
Washable & Reusable Grocery Bags
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Each bag folds flat so it can easily be stored anywhere on the go so you’re always prepared.
There’s nothing more annoying than having to make an unexpected trip to the grocery store and not having your reusable bag with you. And you’ll be damned if you get charged the extra 10 cents to use the store’s plastic bag, so instead pile everything in your arms and leave the store with your dignity. You can get six foldable bags with adorable designs on them that can left on your desk at work or fit right inside your purse.
Reusable Stainless Steel Straw Kit
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The bamboo case makes for easy on-the-go packing.
As more restaurants and fast food places ban plastic straws, you might be stuck carefully sipping your drinks at red lights. Each straw kit comes with 4 stainless steel straws, silicone tips for those with sensitive teeth, bamboo travel cases, and cleaning brushes. You can have a straw for the car, one for the office, one for your purse, and one for home, so you’ll never have strawless woes again.
Coconut Bowls & Spoons
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Instagram-friendly bowls that are perfect for your next smoothie or acai bowl.
These bowls are made using 100% coconut from Vietnam. Local Vietnamese artisan Ben Tre grows the coconuts, which are then handmade by homeless and underprivileged individuals in Vietnam. They’re great to use for any cold or room temperature foods, which makes them the perfect side dish to add to your dining table set.
Stainless Steel Water Bottle
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Its minimalist design is perfect for anyone who doesn’t want the same looking water bottle as everyone else.
What makes this reusable water bottle stand out from the thousands of other designs is its wide opening. It’s incredibly annoying when you can’t get a sponge inside to properly clean it. Even having the freedom to add normal-sized ice cubes or cut-up fruit for a nice infusion flavor is a lovely option to have that most water bottles just seem to miss. It’s made of 18/8 stainless steel, so this water bottle will be keeping you hydrated for many years to come.
Reusable Cotton Rounds
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We stan zero-waste beauty routines!
Traditional cotton rounds you pick up from the drug store are meant to be disposed of. If you use two pads every time you wash your face and wash your face once in the morning and again at night, that can easily add up to over 1,400 cotton pads ending up in the landfill every year. And that’s just from one person! Making the swap to these reusable cotton rounds not only save the environment, they’ll also save your bank account.
Help More Bees Graphic Tee
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Carry a strong environmental message everywhere you go.
Who doesn’t love a good graphic tee with adorable illustrations and a catchy slogan? Answer: we all do. For all those times when it’s too inconvenient to carry around a poster demanding we save the planet, opt to wear this t-shirt so you can gently remind people you run into at the grocery store to ditch the plastic wrap.
Silicone & Bamboo Cooking Utensils
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Eco-friendly kitchen tools that won’t cost you a fortune.
It’s so easy to just skimp for the plastic cooking tools when you’re moving into your first place. The hard plastic can often scratch your pots and pans. And when it comes to getting rid of them, they can only go in the garbage. That’s a lot of plastic. This 9-piece utensil set includes biodegradable and recyclable beech wood.
Cruelty-Free Bath Bomb Gift Set
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The ultimate spa experience without hurting your wallet or the environment.
This 12-pack of bath bombs are handmade and come individually wrapped in paper vs. plastic, which is often what you get when you buy from a drug store. Each bath bomb is unique, with some of them containing different types of flower petals inside.
Biodegradable Glitter
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You no longer need to sacrifice your love for glitter!
We all know glitter is one of the top micro-plastic pollutants that is getting into our local waterways and even the oceans. Glitter is sneaky and appears in a lot of our products that we might not even realize. DIY crafts and beauty routines can easily be revamped using biodegradable glitter than gradually dissolves overtime and won’t spend a lifetime in our rivers and oceans.
Blossom editors handpicked the items in this article. Affiliate links may give us a share of the revenue to support our creative team.
