Eco-Friendly, Sustainable Gift Guide: Gifts for the Eco-Friendly Newbie

With the holidays just around the corner, TreeEra wanted to share some of our favorite eco-friendly items that are perfect for anyone on your holiday gift list this year.

Do you know someone who has been talking for what seems like forever about how they want to start their sustainability journey, lower their personal carbon footprint, or just wants to take some initial steps into becoming more environmentally friendly? Help them take that leap by stuffing their stockings with one of these great products that come from companies who care about our planet!

Eco-Friendly, Sustainable Holiday Gift Guide

for the Eco-Friendly Newbie

Paperless Christmas Cards – Bristol Ecards

Start your sustainable Christmas off right by ditching your traditional Christmas cards. At first, getting a card delivered in the mail can be exciting but after a week or so, it’s another piece of clutter that you end up guiltily throwing away. This year, skip the trip to the post office (and your loved one’s guilt) and send your friends and family a paperless Christmas card from Bristol Ecards. The best thing about these e-cards? No trees were chopped down in the arrangement of these pixels. Compare this to the raw materials used in traditional greetings cards and the pollution involved with mailing them. You can even post this on your social media to wish all your followers a Merry Christmas!

Reusable Produce Bags – Canary Goods

Reducing your plastic bag usage and getting into the habit of taking reusable bags with you to the grocery stores is a great way to start lowering your carbon footprint. Not only are the plastic produce bags you find on the rolls in the grocery store incredibly hard to open, but they are also terrible for the environment. These cotton, reusable mesh produce bags are the perfect replacement to store all your favorite fruits and veggies!

Stainless Steel Reusable Straws – Sustain Eco Store

Everyone knows by now that disposable plastic straws pollute our oceans and waterways but there are many other reasons why plastic straws are unfriendly to our environment. Cutting out single-use plastics, like straws, is one of the best ways to start being a conscious consumer. With “no straw please” top of mind, other single-use plastics start to jump out at you too. These straws are made from polished stainless steel and are reusable and dishwasher safe.

Sign a friend up for the TreeEra newsletter!

We will plant 1 tree in your friend’s name.

Natural & Gentle Cream Cleanser – Tesoro Botanicals

Someone who is taking their first steps towards a more sustainable lifestyle might not realize that their beauty and skincare products and the chemicals that are used to make them can actually be extremely harmful to the environment. Tesoro Botanicals is a Canadian company that stays away from artificial ingredients, harmful additives, and toxic preservatives. This luxe cream cleanser will gently cleanse without roughly stripping your skin of any of its natural oils. Plus, it’s the perfect product to help you start switching your skincare products to more natural, earth-friendly replacements.

Handcrafted Tote Bag – Craftingtheharvest

Supporting small, local businesses is better for the environment because they often have a smaller carbon footprint than larger companies. It is said that independent retailers return more than three times as much money per dollar of sales to their community than chain competitors. Rachel, the owner of Craftingtheharvest, creates bags, baskets, bowls, and more using cotton and jute rope. This multi-use tote bag is handcrafted with cotton rope and is perfect for the beach or the farmers’ market.

Beeswax Food Wraps – Nature Bee

Beeswax wrap is a reusable and sustainable alternative to single-use plastic wrap. Nature Bee’s beeswax wraps are made from 100% cotton, Vancouver Island sourced beeswax, pine tree resin, and jojoba oil. Nature Bee started as a small business with a goal and passion to provide others with a simple, natural, and beautiful alternative to plastic wrap while encouraging others to reduce their consumption of single-use plastics.

Vegan Leather Purse – Aiya ayiA

Leather production can create serious ecological problems, such as an overgrowth of plant life in water systems due to runoff waste. This can deplete oxygen levels in the water. Aiya ayiA uses vegan, natural plant leather to create their products. The “leather” is made from plant materials such as coconut water, banana, hemp, flowers, tree bark, and sisal fibers. These bags and wallets are created entirely without using aggressive chemicals or plastics. Plus, they are 100% biodegradable! This tall tote handbag with a spacious, open interior compartment to hold everything you need. Aiya ayiA is proof that you can live an eco-friendly life while still being fashionable.