Festive season is right around the corner, which means there’ll be lots of gift giving and receiving. This tradition of gifting contributes massively to the plastic waste generated. To understand the scale at which holiday season across the globe impacts the environment, let’s take a look at some numbers:

• The amount of wrapping paper thrown away at Christmas in the UK alone would stretch to the moon - Source: gov.uk
• According to Stanford University, Americans throw away roughly 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and the New Year than any other time of the year, generating 25 million extra tons of garbage.
• Another study says that 19% of gifts end up in the waste bin. Each of these discarded presents are made up of precious materials, not to mention all the energy, water, labour and machines that went into manufacturing, packaging, transporting and selling it.
• Around 20% of them are left lying forgotten somewhere around the home—meaning they’re simply waiting around to become waste in future.

Consider just the packaging of the gift: boxes, wrapping paper, labels, decorative ribbons, gift cards, and more. That’s a lot of waste! If not chosen mindfully, the gifts themselves also become a big part of the problem.

This festive season, let’s try to reduce this waste by being a little more mindful. Don’t worry, you won’t have to spend hours scrolling online because we’ve got you covered! Read on and find out how to make sustainable choices while keeping the joy of giving alive!

source: eco-friendly gifts.webp

Before you choose gifts…

Before you go out and start picking up gifts, here are some dos and don’ts that can help you take a more sustainable approach to gifting.

What not to do?

• Unwanted gifts: If you’re unsure of whether the recipient wants or would need a particular product, it’s best to not buy it. You don’t want it to just sit and collect dust.
• FIller Gifts: As tempting as it may be to get extra trinkets and little gifts just to fill a gift box completely, it’s best to avoid them.

Tips for Sustainable Shopping

Here are some tips to help you make sustainable decisions while picking up a gift:

• Repurposing or Upcycling: Before you start buying new gifts, there are pretty decent chances that you have a certain unwanted gift lying around from last year that might make a perfect gift for someone else.
• DIY Gifts: Consider going the good old do-it-yourself route for gifts. It’ll also add a personal touch to the gift.
• Shopping Secondhand: Go to your local thrift store get that vintage jacket that your friend has had their eye on. If you’re considering getting a designer handbag, for instance, check out stores that sell pre-loved luxury items. You get a good deal, and help the plant. Win-win situation!
• Shopping Recycled Products: When buying new products, make sure you purchase products that have been made from recycled materials and/or are recylable.
• Check if a brand is greenwashing: Brands will often try to mislead you into believing that they’re making environmentally responsible choices when often they’re not! Check out or blog here to read more about how you can check if brands are greenwashing.

Here’s a table which can help you figure out which certifications you should be looking for in brands or products if you’re shopping sustainable.

source: Image courtesy of Akepa

Eco-Friendly Gift Ideas

1.Plants: You can never go wrong with plants. There are several indoor and outdoor plants you can choose from based on space available, maintenance required, etc.

2. Eco-Friendly Clothing: Choose clothes made from sustainable materials like organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, etc. You can also get clothes from thrift stores and secondhand shops.

3. Sustainable Stationery: If you’re picking out a gift for your coworkers or your stationery-nerd friend, getting sustainable stationery sets is a great option. Check out these notebooks from ReScript, for instance.

4. Subscriptions: You can get them a subscription to a magazine, newspaper, online streaming platform, a local library, or even a locally made meal kit program. Subscriptions are a great way to gift something they’ll value and appreciate.

5. Reusable Utensil Set & Cookbook: If your friend just moved into a new apartment, you know this is something this is something that they need very much.

6. Fairtrade Coffee & Chocolates: Of course, coffee and chocolates are go-to gifts that you can’t go wrong with. Just make sure to get buy them from the right place which ensures fair trade practices such as this one. Fair trade practices make sure that the workers get fair wages and work in humane conditions.

7. Sustainable Hobby Starter Kits: You can find a bunch of kits that help you get started with a new hobby such as stitching, painting, knitting, etc. A great idea would be to gift a plant-a-tree kit.

DIY Gifting Ideas

Instead of buying gifts, it’s also a good idea to go the do-it-yourself route and whip up some nice gifts at home. This will also add a touch of personalisation to the gift. Here are a few ideas that you can consider:

• Bake cookies, cakes, biscuits and other goodies.
• Prepare delicious homemade jams and sauces.
• Upcycle an old denim jacket. Cut it, paint it, get creative with it!
• Design and sew a tote bag.
• Crochet a sweater, a hat, a tote bag, or anything else.
• Grow a potted plant and gift it.

Gifting Experiences

Instead of gifting things, you also consider gifting experiences. When done right, they can even become meaningful memories for the recipient. The possibilities are endless when it comes to gifting experiences. Here are some ideas.

1. Tickets: Gift tickets to a concert, movie, or stand up show.

2. Self-care day: Book a massage at the spa or a haircut at a fancy salon, make it into a self-care day!

3. Workshops: Sign up for a fun one-day workshop such as for painting, dancing, cooking, pottery etc!

4. Picnic: Go for a picnic at the park. Take sketchbooks, journals, board games along with you and make it into a memorable day for them.

5. Guided Tours: If you’re lucky enough to live in a city where this is an option, book a guided nature walk or a heritage walk through the city.

DIY Sustainable Gift Packaging

Now that you’ve finally decided on all the gifts, it’s time to put them together in a pretty little package and instead of getting festive gift boxes online, you can flex your creative muscles, and make your own box.

We’ve prepared a neat little table that will help you pick out sustainable materials for your gift box.

source: Made For Planet

Brands selling Sustainable Gift Boxes

If it's too last minute to make a gift hamper from scratch or if you’re just lazy (we get it), fret not because there are some nice brands out there that sell already put-together sustainable gift hampers. We’ve compiled some of them below.

1. Bare Necessities sells a wide range of eco-friendly gift kits consisting of personal care products such as soaps, moisturisers, perfumes, candles, and more.

source: Bare Necessities.jpg

2. Clan Earth sells a wide range of eco-friendly gift kits including sustainable corporate gifts, home gifts, and more. source: Clan Earth.jpg

3. Bombay Greens is a brand that takes care of all your gardening requirements. They also sell gardening kits, which can make for a great gift for someone who wants to start out on the journey. source: Bombay Greens.webp

4. Thenga is Kerala based brand that repurposes coconut waste into sustainable home products. Their range of products include tableware, kitchen essentials, home decor, and more. source: Thenga .webp

Conclusion

So, there you have it. Making environmentally friendly choices during the gifting season is not all that difficult. Whether it’s buying from a wide range of eco-friendly gifts, making them yourselves, or completely ditching products in favour of experiences as gifts, sustainable gifting has a lot of options that you can explore and make the most of. Keep in mind that sustainability is a lifestyle which takes time and mindful practice to adopt. So don’t beat yourself up if your gift wasn’t “100% sustainable” and keep the joy of giving alive by doing your part towards giving back to the planet!