Your Guide To Plastic-Free Holiday Gifts!
If there’s one time of the year that’s become synonymous with over-consumption and waste, it’s the holiday season. Fortunately, you can spread cheer with thoughtful gifts for your loved ones that don’t harm our environment.
Please note that Beyond Plastics does not endorse any specific companies or products. We have included some suggestions below to help you get started but we encourage you to do your own research.
Give an Old Item New Life
Vintage and used items make excellent and unique holiday gifts. There are so many wonderful books, household items, pieces of clothing and jewelry, tools, and more that deserve a second (or third or fourth) chance to be useful and provide joy. Get out there and visit your local antiques shop, second-hand bookstore, thrift store, or auction to look for finds while supporting a local business. If you strike out in person, browse online at sites like eBay, Etsy, and others to find special gifts that are gently used or vintage.
Choose Plastic-Free Gifts That Prevent Waste
Looking for the perfect practical gift? Reusable metal, glass, or ceramic water bottles and travel mugs are plastic-free gifts that will also help the recipient to reduce future waste! Other zero-waste gifts include bamboo utensil sets, stainless steel straws, loose tea and tea strainers, beeswax food wrap, Swedish reusable cloths, a stainless steel tiffin (perfect for bringing lunch or keeping in your car to have handy if you go out to eat to bring leftovers home in), reusable bowl covers, reusable cotton tote bags, stainless steel or ceramic compost bins for your kitchen, and so much more.
Support a Local Farm & Feed a Loved One
Consider buying a friend or family member a share (or a half share) in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Are you new to the concept of a CSA? Click here for more info on what a CSA is and how it works. You can look for farms that offer winter CSA shares or purchase one that begins in the spring. This is a great way to support a local farm while also helping the lucky recipient feed themselves and their family with fresh, nutritious goodies. Consider providing some of your favorite recipes along with the CSA share to round out the package. If you don’t know where to start, you can do a search for CSAs through Local Harvest or the USDA’s database.
Give a Gift Subscription or Certificate To A Zero-Waste Service Or Refill Shop
Purchasing a gift certificate or subscription to one of the many excellent zero-plastic and low or zero-waste products, stores, and services out there can be a great way to bring a family member or friend into the fold. A few to consider include Plaine Products, Blueland, Zero Waste Store, Superzero, Ethique, and Earth and Me but there are more and more out there to choose from and you might actually enjoy the research or find out there’s a refill store in your neighborhood.
Support Democracy & Your Community With A Newspaper Subscription
Independent media is crucial to a functioning democracy. Whether it is online or paper, for you or for a friend, subscribe to your local newspaper whether it’s a monthly, weekly, or daily.
Give an Awesome Experience
Gifting experiences is a great way to reduce waste and create lasting memories. Whether it’s a membership to a nature preserve, a local museum, a movie theater or a lift ticket for a nearby ski mountain that can be used this winter, or something grander like tickets for a long-anticipated trip to go scuba-diving in the US Virgin Islands or to visit Paris this spring, this could be BIG.
Gift Cards Are Great If They’re Paper or Electronic! Gift cards can be a handy, popular, and sustainable choice if you opt for either an electronic or paper gift card. That said, many gift cards are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and should be avoided at all costs. Learn more about why in our fact sheet and make sure to opt for a digital or paper gift card when you’re shopping.
Opt for Plastic-Free Clothing & Consider Gently Used Items
A comfy pair of PJs, warm hat, or new socks are popular choices. Unfortunately, more and more clothing is made from synthetic materials like polyester and nylon which contain plastic fibers. But there are plenty of fun and affordable brands that use materials like recycled cotton, linen, and wool. Need somewhere to get started? The free app GoodOnYou can help you find the best brands to buy from this season. Or consider buying a gently used item of clothing from thredUp, Poshmark, or good old eBay.
Give the Gift of Giving to Others in Need
For that person who already “has it all,” the gift of giving could be a great choice. Make a donation in their honor to a charity you think they’d appreciate (hint: Beyond Plastics is a great option!) and send them a card sharing the gift. Or, if you think they’d prefer to be more hands-on, consider setting them up with a pre-paid micro-lender account through an organization like Kiva to allow them to choose the recipients of their microloans. This could be a particularly good way to help a young person experience philanthropy directly. Other places with great meaningful virtual gifts that give back include Oxfam America and Heifer International and many environmental nonprofits offer symbolic wildlife adoption programs.
Make Your Own Gifts
Homemade items are the way to go for truly unique and special presents. DIY candles, cookies, granola or other baked goods, bath salts, tea mixes, cocoa mix, brownie mix, vanilla extract, spices, decorative garlands, and even games can be easy and customizable gifts! Click here for some DIY gift ideas.
Buy Great Reads From Your Local Indy Bookstore
Resist the temptation to buy from Amazon and visit your local independent bookstore. Wear your mask and spend some time browsing the shelves to see what books might delight a loved one. Many bookstores also sell toys and cards if you’re looking for more than books. If you need to order online, consider buying used books from an online bookseller like Thriftbooks, Better World Books, or AbeBooks.
Entertain With an Audiobook, Music, Magazine, or Streaming Subscription
Winter is long and entertainment really helps. A subscription or gift certificate to a streaming platform, an audiobook or online music service, or an online newspaper or magazine could help your loved ones stay entertained and informed without requiring any new plastic or disposable items.
Re-gifting Is a GOOD Thing!
One person’s trash is another one’s treasure. If you own an item that not right for you but that you think someone else could use or would enjoy, wrap it up (see tips on wrapping at the end of this guide), and pass it along. You never know, it just might be their favorite present of the year.
Don’t Forget! Wrap It Up Right
Many types of wrapping paper are not recyclable—anything glittery, sparkly, etc., will not be accepted by your recycling program. The good thing is that store-bought wrapping paper is not a necessity. This year, look around your home for alternatives. Newspapers and paper grocery bags work really well. If you have kids, drawing, painting or stamping a pattern on a used grocery bag can be a fun activity, too. If you want to go the extra mile, old book pages, tote bags, and scrap fabric make for cute and unique wrapping. In fact, there is a Japanese tradition of wrapping gifts in attractive pieces of cloth called furoshiki. And when you’re unwrapping gifts, save the wrapping paper (or fabric) and ribbons to use them again. If your family enjoys a little friendly competition, you can even keep score to see who can reuse a given piece of paper the most times—warning, this game could stretch on for years!
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