Make someone smile with these eco-friendly gift ideas
By Sunny James
If you’re looking for gift ideas for friends or family, or if you know someone who’s thinking about how they can live greener, why not get them an eco-friendly gift? You can make someone in your life happy and make a positive change for the planet at the same time with any of the goodies mentioned in this article. There are also many other options for eco-friendly gifts, these ideas are just to help get you started. As long as the item can help reduce waste or resources, act as a re-usable alternative to single-use items or replace something non-recyclable with something that is, you’re on the right track.
- Re-usable coffee cups – Chances are you know someone who’s a big coffee drinker, but really, these cups are great for anybody who enjoys a hot drink or uses a water dispenser where they work. Less than 1% of disposable coffee cups are actually recycled, meaning the rest contribute towards our big waste problem. Switching to re-usable is an easy way to help combat this issue and most coffee chains offer a discount to customers who use them too.
- Biodegradable glitter – Many children and adults alike love using glitter, whether it’s for crafts and decorations or to add a bit of sparkle when doing makeup. However glitter is a micro-plastic, meaning it can easily pass through water filtration systems and reach the oceans where it’s swallowed by aquatic life. There are many concerns over the effects micro-plastic could have on the environment, but biodegradable glitter is a great alternative that can be enjoyed guilt-free.
- Handmade soap – Everybody uses soap, but not everybody considers that liquid soap comes in plastic bottles. Converting to bar soap helps reduce plastic waste and they can also be more fun. Handmade soaps come in a huge variety of shapes, colours and designs and there are even lots of guides online to help you make your own.
To ‘wrap up’ this list, make sure to get some re-usable wrapping cloth. Traditional wrapping paper is highly wasteful as it’s only used once before ending up in a landfill. Wrapping clothes can be re-used by the receiver to wrap gifts for you in the future, saving waste and starting a new tradition of swapping cloths.
