Your Gifts Are On Our List

Finding one of these presents under the tree could turn the most ardent Hummer driver into a tree hugger. What green gift would you be most grateful to receive?

FOR YOUR BROTHER
He'll have style and substance with a fresh renewable-energy T-shirt (pictured; organic and sweatshop free), hipster hoodie (made from organic fleece), rugged wallet (made out of discarded truck-tire inner tubes), geek-chic luggage tags (made of old circuit boards), or recycled messenger bag.

FOR YOUR SISTER
She'll toast your thoughtfulness when she unwraps this recycled-glass necklace (pictured) by artist Kathleen Plate. Or send her out on the town with a pull-tab clutch or shoulder bag and some ecofriendly lipstick to stick in it. Sis the shy and retiring type? Encourage her to express herself in a vintage-record-sleeve journal or one made from elephant poop (no, really).

FOR YOUR FOLKS
Decorative bowls woven from telephone wire (pictured) or vases made from recycled paper will add beauty to their home and benefit craftspeople in South Africa and Vietnam. Foodies or green thumbs will appreciate an herb-garden kit with organic seeds in a biodegradable pot.

FOR YOUR (FURRY) BEST FRIEND
Fido will drool his appreciation for a fabric chew toy made of recycled soda bottles (pictured) and rest easily on an organic, hemp, or recycled doggie bed.

* * *

Shoppers' Survival Guide

OOH AND AAH at the chic, surprising gift ideas in Cool Green Stuff, a book by Dave Evans. Or reconsider consumerism altogether with Shopping Our Way to Safety, Andrew Szasz's look at personal versus political choices.

JUST SAY NO to paper or plastic--bring your own stylin' tote from b. happybags, Blue Lotus, envirosax.com (left), gethipgetgreen.com (far left), Reiter8, or reusablebags.com.

ELIMINATE UNWANTED GIFTS by setting up an Alternative Gift Registry, where you can request anything from that recycled lamp you've been coveting to copies of your friends' favorite recipes.

WRAP IT UP in a decorative, reusable bag, cloth, or envelope from fwraps.com, lagniappegiftwrap.com, luckycrow.com, or wrapsacks.com.

SWAP, FREECYCLE, OR DONATE any unwanted holiday gifts--and anything else that's cluttering up your house.

GET MORE IDEAS FOR CRAFTY RECYCLED GOODS: elsewares.com, etsytrashion.com

. . . FOR FASHIONABLE FRIENDS: btcelements.com, pangaya.com

. . . FOR GREEN HOUSES: branchhome.com, buygreen.com, greenfeet.com

. . . FOR FAIR-TRADE FINDS: novica.com, tenthousandvillages.com, worldofgood.com

. . . FOR THE LITTLEST ONES ON YOUR LISTS: greennest.com, kee-ka.com, littletwig.com

. . . FOR NONMATERIAL PRESENTS: newdream.org/holiday

. . . FOR THE TREEHUGGER-TO-BE: gogreengift.com, Greensender, or the Environmental Working Group's Pollution Solutions Gift Bag

. . . FOR THE FRIEND WHO HAS EVERYTHING (or needs a little good karma): oxfamamericaunwrapped.com

STILL STUMPED? Check out gift guides from Care2, E Magazine, Green Promise, Plenty, Salon, Shift Your Gift, Sustainable Travel International, Treehugger, and VegNews.

Comments

[Sandra Woodall]

Your green gifts sound great, but they require enough purchasing green to place all buyers as at least "lower upper class". $90 for a necklace made of recycled glass? I'm afraid I'll stick to my own crafting and thrift store finds. "Green" has to be economical to work

[Margie Campaigne]

I agree that Green needs to be affordable. Check out the suggestions on my Green Gifts page on www.Project-HOUSE.us. Some similar ideas, some different.

[Kaylene]

Could we have a 3 Kings Day encore? At 6.75 hr and only 14 hours a week, we plan to celebrate the poor folks holiday after a little celebration on the big day. Any green ideas for real work in an ethical situation for me? Take care, :)

[Jerry G]

$90 cheap glass necklace, and $20 lipstick, you guys are smoking something green!

[Maria]

I would really like to see some tips for creating gifts out of the materials we might have on hand in our homes, rather than spending more money on newly developed "green" gifts. It seems that the development of new products always presents a cost to the environment and escalates our consumption, even if the products are made from recycled materials. How about eliminating the middle man? And how about an emphasis on gifts other than "more stuff"?

[myearth]

Let's get more green by buying more stuff. NOT!

[Mary]

I've done lampwork in the past and it never occured to me to use recycled glass. I suppose there could be some issues with the coefficient of expansion with different kinds of glass. Must do more research on the glass and the gas used to melt it.

[ReusableBags.com]

Our site is mentioned in above guide. We focus on offering reusables - smart, practical items that make great gifts and help people reduce wasteful consumption (especially plastic bag and bottle waste). We don’t buy into the idea of giving eco-totchkes as a good “green” thing to do.

Our products are cost-effective (many under $20), innovative, eco-friendly and functional. No-brainers include reusable shopping bags and bottles. Check out our Gift Ideas for more and see some of our top picks: http://www.reusablebags.com/store/gift-ideas-c-17.html

Also to help out we are giving away a free, high quality reusable shopping bag on your purchase - see the promotion here: http://www.reusablebags.com/help.php?id=7 You can use the reusable shopping bag right away and start making a real impact.

-- your friends at Reusablebags.com

[Mary Beth]

I'm trying to put together gift bags for ten non-green people that I work with. I'd like to include a reusable shopping bag, one CF bulb, a microfiber cloth to replace paper towels and a small sample of enviro-safe cleaner. These are basics that I think would make a good start, and I'd like to keep the cost under $20 each. Why is it so hard to find the basics?

[Cajel]

To me, a green holiday season means no BUYING. No mindless consumerism. How about giving memberships to environmental organizations?

[Lynda K.]

What a great guide and I wanted to share some of the eco-friendly items we have on http://www.Delight.com including many under $25. We are known for earth friendly products that are also smart and stylish.

[Bill]

regarding the alternative gift registry, check out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZbUw54Rw_w

[carol]

There are plenty of people out there who can afford these prices. The problem is getting them interested and to the web site. Putting it with Green Tips is getting it to the wrong audience. Most of us aren't upper middle...

I'd like to see more gifts that support my geographic area and in a wider price range. I agree with the make your own philosophy.

[Green Life Host]

We love nonmaterial and handmade gifts too! Here are some of my favorite sites for DIY ideas:

http://www.readymademag.com/
http://www.craftster.org/forum/
http://www.thriftdeluxe.com/
http://www.craftzine.com/
http://www.azcentral.com/home/crafty/
http://www.diynetwork.com/

What are yours?

[sondra delegato]

I just checked out the reusable bags site. It's awesome!!! I love it. Recycled bags that aren't too expensive--nice!

[reason17]

When you mentioned gifts that would change Hummer drivers into tree huggers, I imagined something transformational, educational, inspirational. What you are offering is just more mindless consumerism. Isn't that what got us where we are now?

[Michael]

I like the "no gifts" suggestion best, at least for adults - but it can be problematic. When I was 21 (way back in 1971) I told my parents that I didn't want any gifts for the holidays but instead wanted them to use the money to give to charity or "adopt a family" for the holidays. From their reaction, you would have thought I had said "I hate you". After a lot of very emotional discussion, we settled on a compromise: they did make a donation to charity but they also gave me stuff and money. Unknown to them, that was the year that I started giving all the money they gave to me away to charities. And that includes, by the way, my inheritance - it's been used to endow a fellowship at my alma mater.

[ecocheapo]

What a bunch of crap. I sent my brother a new rear wheel for his commuter bike. Sent him a good front bike lamp too. Maybe that will get him out of his 50mpg econobox for the commute. Use the glass for beer bottles.

[Bridget]

My hubby & I have just moved to an ecovillage and for our first married Christmas, we're putting love letters in each other's stockings. That's it. We'll make a snowman and eat maple syrup "candy" that we've drizzled into a pie tin full of fresh new snow. Merry Christmas, Happy Yule, & Peace on Earth to all!

[Greensender.com]

We are mentioned above in the "for treehugger to be" listing. This discussion about prices and consumption is something we have considered for both business and "green" reasons. The items in our "Get Started" Kit are few and high quality. We felt it important to not put lots of little, disposable-quality items in the box to create the illusion of value. Rather, we wanted to put a few very high quality, well-designed items (which admittedly impacts price) in people's hands in order to increase the chances of use and the resulting adoption of simple green behaviors. And while these behaviors are small and just a start, getting everyone "started" is critical. Because, once you get started, things grow from there.

[Jim Groves]

Check out http://hyattsville.wetpaint.com/page/Green+Gifts for a great list of green eco gifts and links to other lists. The best thing is that it is a wiki which means you can add to it yourself to make the list even more complete.

[Tom Kay]

IT'S EASY BEING GREEN THIS HOLIDAY SEASON AT THE ECOMALL

With the distressing state of the environment on people's minds this year, they are thinking more than ever about the environmental impact of their gift choices.

The news is filled with stories that link our consumer habits and the products we buy with our health and the health of the planet. These stories contain lessons about becoming educated consumers: the recall of toxic toys from China reminds us to learn more about what is in the products we buy and where they come from - and to support natural products.

2007 may be the year when awareness of all things "green" really hits the mainstream. In the December 3rd issue of Time Magazine, Whoopi Goldberg said "The word green" should be person of the year. Everywhere people and the media are talking about "green" and increasingly demanding products that are "organic", "non-toxic", "energy efficient" and "recycled".

That's why this holiday season provides a perfect opportunity to spread an important and positive message by giving (and requesting) earth-friendly gifts to and from their loved ones. Eco-friendly gifts make great conversation pieces and demonstrate a commitment to take personal responsibility for making positive change in the world.

Thousands of eco-friendly gift ideas are easy to find at EcoMall.com, a 14-year-old earth-friendly shopping center and marketplace that has been leading the green consumer charge before it became the trend that it is today. The Chicago Tribune calls EcoMall.com "An eco-shopper's paradise." The EcoMall lists over 60 shopping categories and hundreds of high quality and socially responsible manufacturers and distributors of just about every type of green product imaginable. EcoMall makes "green" gift giving easier, and offers ideas suitable for all the friends and family on your list.

Just a few of the ideas include soft and stylish organic cotton clothing, bedding and toys, natural body care and aromatherapy products, organic coffee or chocolates, stainless steel water bottles, fair trade jewelry and crafts, home accents made from bamboo and sustainably harvested wood, a variety of hemp products, gifts baskets filled with delicious organic goodies, and even an "Eco Starter kit" which introduces people to a sampling of green and energy-saving products, such as compact fluorescent light bulbs.

To quote Tom Kay, co-founder of EcoMall.com and a former solar consultant to Exxon,"I am an ardent environmentalist - environmentalism is in my DNA. The purpose of EcoMall.com is to use the power of the Internet to help spread green consumerism and a healthier, more environmentally conscious lifestyle."

Marianne Schnall, co-founder of EcoMall.com says, "Going green is such a rewarding journey - there are so many wonderful products to benefit from and explore. And purchasing earth-friendly presents has so many more rewards: not only does it give those you love a perfect gift, but it gives you a gift too - the gift of feeling that you are part of the solution, and a gift to the Earth as well. The holiday season is supposed to be a time when we express our appreciation and thanks to those we love - shouldn't that circle include the earth that sustains us?"

Visit www.ecomall.com for many more ideas, articles, information and resources.

For the ultimate positive shopping experience, visit EcoMall.com to find the perfect green gift this holiday season!

Tell Kermit the Frog that it's really easy being green - Happy Green Shopping!

Other holiday tips can be found at:

http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/holidaytips.htm

*****

Since its launch in November 1994, the EcoMall has provided educational articles, a comprehensive selection of environmental companies, products and services, exclusive interviews with celebrities and more. The EcoMall offers a voice to America's sustainable business industry, featuring over 300 retailers and wholesalers in over 60 shopping categories, links to government education, non-profit groups, environmental news, activism alerts, as well as the EcoMall’s popular “Green Living Magazine”. 2008 will mark the EcoMall’s 14th year on the Internet.

http://www.ecomall.com/

[Ian Bakewell the Work From Home Tipster]

Some awesome gift ideas! Im so horrid at finding cool things to gift, thanks for this post!

Ian Bakewell
http://www.workfromhometipster.com

[monica g]

also take a look at lula organics. they have super cool, planet friendly gift baskets filled with yummy organic, paraben free lotions, soaps, bath salts, etc. my friend sent me one last year for my b-day and now i send them whenever i have the chance. :)

[Rachael]

Thanks for the information...I bookmarked your site, and I appreciate your time and effort to make your blog a success!