Holidays are the most wonderful time of the year, but also a time of giving to the ones we love most. Shopping for others can be stressful however to help we have created an affordable eco-friendly guide. All these products are good for your wallet and sustainable to the planet.
First up? Gifts for everyone that not only reduce waste but are totally affordable. These all make great stocking stuffers or pair well together to create one of the best starter zero waste kits we’ve ever seen.
What they are: A set of three beeswax wraps to use for storing food.
What single-use item they replace: They’re a great alternative to plastic wrap, aluminum foil, and plastic baggies.
Why we love them: Not only do they come in fun colors and different sizes, but they’re handmade in Toronto with organic beeswax, and they smell lovely due to the use of cinnamon & clove essential oils.
How much: A set of three is $18 on shopetee.com.
What it is: A set of reusable bamboo utensils that includes a spoon, fork, knife, chopsticks, and a carrying case with carabiner clip.
What single-use item they replace: Say goodbye to plastic cutlery you often get when you order food to go!
Why we love them: They’ve really thought of everything! Chopsticks, case, and clip!? There are so many colors to choose from and they also have kid-size sets available.
How much: $12.95 on to-goware.com.
What they are: Bags to keep in your car for when you find yourself buying yummy fruits & vegetables at the grocery store.
What single-use item they replace: All those clear and green plastic bags found at just about every turn in the produce department.
Why we love them: Sara’s bags are handmade, beautiful, and the fun fabric designs makes us want to show them off at the store to make other shoppers jealous!
How much: They range from $2.50 – $7.25 depending on size. You could get one of each size for a total of $18.75 on Etsy.com.
What they are: Nutrient tablets with yummy flavors to put in your water. Choose from electrolytes, vitamins, or immunity. We’ll take one of each!
What single-use item they replace: Single-use pouches of performance drink mixes. One bottle holds 12 tablets.
Why we love them: Nuun tablets are perfect for everyone – not just for athletes! They come in so many flavors and there are so many uses to reuse the tubes after they’re empty.
How much: One tube is $7.00 on nuunlife.com.
What it is: A full size water bottle that collapses down to just over an inch for easy stashing.
What single-use item they replace: Disposable plastic water bottles. Those things are the worst!
Why we love them: We may be just a liiiiitle bit biased, but what’s not to love!? Okay…our bottles come in lots of fantastic colors, you can choose between two lid types, and they save you space & money.
How much: One bottle is $25 on myhydaway.com.
What it is: A travel-size sampler set of Stream2Sea body care products (sunscreen, shampoo & body wash, conditioner, and lip balm) that are all safe for our oceans & coral reefs.
What item do they replace: Ever wonder where your sunscreen goes when it slowly rinses off in the water? What about when you rinse your hair products down the shower drain? So many ingredients in regular body care products aren’t safe for our oceans. Stream2Sea products are the perfect alternative!
Why we love them: We love Stream2Sea because we love our oceans and the animals in them!
How much: $25.75 on stream2sea.com.
What it is: A compactable, reusable shopping bag that comes in all the best colors and patterns.
What single-use item they replace: Bags that you get at any store when you buy something!
Why we love them: Did we mention the fun colors and patterns? Flip & Tumble bags fit in the palm of your hand when compacted, making them easy to stash in your bag or glove compartment. Never forget your reusable grocery bags again!
How much: Solid color 24/7 bags are $12 and patterns are $14 on flipandtumble.com.
What it is: A set of five reusable zipper bags in various sizes that are freezer-safe, dishwasher-safe, and easy to use for just about any item you can think of.
What single-use item they replace: Plastic baggies! One (re)zip replaces up to 300 disposable plastic baggies.
Why we love them: If you’ve been following us for a while, you know that we love (re)zip. The quality is high, they’re super easy to wash, and they come in all sorts of sizes for whatever you’re needing to store.
How much: $19.99 on rezip.com.
What they are: A set of 8 reusable bamboo straws with a cleaning brush and cotton carrying bag.
What single-use item they replace: The Enemy – disposable straws!!
Why we love them: Disposable straws can feel unavoidable, but they don’t have to be! Slip Buluh’s bag of straws into your bag and be ready to say NO to all the straws! They’re nice and wide, and coming in a set means you can loan one to your lunch date when they don’t have one. They’ll definitely be jealous.
How much: $15.99 on amazon.com.
What they are: Reusable cotton terrycloth facial pads to remove makeup, apply toner, rub in facial cleanser, etc.
What single-use item they replace: Disposable cotton pads.
Why we love them: This just goes to show that there is a reusable alternative for just about everything! Shop owner Ann makes cotton rounds out of leftover fabric from other projects, so the item itself is zero waste and they come in so many fun patterns.
How much: A set of 10 is $7.82 on Etsy.com.
We hope this gift guide helped you cross off a few more things on your holiday shopping list. Or maybe you discovered a couple of things you need to gift to yourself (we’re not judging!). What other eco-friendly gifts will you be giving this year? Let us know and we may just add it to this list!
For more ways to be sustainable check our eco-friendly section and for more on holiday gifting click here.
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