With the holidays around the corner gift mania has begun. For any retailer the busiest time is during the holiday season. All I can think of is the waste it will produce from gift wrapping to senseless gifts for the sake of gifting.

Personally over 90% of the gifts I receive, I don’t like. I pretend I do, to not offend the gifter, but most of the time I give it away or regift. Apparently, I am not the only one. I spoke to a friend, who had a birthday recently and she said the same thing. She also told me about her aunt, who would keep a stash of unwanted gifts under her bed, and she would let my friend pick stuff when she was invited to birthday parties as a young girl. I had a boss once who also regifted everything. Sometimes she would forget who gave her the gift and ended up regifting it to that same person or someone close to that person and everybody would find out. It was funny.

In general, I find people tend to give what they actually like without really considering the taste of the other person. It’s interesting, if I get a gift that’s so beyond my liking, I am really astonished how little the person, who gave it to me knows me. Furthermore, it’s disappointing because it’s such a waste of money and materials. That being said, if you know me personally please don’t give me any gifts unless you are 1000% sure I want it because you asked me and I told you what I want. I am also all about practical gifts. If everything fails, I think gift cards or certificates are a great idea. That way the person can choose what they want, it’s a win-win for everyone.

Don’t worry, I am not trying to spoil the holiday spirit for you with this post. 😉 What I will do though is hopefully to give you more conscious and sustainable gift ideas for this year. We need to realize that over 75% of all the trash we produce and throw out is going to end up in a landfill or in our oceans. It’s just not as visible in the US and European countries yet, as it is in other parts of the world.

As much as I wanted to create a sustainable gift basket, I didn’t make it in time, so I decided to put some sustainable gift ideas together and feature some great options that either benefit environmental causes or are made by eco-conscious brands offering environmentally sustainable products. This might be a good way to introduce someone close to you to sustainable living. I find over and over that people would live more sustainably and consume more consciously if they had more awareness and knew what to look for. You can start that conversation with a sustainable gift.

If You Want to Support Organizations

The EWG’s Holiday Box with sustainable swaps for reducing waste, eating cleaner and shopping smarter click here.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting human health and the environment. I love them and support them in every way I can. Their groundbreaking research has changed the debate over environmental health. EWG’s team of scientists, policy experts, lawyers, communication experts and programmers has worked tirelessly to make sure someone is standing up for public health when government and industry won’t.

Trees for the Future (TREES) trains communities on sustainable land use so that they can grow vibrant economies, thriving food systems, and a healthier planet. To support them click here.

World Wildlife Fund Symbolic Species Adoptions to support WWF’s global efforts to protect wild animals and their habitats and choose from kits with plush and more click here.

Gift Sets from Eco-conscious Companies

Public Goods for gift sets, gifts for her, for him, for the foodie and the decoratista click here.

Grove Collaborative green gifting store from straws to sleeping masks, home and your best self click here.

The Waste Less Shop Sustainable Holiday Gift Guide for household and self care gift sets click here.

Bombas makes socks and t-shirts, with every purchase they donate an item to someone affected by homelessness. For the Bombas Holiday Gift Guide click here.

Luxurious Fashion Gifts

Stella McCartney‘s commitment to sustainability is evident throughout all her collections and is part of the brand’s ethos to being a responsible, honest, and modern company. To view all collections click here.

For more sustainable fashion brands click here.

Gift Cards

Ettitude – Luxurious comfort, draped in purpose for bed, bath, women and men sleepwear, baby, sleep and travel accessories. To purchase a gift card click here.

Taylor + Thomas ethical luxury shoe brand based in LA. To purchase a gift card click here.

Happy Holiday Season!