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If you’re anything like me, crunch-time shopping is an annual ritual: despite ample warnings starting in October, the holidays just seem to sneak up. I’ve got mine done, but you may still be looking for that perfect gift for the greenie on your list.
Fortunately, holiday guides of eco-friendly gifts have become a staple in the green blogosphere. As we got sustainablog 3.0 up and running close to the holidays, we won’t give you a guide of our own; we can, however, point you to some of the best picks from other guides already published. We can also show you which of these items you can find in the sustainablog store… so, as you’re going through the list below, keep in mind that bulleted links (except for the non-profit list) go to items that we have for sale.
The Sears Catalogs of Green Gifts
Got a range of people to buy for, or just looking for lots of choices? Several green gift guides go all out…
Treehugger’s 2009 Gift Guide is divided up by personality types, so if you’re shopping for a green geek, a diy’er, or a foodie, they’ve got you covered. Some of the items they list that you can buy through sustainablog include:
Yahoo! Green has the typical picks for fashion, toys, and games, but also gifts of experience and gifts that help the recipient save money and the planet. A few of the suggestions they make that we carry include:
Also check out the guides at Ecorazzi, Green Upgrader, Inhabitat, and Green America.
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Green gifts on the cheap
You don’t have to spend a lot on a thoughtful gift for your favorite treehugger. A few guides focus on lower-priced choices.
Simran Sethi’s 20 Eco-Friendly Gifts Under $25 gives you just that. Her choices include gifts for the home, handmade goods, and free mobile applications.
The Daily Green’s Cheap (and Free!) Green Gifts provides you with even more low-priced options, including herb planters, bamboo picture frames, and biodegradeable golf tees. A few of the items that overlap with ours include
Also check out MNN’s guide for cheap and last-minute gifts.
Give the gift of giving
Of course, you don’t have to give your favorite greenie a product. A number of environmental non-profits have unique donation gift options.
- NRDC’s BioGems lets you give the gift of a rainforest tree, an adopted wolf, or protection for a newborn whale.
- The Nature Conservancy has options of an adopted acre of land, an adopted coral reef, and adopted jaguar habitat.
- At the Sierra Club, you can give a sponsorship of a national park.
No doubt that we’ve just scratched the surface here… seen other good green gift guides? Let us know about them…
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I like your last option, give the gift of giving. We’ve been exchanging donations instead of a gifts for the last 5 years. It has improved our holiday experience immensely. The holidays have become restorative and relaxing like the should be. Not for everyone, but if you’d like to try it out, you can learn from and improve upon my experiences:
http://bit.ly/5vYHEQ