Sustainable Gift Guide
It’s time to rethink the consumerist culture around the US holiday season! There are plenty of ways to celebrate and show love for family and friends while minimizing your waste and overall environmental footprint.
Spending time with family and friends is the best gift of all, so of course choosing not to buy gifts is the most sustainable option! But for those who want some eco-friendlier gift ideas, here are some suggestions from our founders. Please note- you can normalize all of these options by also putting them on your personal wish list if people ask for ideas for you!
Not Gifting (or Reducing Gifting) is an option!
Instead of going for quantity or just gifting because of a perceived expectation, consider having a conversation with your family member or friend about mutually reducing gifting or foregoing it.
There is often great pressure to BUY BUY BUY during the holiday season, but if you talk frankly to the person you are giving a gift to, you may be able to negotiate not giving a gift or reducing down from the expectation of a bigger, more expensive gift, to something small. This is especially effective if one or both of you are experiencing financial hardship, as many people are feeling the same at this time of high inflation. There is no shame in doing this!
Some people really do not want new clutter in their house! They may be keeping quiet about this because they don’t want to put a damper on the holiday spirit, but if you propose not buying each other anything, they might be pretty receptive. You could find someone you normally buy gifts for automatically and mutually agree not to do physical gifts.
Focus on quality time, traditions, and connection! Spending quality time together and partaking in holiday activities can still check off all of your “holiday spirit boxes” regardless of whether there is a big pile of gifts to open.
Experience-Based Gifts
Instead of a physical object, consider giving an experience where you can create memories together, or a service they need or would really appreciate! Here are some ideas we love:
Concert, Movie, Stand-Up Comedy, or Theatre tickets
Massages or spa passes
Bike rental subscription from Divvy
Adventure gift certificates for things like kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, or rock climbing. Wateriders is a good option for kayaking, Chicago SUP for paddleboarding, and Brooklyn Boulders for rock climbing.
Chicago Tool Library membership - rents out everything from tools for home repair to supplies for cooking, gardening, event hosting, camping, crafting, and more! more info
Annual passes to one of Chicago’s many wonderful museums, art galleries, botanic gardens, conservatories, the planetarium, the aquarium, and more
Restaurant or coffee shop gift card - check out our list of sustainable options
Composting subscriptions, for someone who wants to live more sustainably - more info
Gift cards from a sustainable gardening or landscaping company, for someone who wants to rethink their yard. Red Stem, Resilient Design, and North Branch Natives offer this option!
Local in-person classes, for things like cooking, ceramics, sewing/mending, etc
House cleaning packages
Professional portrait session from a local photographer
Manicures/pedicures
Escape room adventures
Online classes in an area that interests them. There are also online teaching apps, like Duolingo for language
Tickets to a big game for one of Chicago’s many local teams
National Park passes (like America the Beautiful)
Homemade activity or service vouchers- you could just give the person a “coupon” for some sort of future activity, like going hiking, doing the person’s nails, painting their fence, making them dinner or prepping meals when they’re really busy, walking their dog, babysitting their kids or pets, repairing something in their home, cleaning their car, help them with planting their garden in the spring, or something else they need!
Consumable Gifts
Buy something locally or regionally produced that you know the person likes! Consumable gifts can be used up and won’t create clutter. Check out our list of grocery stores that source primarily local foods.
Locally sourced foods that will keep through winter, such as apple cider from a nearby orchard, homestyle dill pickles, dried fruits grown regionally (like cherries and peaches), strawberry jam from an IL farm, maple syrup from WI, and more! Co-Founder Katherine asks for Door County dried cherries for Xmas every year. :)
Seeds or saplings for herbs, vegetables, or native plants that can be enjoyed all summer! Click here for more info on sustainable local plant vendors.
Locally crafted beer or spirits, from one of Chicago’s many great breweries and distilleries. Two ideas are Koval Distillery in Ravenswood and Apologue Liqueurs/Hoste Cocktails in Pilsen.
If you have your own garden, make something from it! Jams, pickled items, etc
If you’re good at baking, consider baking them something they’ll like! What’s better than a homemade loaf of bread, coffee cake, challah, holiday cookies, etc? It’s a great way to show you care.
Locally made artisan soaps and bath products, like those from Soap Distillery.
Honey made from a local beekeeper, like The Roof Crop.
Charcuterie basket with locally produced cheese, crackers, or spreads.
Organic, fair trade coffee or tea, roasted in Chicago!
All natural (or homemade) pet treats.
Helping to cover a bill or sudden expense - reducing stress for the recipient is also a huge gift in itself!
Secondhand Gifts
Our culture often frowns on secondhand gifting, but buying used is the most eco-friendly option for giving a physical gift. Here are some gift items that are great to buy secondhand, and will allow you to get way more for your money!
Books, Magazines, and Vinyl Records
Wooden furniture
Vintage glassware, dishes, jewelry, maps, globes, picture frames, etc
Designer handbags and leather goods
Decor Items, including for the holidays!
Bikes and scooters
If the person likes potted plants or wants to become a plant parent, you could take a cutting from your own plant (or someone else’s) and give it to them in a beautiful reused pot!
Games and Sports equipment
For more ideas, check out the Zoo Lights Holiday Market at the Lincoln Park Zoo on December 2nd
Gifts from a Sustainable Shop or B Corp
Gifts like these are a great way to get a friend or family member interested in eco-friendly companies and products.
Sustainable goods from one of Chicagoland’s great zero waste shops, like The Eco Flamingo, The Refilleri, and The Unwaste Shop.
Clothing from local shops like Remade in Chicago
Handmade art and crafts from local shops, artists and makers.
Clothing from National B Corps and sustainable brands like Tentree, Patagonia, Athleta, Pact, and others
Jewelry made from recycled metals or repurposed spoons
Donating to an Environmental Cause in their Name
This one is great for people who don’t like clutter, or appreciate supporting causes. Here are a few local options:
Our group, Chicago Environmentalists! Help us make the environment a cultural and political priority in Chicago through our online sustainability community, expansive website, environmental advocacy, research projects, online and in-person events, and more. We are also selling our branded tees, with all proceeds benefiting our nonprofit. Click here to learn more and order.
Our litter cleanup group, Cleanup Club Chicago! We have collected over 47,000 lbs of litter from Chicago in the last 5 years. We combat litter by organizing group cleanups, running individual cleanup challenges, collaborating with the city to tackle litter removal and reduction, and fostering a culture that discourages waste.
Support efforts to protect and rehabilitate our two most important bodies of water: the Chicago River and Lake Michigan! Friends of the Chicago River , Urban Rivers, and Alliance for the Great Lakes are great options.
Help our city reduce waste and create a circular economy by donating to Ecoship or Reduce Waste Chicago.
Help save birds in our city through Chicago Bird Collision Monitors
Make biking, walking and transit easier and more inviting by supporting the Active Transportation Alliance
Support environmental justice organizations that are fighting to reduce pollution in our city’s sacrifice zones. People for Community Recovery, N4EJ, Pilsen PERRO, and Faith in Place are some great options.
Plant a tree in someone’s name in one of our nation’s forests through the Arbor Day Foundation. It’s a great way to honor a friend or family member’s memory!
Gift Wrap and Cards
Don’t forget the wrapping! Sometimes this can be the most wasteful part of giving a gift. A lot of wrapping paper and gift bags are full of plastic, glitter or metallic coating, and are not easily recyclable. There are so many cute ways to wrap presents without the waste, so here are a few tips for the holiday season:
Use what you already have first. Reuse old gift bags, packing paper, ribbons, bows— anything is fair game.
Think outside the box! Fabric wraps and drawstring bags are great ways to cover a gift, and they can be reused for decades.
Upcycle newspaper: Wrapping with newspaper is a great way to get a unique look. You can even make your own bows out of newspaper or magazines - watch the video.
Brown paper wrapping with natural accents: You can use the brown paper from any packaging you receive to wrap your gifts! Consider using twine to tie on natural items like eucalyptus, pinecones, or sprigs from fir trees. Dried orange slices are also one of Miranda’s favorite looks, and an easy DIY.
Search for gift wrapping secondhand: At thrift stores, Buy Nothing or Free Box pages, anywhere you find secondhand goods can have gift wrapping options. You can also attend a gift wrap swap, like the one we’re hosting at The Eco Flamingo Market Cafe on 12/3.
Cut out the tape, wrap a gift by folding the edges - learn how.
Make labels/gift tags out of old holiday cards- take the front panel of the card (aka the one that’s blank on one side), and cut it into segments that can be used as tags.
Holiday Cards: Please consider eliminating them completely, or doing E-Greeting Cards! But if not, choose ones from from sustainable vendors, made on recycled paper.
Disposing of Gifting Waste
Shipping and Packaging Waste: Ecoship is currently accepting plastic bubble mailers, poly shipping bags, clear poly bags, thermal insulated bags, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, packing paper, honeycomb packing paper, cardboard boxes, and MORE for reuse. Please visit their website for more information on what is accepted and how to prep it for drop-off. Please note that mailers from UPS, USPS, and Fedex are not accepted at this time!
Used Wrapping Paper: If you can save your used wrapping paper for reuse next year, this is a great way to reduce waste. If you can’t, according to Chicago’s official Recycle By City page, wrapping paper with foil and glitter is NOT recyclable and should go into your garbage bin. We believe this is also true for any shiny paper, as “shiny” generally means that it has a plastic coating. The only type of formal wrapping paper we have found to be recyclable is the uncoated (aka NOT shiny) paper sold at various zero waste stores in Chicago. Please remove all tape before recycling it though!
Used Tissue Paper and Cards: According to Chicago’s official Recycle By City page, both of these items need to go in the trash. The only exception would be if your cards are uncoated (aka matte) paper without any foil or glitter, as all of these things involve plastic and would need to go in the trash. For those who are crafty though- keeping the front page of your greeting cards for use in a collage or to make new greeting cards in the future is a fun idea.
Unused Wrapping Paper, Bows, Labels, Ribbons, etc: If there are items you don’t want DURING the holiday season, consider bringing them to a gift wrap swap (like the one we’re hosting), Ecoship, or a thrift store, or posting on a Buy Nothing page If there are items you don’t want AFTER the holiday season is over, PLEASE do not bring them to a donation center or thrift shop, as they are very likely to end up in a landfill due to lack of demand at that time. It’s better to store them until the beginning of next year’s season when there is demand. If you really want to get rid of them in the meantime, please post in a Buy Nothing or Free Box group to see if anyone in your area would like them.
Banner Image Credit: Annie Spratt