Green Gifts for the Holidays

Our annual roundup of earth-friendly ideas

Posted: 20-Nov-2007; Updated: 25-Sep-2008

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Today, as more companies make environmentally responsible products, tracking down the perfect green gift is downright fun.

We at Environmental Defense put our heads together and came up with ideas to spark your imagination. Our list is by no means exhaustive — nor do we endorse any of the products.

For like-minded environmentalists, the "green" gifts that come to mind are intangible presents that deliver green good long after the holidays (and won't end up as clutter in a closet). Some ways to give back to the earth:

• Donate time or money to a charity in honor of the gift recipient (a gift to Environmental Defense is a good choice).
• Buy carbon offsets in the recipient's name. Along with cutting your own carbon emissions — and fuel bills — help your friends and family offset theirs.
• Give a national parks pass or a membership to botanical gardens or aquariums. (For an extra-special gift, surprise with a cross-country train tour or an eco-vacation.)

But where to start for more traditional folks? Some green stocking stuffers for adults are:

• Energy-saving light bulbs. The technology in these earth-friendly bulbs has leapt ahead, and they now come in a range of shapes and sizes. (See our bulb guide for specifics.)
• The DVD "An Inconvenient Truth"; $19.99 at amazon.com and at bookstores and video stores everywhere. 

No child's stocking or Hanukkah gelt would be complete without chocolate — and organic is better for the environment. Mass-produced cacao beans are typically grown with heavy use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers on clear-cut forest land. Organic beans are cultivated without use of chemicals, and shade-grown beans help preserve the forest canopy that shelters migratory birds and butterflies.

Some sources for organic chocolate holiday treats:

• Thompson Candy's organic collection includes panda bears.
• Chinaberry sells an assortment of holiday-themed organic chocolate.

While it's hard to argue with the festive spirit of chocolate Santas and dreidels, bars can come in festive wrappers, too, like Art Bars or Endangered Species Chocolate (whose paper depicts rare critters like cheetahs).

Recycling tip: Save the wrappers to make collages or fancy wrapping paper with your child on a rainy day and use the results to wrap another gift later.

More chocolate producers that adhere to earth-friendly standards:

• Dagoba Chocolate - produced from organic, shade-grown beans in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Green & Black's – gourmet chocolates made from organically grown cacao beans.
• Get a roundup of organic chocolatiers, and download or print the Green Guide’s Smart Shopper's chocolate card.

• Miyim organic cotton bears and lamb; $30-35 from 3r Living; visit Brooklyn store or order through web site.
• Child’s organic cotton longjohns by Hanna Andersson; $30-38; order by phone 800-222-0544 or on web site. 
• Child's tied-died socks (77 percent organic cotton) and Panda baby body suit and caps (100 percent organically grown cotton), $10 (socks) and $30 (suit), from Maggie's Organics.
• See a list of companies that sell organic cotton products.

What Is Organic Cotton?

When most of us think cotton, we think natural. But conventionally grown cotton consumes huge amounts of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, and often uses growing methods that deplete the soil and require more water. Organic growing methods reduce the toll on the earth.

Some fabrics blend organically and conventionally grown cotton. If a label does not say 100 percent organic cotton, it could be a blend. Some organic is better than none, but 100 percent is best.

Children's Books

Instill the three R's (recycle, reuse and reduce) early and have fun while doing it with Recycled Crafts Box by Laura C. Martin. Learn how to make Milk Carton Cottages, Socks the Puppy Dog Puppet, Boot-i-ful Shoes, among other artful creations for kids. Available in bookstores everywhere, $10.95 or less.

Dr. Seuss' rhyming classic The Lorax spins an unforgettable tale of a world once lush with truffula trees. A greedy manufacturer turns them into "thneeds, which everyone needs," and customers can’t get enough. The verdant world is blighted: "The wind smells slow-and-sour when it blows and no birds ever sing excepting old crows." But the story ends with hope and is a whimsical way to introduce complex environmental ideas to young children. Available in bookstores, $14.95 or less.

Adults enjoy Lynne Cherry's gorgeously illustrated books as much as children do. Our wildlife expert Margaret McMillan can't choose among Groundhog’s Garden ($10.85), "where Squirrel teaches Little Groundhog—and us—the many benefits of growing one's own vegetables"; The Sea, the Storm, and the Mangrove Tangle ($10.88), which shows us the intricate workings of an underappreciated ecosystem; or Making a Difference in the World ($14.95), Cherry’s autobiography recounting how her interest in the natural world led her to write children’s books. More information,on Lynne Cherry’s web site; books available in bookstores.

Board games for the child in all of us

Two board games with environmental themes take distinctly different tacks to winning. The global warming game, Keep Cool: Gambling with the Climate! was developed by two scientists at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research as an educational tool to convey the risks of global warming and the benefits of cooperation. Remember, this is only a game — it does not predict how strategies and risks might play out in real life. $39.95 plus shipping at New Mastodon Books and Fine Art in Los Angeles; to order call 323-525-1948 or order through web site.

Played according to same rules as the original Monopoly, National Parks Monopoly provides plenty of educational trivia about Yosemite, Yellowstone and 20 other U.S. park jewels. The tokens conjure outdoor activities: a tent, fishing reel, hiking boot, canoe, mountain bike and a camera. Yes, it is irreverent to even pretend to sell and trade protected lands or build housing developments on them. But we’d rather learn about national parks than more Star Wars trivia. $35.95 at amazon.com and through Query Quest.

Clothing and accessories

Billions of plastic and glass bottles and tons of paper end up in U.S. landfills every year — each American produces on average about 4.6 pounds of garbage per day. A sampling of items that reuse materials otherwise destined for the trash heap: 

• Ecoist handbags are fashioned out of misprinted candy wrappers, food labels and packaging ($22 - $188; order from web site). 
• Patagonia’s Capilene layers (pants, tees, pullovers and jackets for outdoor and aerobic activities), fleeces and shells are made out of recycled soda bottles and recycled clothing. Order through web site or in stores across the country. 
• Get a list of more resources for greener clothing and products made from recycled materials.

Recycled jewelry and glassware

Buying vintage and antique jewelry is the obvious way to recycle wearable metals and gems. Another is to reuse the individual components and fashion a new whole greater than the sum of its parts:  

• Green Karat jewelry company aims to curtail ecologically and socially destructive mining practices by creating a demand for recycled gold and other precious metals. It uses only synthetic diamonds and seeks out ecologically responsible metal refiners. 
• Vintage and antique jewelry is available at a variety of stores and estate sales across the country, and a Google search turns up a long list of online sources, including eBay.

Consider glassware made from recycled glass. Reusing recovered glass saves resources and lessens the load on landfills. Some sources:

• Green Glass, a South African company that specializes in tumblers, goblets and vases made from recovered glass; find stores or order online.
• VivaTerra glass wine carafe and tumblers; $79 for carafe and six tumblers; order by phone at 800-233-6011 or through web site.

For cooks, sustainable food cookbooks

What we eat, the way our food is grown or caught, and how far it is transported can have a profound effect on the environment. From buying locally grown, organic produce to choosing fish caught or farmed in an ecologically responsible way, there is a range of food choices that go easier on the earth. Three cookbooks are beacons of the sustainable food movement:

• One Fish, Two Fish, Crawfish, Bluefish: The Smithsonian Sustainable Seafood Cookbook by Carole C. Baldwin and Julie H. Mounts (illustrated by Charlotte Knox) provides recipes, information and illustrations for eco-friendly seafood. $24.85 at bookstores. For more information, visit the book's web site.
• Chez Panisse Café Cookbook ($23.04 hardcover) and the Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook ($14.56 paperback) by Alice Waters, the doyenne of cooking with locally grown, seasonal ingredients and a strong advocate of sustainable agriculture. Available at bookstores.
• Cooking with Nora by Nora Pouillon, a pioneer in organic cuisine and owner of two Washington restaurants; $28 at bookstores.
• Get a list of more sustainable cookbooks at the Sustainable Table web site.

Grab-bag for gardeners and outdoor enthusiasts

Yard trimmings and food scraps make up about a quarter of the waste U.S. households generate.  Composting can greatly reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills or incinerators. This controlled decomposing process of leaves, grass and food scraps produces an earthy nutrient-rich material that you can then use in your yard to make it healthier. Some sources of backyard composters:

• Gardeners' Supply Company
• Smith and Hawken
• Worm's Way
• Or your local lawn and garden store.

Other ideas for gardeners, hikers, bird watchers and bicyclists: gardening tools, binoculars, bird-lovers handbooks, bicycle accessories and portable solar battery packs, to name a few.

Bright Ideas: Holiday Lights

Deck the halls and boughs with the latest in energy-saving light: LED string lights. They use much less electricity and last longer than conventional ones. Find out more about energy-saving holiday lights.

Imaginative wrapping: Think outside the box

When you think recycled, let your imagination roam beyond plain newsprint!

• Wrap gifts with colorful newspaper "funnies," candy wrappers or mail-order catalogs. If you’ve got more time, create personalized collages and get your children involved.
• Re-use those old linens in your drawer with holes that you will never use again. A vintage cloth can make a beautiful wrapping, particularly if you are giving to a quilter or someone who crafts items from scraps of materials. (Or if you are very crafty yourself, make puppets or potholders from scraps or old linens.)
• Instead of bows and ribbons, attach a sprig of berries or some pretty leaves or shells. Your imagination and good green judgment are the only limits!

Setting an earth-friendly holiday table

Here are a few tips to get started:

• Consider using recycled glassware (see above).
• Cloth napkins impart elegance to a table and avoid wasting paper: washing them should take no more energy, soap and water than your normal weekly laundry load since you can throw them in with your clothes.
• Beeswax candles or candles made from hydrogenated soybean oil or palm oil do not contain stearic acid (derived from animal and vegetable fats) and other additives in most conventional dripless paraffin candles.
• Think of serving organic wine or champagne. There is a wide variety available at most liquor stores and online.
• Don't forget the energy-efficient bulbs for holiday lighting! For electrified Hanukkah menorahs, check out our bulb guide for candelabra-base, energy-saving bulbs.

More sources for green-gift ideas:

• Plenty magazine's online Green Gear section;
• Ideal Bite's Marketplace, which spotlights eco-friendly green products;
• Treehugger's gift section;
• "Oh, You Shouldn't Have: Ten great ideas for 'stuff-free' holiday gifts" by Katy Blatero, Grist Magazine; and
• Grist Magazine's November 2005 green-gift guide "Gift Rapt."