Eco-friendly Gift Ideas

Eco-friendly Gift Ideas

If you’re looking for gift ideas that don’t take too much from our planet, I’ve rounded up some of my favourite eco-friendly finds in one place for you.

There’s such a growing understanding of the need to shop sustainably, it’s really heartening to see. Here are just a few gift ideas that jumped out at me, from small businesses that – to the best of my knowledge – have really thought about all aspects of the environmental impact of their products, including their packaging and end-of-life.

I’ll be adding more eco-friendly gift ideas to this post as I find them, so do check back and hopefully you’ll find some inspiration for your nearest and dearest. If you’re looking for a small gift, stocking filler or Secret Santa gift, you can also check out my Eco-friendly Small Gifts under £10 blog.


Eco-friendly Gift Ideas for Crafters

This deeply gorgeous hand-dyed recycled sari silk ribbon by Perran Yarns would delight any crafter – for weaving, knitting, crochet, embroidery, collage, card making, jewellery making… Available in a range of colours.

Eco-friendly kit to make a dishcloth using the waffle crochet stitch

A quick mention for my eco-friendly crochet kits, which are suitable for both beginners and more experienced crocheters.


And you might like to check out my Gifts for Crocheters board on Pinterest for more ideas.


Eco-friendly Gifts for the Home

Vintage wool basket in shades of green

This endlessly-useful storage basket by IsWasCottage is made from salvaged vintage wool. Diana makes a range of homewares and clothings, all up-cycled with incredible skill from pre-loved textiles.

Eco-friendly Gift Set of Soap

Luxurious soap is always a lovely gift and at Soap and Pamper you will find beautifully-presented sets for every taste, all made with natural ingredients and palm-oil free of course.

Two beeswax candles in the shape of pine cones. The wax is golden yellow in colour and the candles are standing on a wooden table surrounded by dark green ivy.

You know I love a pine cone, an aren’t these cute? You’ll find this gift set and and more candles, handmade in natural, eco-friendly beeswax at the Bee And Beyond Shop on Etsy. They really have something for every taste.


Eco-friendly Accessories

We’re all getting used to taking re-usable bags with us everywhere – you can never have too many! However, a mass-produced cotton bag printed with dubious chemical dyes might be re-usable but is not my idea of a ethical choice. Current mainstream cotton production methods are environmentally unsustainable, meaning cotton is not automatically an appropriate replacement for recyclable plastic. But there are many other options out there!

Up-cycled and Re-cycled Fabric Shoulder Bag

Samm of SammDesigns creates beautiful bags of a variety of shapes and sizes from up-cycled fabric off-cuts and recycled finds. And since each one is utterly unique, you don’t have to worry that the recipient will have one like it!

Green Organic Cotton Mesh Bag

This practical mesh bag by BattleGreenBus is made in organic cotton, and is packaged using biodegradable, plastic-free packing materials.

Browse their other zero-waste and eco-friendly products in their Etsy shop.


Eco-friendly Gift Ideas for Gardeners

Kit for gardener to grow peas

This complete kit by Sow Clever contains seeds, compost discs, fibre growing tray and information leaflet to make it as easy as pie even for beginners to grow a successful crop. Packaging is eco-friendly and they make a donation from every box sold to the mental health charity Mind.

These garden twine holder and plant markers by Claudia de Yong are made from sustainably coppiced, bark-on hazel.


Eco Gifts for Bird Lovers

Know someone who loves watching for feathery visitors?

Sunflower Heart Garden Bird Food

You can find a range of environmentally-friendly food for garden visitors at HedgeBuddies. They’ve gone to a great deal of trouble to source the most eco-friendly packaging for their products.

Eclectic Minx makes these amazing bird sculptures by hand using fabrics which are reclaimed, vintage or destined for landfill.


Eco Gifts for a Declutterer

If you know someone who is decluttering and trying to simplify their life by removing all the unnecessary stuff we all gather, think of giving them a virtual gift that helps the planet without the physical footprint.

Woodland Trust Eco-friendly Gift Ideas

In addition to their range of other eco-friendly gifts, the Woodland Trust offers virtual gifts that that support their conservation work, making wonderful feel-good presents without the clutter.


Eco-friendly Gift-Wrapping Ideas

Your final step to giving eco-friendly gifts has to be choosing eco-friendly gift-wrapping.

I’m a great believer in less-is-more in gift-wrapping. You know Rowan Atkinson’s character in Love Actually? Yeah, don’t be that guy.

via GIPHY

DIY wrapping paper using colourful magazine pages or newspaper, with last year’s cards cut up for tags gets a thumbs up from me, certainly within the family, but if you’re looking for something more glamorous…

And this infinitely reusable, plastic-free, 100% organic cotton gift wrap has cords attached to the fabric, making it super easy to wrap your gifts elegantly without tape, scissors or waste. Find a range of eco gift-wrapping options at Happy Wrap.


Eco-friendly Greetings Cards

Personalised gifts and cards are just the best, aren’t they? I love these bespoke greetings cards by HandmadeDorset. Printed on recycled card with a recycled envelope, of course.

Multi-packs make for great value for money, and these recycled cards by Sarah Robinson are just beautiful.


Did you know I also have a Pinterest board dedicated to eco-friendly greetings cards, where you’ll find the above and more?

A final note – all small businesses love it if you can order early for major calendar events like Christmas and Mothers’ Day, so its never too soon to place an order for those eco-friendly gifts!

3 comments

  1. Isn’t it great to have so many small businesses making the change to being environmentally friendly. If the big companies stay where they are currently then one day we’ll take over the marketpalce 🙂

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