Gift giving has become terribly commercialised with people giving presents without any thought of whether it will be cherished or even enjoyed by the recipient. But doesn’t it make more sense to give gifts that you know your friends and family will love and not contribute to the steadily increasing mountain of waste we already produce during the holiday season?
This year, why not try and go zero or as low waste as you can with your gift giving. Zero waste gifts are essentially those that are handmade, homemade, preloved, or items that help to reduce unnecessary disposable or plastic waste but are still things that the recipient will love.
If you have a friend who loves sports, adventure, movies or learning something new, then either of these suggestions would be well received: Concert or movie tickets, gym membership, dancing lessons, scuba lessons, a restaurant gift certificate a massage voucher or anything that gives the receiver an experience they would enjoy.
Organic wool dryer balls
If you love cooking or baking, whipping up a batch of homemade goodies would make a thoughtful and delicious gift for your foodie friends: Homemade candy, homemade cookies, homemade salsa, fruit and nut basket, homemade flavoured salts, homemade spice blends, DIY cookies in a jar, homemade jams or jellies, jar of trail mix or nuts or a loaf of fragrant homemade bread.
For everyone else, any of these suggestions would make a thoughtful, not to mention useful gift: Homemade lotion, homemade lip balm, sugar scrub, Vintage Jewelry, candles, a subscription to Netflix, local art or a one time or one month of cleaning services.
