34 Gifts for the Conscious Shopper to Give (and Receive)
You’ve purchased a reusable coffee cup, you haven’t touched a plastic bag in years, and you can’t remember the last time you shopped at a fast-fashion chain. Maybe you even compost! If you’ve been making a serious effort to live more sustainably, the holidays are here just in time to throw a wrench in your plans. The sheer variety of people on your gifting list—in-laws, hard-to-please mothers, picky friends—can make purposeful shopping a difficult task, and that’s before you factor in an item’s environmental or social impact. But after the whirlwind of 2020, it’s more important than ever to gift with intention, ideally with sustainable, thoughtfully-made pieces your loved ones will cherish for years to come.
Fortunately, it’s only getting easier to find those items online. Below, we’ve narrowed down the very best sustainable gifts for everyone on your list, from upcycled and organic fashion finds—like Paradis Perdus’s recycled cashmere sweater and Collina Strada’s patchwork silk dress—to highly innovative ones, like Tom Ford’s ocean plastic watch or House of Fluff’s plant-based “fur” coat. For the climate-conscious home chef, a non-toxic pan or countertop herb garden would surely be put to good use (and will secure you an invite to future dinners). And when it comes to those hard-to-buy-for friends, consider a gift that’s clever, yet functional, like Kate McLeod’s package-free moisturizer, Baggu’s mood-lifting face masks, or a three-pack of The Big Favorite’s circular underwear (when you’ve worn them out, you can send them back to be recycled). Shop 34 gifts to feel good about giving—or add them to your own wish list—below.
