Gift-giving is one of the joys of life. In fact, it’s so popular that it’s some people’s love language! There’s something special about giving a family member or friend a present and watching their reaction as they open it. Whether it’s surprise, joy, gratitude, or excitement, seeing your loved one’s face light up is what life is all about! But just any gift won’t do. Not only do you want your gift to wow the person you give it to, but it’s also important to choose sustainable gifts that positively impact the planet.
There are all kinds of green presents and organic gifts that you can feel good about giving. With our environment and climate in danger, thinking carefully about everything we purchase - including presents - is vital. Luckily, we’ve done the thinking for you and provided you with this gift guide. Here are our top picks!
Why Sustainable Gifts?
Gift-giving often gets overlooked when considering sustainable purchases. You might think that, because you don’t buy gifts often, it’s okay to splurge and buy something that isn’t so eco-friendly. While this line of thought might make sense when thinking about a single person, it’s important to zoom out and consider the entire picture. If we all use this logic, we’d be buying thousands of unethical gifts every day! That adds up.
For example, let’s say you’re buying a new pair of shoes for your brother. You know he needs new running shoes, so you go with the most popular brand, which happens to have no policies around sustainable production. Every part of that shoe - from raw material sourcing to production and shipping - has an environmental impact. It likely uses a combination of synthetic materials, which are essentially plastic and made from petroleum. The factory it was made in produces carbon emissions, and the people who made it may not be paid fairly or get access to good working conditions.
This might not seem so bad when you think of making just one pair of shoes. Now imagine everyone else who is buying that same pair of sneakers - the impact significantly increases. In fact, sneakers are one of the most carbon-intensive fashion items to produce, accounting for 1.4% of greenhouse gas emissions globally.
Instead, you could buy your brother a pair of sustainably made shoes. Perhaps they’re made with breathable regenerative wool. In regenerative farming, certain practices are used that actually draw carbon down into the soil. Rather than emitting carbon and contributing to global warming, the practice actually captures carbon, essentially reversing climate change. Since the shoes are coming from an ethical company, they’re made by people who are paid a fair wage and who have access to good workers' rights. If everyone was buying this pair of sneakers, we could positively impact the climate and people’s lives.
Ultimately, we drive demand by making purchases. When you choose to buy sustainable gifts, you’re voting for more eco-friendly products. As we practice this more and more, we create less demand for products that negatively impact the planet, and the companies that make them must change their practices to survive. By choosing a sustainable gift, you get to be in the driver’s seat.
It’s also worth noting that giving sustainable gifts also has an effect on the people you’re giving them to. First, it’s clear that you’ve thought deeply about the gift, which goes to show how much you care about the other person. You’re giving them something that signifies a healthy environment and happy employees.
Sustainable gifts may also open up discussion and present an opportunity to teach another person about making more eco-conscious choices. They might read the packaging on the item and learn something new, or you can tell them why you choose that particular item for them and all the exciting sustainable benefits that it includes. You never know who you might influence to make a more eco-friendly choice, just by giving sustainable gifts!
Sustainable Gifts for Everyone in Your Life
Eco Friendly Gifts for Outdoorsy People
We all know those people who are far more comfortable on the trail of a mountain than they are in an office. For these folks, sustainable gifts that help them do their outdoorsy thing are a must. Here are the best options.
Whatever your active friend is doing outside, they need to be prepared for all kinds of weather. They might go from sweating it out at the start of their favorite trail to facing rain or snow as they move upward. The Gale jacket is featherlight and packable, folding down small enough to fit in a back pocket. That makes it the perfect companion to bring along on any adventure.
The Gale jacket is made from 100% recycled ripstop nylon. While it feels cool to the touch, it’s also thermoregulating, with the help of hidden armpit Airvents, to help keep the wearer warm in cold temperatures and cool when it's hot. It also features deep side and interior pockets, elasticized cuffs and hem, reflective detailing, and sun protection up to UPF 50+. The jacket is even easy to care for - it’s machine washable and dryable.
Seadon Sunrise Trailblazer Tee
This tee was built for performance, including a unique plant seed oil finish that wicks moisture and speeds drying. In fact, it dries four times faster than cotton. The shirt is sure to keep your loved one cool and dry when they need it most, whether they’re on a run, hike, climb, or kayak trip.
It also includes UPF 20+ sun protection, so their skin is safe no matter where they go. Made from 50% recycled polyester and 50% Bluesign approved polyester, you can rest assured that this tee is sustainable. Plus, it saves 60% water, 35% energy, and 40% carbon dioxide (CO2) compared to producing a shirt from virgin polyester. It also diverts four to five plastic water bottles from landfills.
EcoGear Hawksbill 30L Hiking Backpack
This functional, sustainable backpack will wow your hiking friend. It’s made from REPREVE fabric - a performance fabric made from recycled water bottles. Apart from its eco-friendly make, the backpack is also a great companion for a day hike. It includes a built-in rain cover so that any adventure is possible, rain or shine. It’s also lightweight, with a 30L main compartment for storing all the necessities.
Plus, it’s super functional, with an adjustable backpack strap and hip belt system for a customized fit. Both components are made of high-density foam, offering superior comfort. It’s also got a hydration sleeve reservoir clip and airflow vent back system, keeping the wearer cool all day. Your outdoorsy friend won’t want to go on a hike without this pack!
Getting active outside inevitably means being in the sun. Harsh bright light can make hiking, snowboarding, kayaking, and any other activity a whole lot harder. Having a good pair of polarized sunglasses is key to protecting the eyes and improving the outdoor experience. Unfortunately, so many of the sunglass today - even the more expensive pairs - are made from brand-new plastic.
Not Sunski. These sunglasses are made from recycled plastic. Plus, the packaging is plastic free and the company is a part of 1% for the Planet, meaning they give 1% of profits to environmental charities. The glasses even come with a lifetime warranty, so any normal wear and tear issues are repaired for free.
Green Presents for the Fashion Forward Folks
You likely have a fashionista in your life who is challenging to shop for. They’re always on top of the latest trends and they know exactly how things should fit. Luckily, we’ve got the perfect fashion-forward gift ideas. Getting the gift of stylish, sustainable clothing is sure to put a smile on their face.
Athleisure is here to stay - gone are the days of wearing uncomfortable fancy pants! The Seadon Helios pant is the perfect mix of fashion-forward cut and athletic comfort. The cropped length, slim legs, and flat pockets give these pants the perfect modern fit that can be dressed up or down. Even better - they’re made from discarded fishing nets, saving tons of plastic-based nylon from the sea and giving it a new purpose.
Even the most fashionable friend will appreciate the performance features of these pants. They’ve got 4-way stretch for comfort, as well as moisture-wicking capabilities, drying four times faster than cotton. Plus, they’re lightweight, breathable, and anti-pilling, so they’ll last for many seasons to come. Heads up - they also come in men’s .
Traveler Merino Longsleeve Tee
Any stylish person worth their salt will tell you that the key to a successful wardrobe is a foundation of high-quality basics. These are the go-to pieces that you can pair with more trendy pieces. They’re the reliable tops and bottoms that make you look effortlessly chic. Seadon’s Traveler Merino LS Tee is just that, and comes in women’s , as well. It’s lightweight with an ultrasoft hand-feel that makes it incredibly pleasant to wear, no matter the temperature. It’s also naturally water and wrinkle-resistant, as well as antimicrobial, so the wearer stays cool, calm, and collected at all times.
Made from responsibly sourced ZQ Certified Merino Wool and Tencel, a 100% natural, sustainably sourced material, the entire shirt is biodegradable, making it a great option for green presents. Plus, it’s made in a WRAP-certified factory in Vietnam, and 1% of sales are donated to nonprofits. Not only will it make your loved one look good, but they’ll also feel good.
Beanies have been on-trend for years, and they will remain in style for many years to come. You’ve seen them on the runways at Paris Fashion Week, on the best-dressed list in New York, and likely on your own style inspirations. Everyone needs a beanie or two, whether to cover up a bad hair day or add that extra flair to an outfit.
Seadon’s Hugger Merino Wool Beanies are the perfect sustainable gifts because they’re made from Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) certified Merino Wool, Global Recycled Standard certified recycled nylon, and viscose made from sustainably sourced FSC-certified forests. The thermoregulating fabric keeps the wearer cool in the summer and warm in the winter with an ultra-soft hand-feel. Plus, the hat can be rolled up or down to adjust to each person’s unique head and style.
There’s something effortlessly cool about a graphic tee. They never go out of style - in fact, they only get cooler with age. So, you won’t be surprised to find that no closet is complete without at least a couple of go-to graphic tees. Gift your loved one the perfect graphic tee with one of Seadon’s fun graphics. Printed on the Daymaker tee, the shirt itself includes revolutionary microalgae performance technology, which offers ultra-fast moisture wicking. It also dries up to four times faster than cotton and keeps the wearer fresh with an anti-odor Polygiene finish. With a tagless neck print and back neck hanging loop, this shirt is ultra-comfortable to wear and easy to store.
Of course, since it’s from Seadon, it’s also made with sustainability in mind. It’s 80% recycled polyester and 20% Tencel, which is a sustainably sourced, natural fiber. Each shirt diverts three to four plastic water bottles from entering the ocean or landfill. Plus, it saves energy, water, and carbon emissions, compared to the production of a similar, traditionally made shirt.
Organic Gifts for the Health Conscious Friend
We all care about our health, but you likely have that one friend who goes nuts over all the latest wellness trends and health fads. Treat them to some organic gifts they’ll love with these suggestions!
Your health-minded friend or family member is likely always bringing their wellness essentials with them wherever they go. From a water bottle to a fun snack, they’ll need a good quality bag to throw their must-haves in. This Seadon tote bag features the work of an artivist - that is, an artist who shares in Seadon’s values to preserve the environment.
The tote itself is made from 100% GOTS certified organic cotton. Its heavy canvas construction ensures that it maintains its shape and provides heavy-dity support for all the important items your friend might stock inside. It includes an internal pocket for stashing more important items, as well as a lifetime warranty! Plus, it’s made in a WRAP-certified factory in India, with 1% of all sales going to nonprofits. It’s also worth noting that since the bag is made from organic cotton, it’s also fully biodegradable.
Oat milk is one of the most popular plant milks out there, and for good reason. It’s creamy, easy to sustainably source, and so versatile. But milk cartons aren’t recyclable, and plastic bottles only add to our plastic pollution problem. Enter Joi - powdered oat milk with just one ingredient - organic, gluten-free, sustainably sourced oats. It contains no oils, emulsifiers, or gums. When you give this to your healthy loved one, they can blend it with water and make oat milk in just 30 seconds. Plus, the pouch is completely compostable!
There’s a solid chance that your lovely wellness-enthusiast friend spends a lot of time in the kitchen. Cooking and cleaning can require a lot of paper towels, and all that waste adds up quickly. One of the great organic gifts you can offer them is unpaper towels. Made from organic cotton, these paper towels are actually cotton flannel, making them super absorbent - perfect for cleaning up messes. Plus, your friend will never have to buy paper towels again! They can just throw these towels in the wash and reuse them again and again. If and when they do wear out, they’re 100% natural material, so they’re compostable.
Cliche as it may be, water never goes out of style. No matter what wellness kick your friend is currently into, they’re likely still aiming to drink a healthy amount of water each day. If they’re drinking from a plastic water bottle, they might be ingesting tiny bits of microplastic from the bottle. Additionally, plastic pollution is a global issue. We use about 1.2 million plastic bottles every minute. Considering that about 91% of plastic is never recycled, this is a huge problem!
Here’s the thing: this is an easy problem to solve! By giving your loved one a reusable water bottle, you enable them to take charge of their plastic footprint and stay hydrated. Win-win! Plus, if you choose a stainless steel bottle, like a Hydroflask, their water will stay cold for 24 hours. If they choose to use it for hot drinks, it will keep those beverages hot for 12! Talk about convenient.
Your health-conscious loved one likely spends a lot of time cooking up delicious homemade food. Food waste is inevitable, but it can also be damaging to the planet. Much of our food waste ends up in the trash, and then the landfill. Unfortunately, it can’t biodegrade as it normally would there, because it doesn’t get the necessary oxygen to do so. Instead, bacteria break it down and release methane gas . Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas - in fact, it's more powerful than carbon dioxide!
We can skip this issue by composting our food. Most people shy away from composting because it can be stinky and messy - this is where the Lomi comes in. It’s a countertop composter which you can throw coffee grounds and food scraps into. Once full, it uses heat, abrasion, and oxygen to turn those scraps into nutrient-rich dirt in just four hours. The bucket inside is dishwasher safe, and the unit itself uses activated charcoal to eliminate odors. It can even break down bioplastics.
Eco Friendly Gifts for Techies
You might think that technology-related eco friendly gifts are hard to come by - after all, most technology tends to have some plastic elements involved. Think again. As the world demands more eco-friendly products, the tech world is getting involved! Check out these gifts for that person who is always ahead of the curve on the latest technology trends.
Everyone has a phone and most people use cases, which are almost exclusively made from plastic. Since plastic is rarely recycled, that plastic is a big contributor to our plastic pollution problem. Pela aims to address this issue. Their phone cases are made from flax shive and a plant-based biopolymer, making them 100% compostable. Plus, the production of these cases creates 30% fewer carbon emissions, uses 34% less water, and makes 80% less waste than regular cases. Pela phone cases also provide the same protection as plastic phone cases. In drop tests, phones survived up to 20-foot falls in the Pela case - no cracks to be found.
House of Marley Bluetooth Speakers
House of Marley has a variety of speakers created collaboratively with the family of Bob Marley. Aside from offering an excellent sound experience, the speakers are also made from mindfully sourced materials. For example, its patented Rewind fabric is a blend of reclaimed organic cotton and hemp, as well as recycled polyester. They use Regrind, which is made from recycled post-process and post-consumer silicone. Additionally, the speakers include recycled plastic, recyclable aluminum, recycled metal alloys, renewable bamboo, and FSC-certified wood. Plus, all products ship in plastic-free, recycled paper packaging.
Nimble Apollo Wireless Charger
Nimble is a California-designed brand that uses sustainable materials and plastic-free packaging in all of its tech goods. Its wireless charging pad works for both iPhone and Android, using recycled silicone and plastic. It includes easy magnetic alignment - just put your phone down on the pad and go. Plus it supports up to 15W of wireless power, so it charges devices super fast. It even comes with a two-year warranty.
Another impressive aspect of this brand is that its sustainability efforts go beyond the products it sells. Each time you buy something from Nimble, it sends you packaging and a pre-paid shipping label which you can use to send back old electronic devices, cables, cell phones, and phone cases. The company then makes sure those items are properly and responsibly recycled. Nimble is also a Certified B-Corp and a member of 1% for the Planet.
No one should live their life hunched over a laptop. This laptop stand from Oakywood brings the laptop up six inches, raising it to eye level so there’s less strain on the neck and eyes. It also creates more space on the desk, which provides room to work and helps you stay organized.
Most importantly, the stand itself is made from FSC-certified oak or walnut wood. That means the wood comes from responsibly managed forests that focus on supporting the health and sustainability of our forests over all else. For every laptop stand purchased, the brand plants one tree. The stand is also hand-finished and hand-oiled with a non-toxic, vegetable-based oil and shipped in a recyclable cardboard box with no plastic.
Almost every techie has a pair of AirPods, and protecting them is just as important as protecting a phone. Pela uses the same flax shive and plant-based polymer that it uses in its phone cases to create compostable AirPods cases. They’re durable enough to protect AirPods from scratches, dents, and drops, but they’re also able to break down at the end of their useful life - no need to send them to the landfill. Pela also donates a percentage of every sale to ocean cleanup and preservation initiatives.
Green Presents for the Ultra-Athletic
We all know that person who gets excited about building a new gym routine or hitting PRs. Finding the right gift for your gym rat friends can be challenging - especially when you throw the idea of green presents into the mix! Here are our top selections.
The Trailblazer tank was built for all-out performance. No matter how your loved one likes to push the limits, this tank will carry them to the finish line. The secret is in its finishes. miDori bioSoft is a performance finish made from plant seed oil that enhances softness while providing moisture-wicking capabilities. As such, the tank dries four times faster than cotton. Plus, it has Polygiene, an anti-odor finish that keeps the wearer smelling fresh no matter how hard their workout was.
Each tank is made from recycled polyester and Bluesign-approved polyester. This diverts four to five plastic water bottles from entering the oceans and landfills. It also saves up to 35% energy, 60% water, and 40% CO2 compared to the production of a similar tank top using virgin polyester.
The Shoreline shorts can carry any guy from a morning workout to a walk along the beach. They’re breathable and lightweight - perfect for those hot summer months. Plus, they offer stretch and ultra-soft touch hand feel, making them comfortable for any motion. Perhaps more importantly, they include PFC-FREE Durable Water Repellent (DWR) finish, which makes them great at wicking away moisture and drying quickly - no awkward sweat stains here.
The shorts themselves include three Airmesh-lined deep pockets and an expandable waistband with a woven flat style drawstring. Made from 100% Bluesign approved recycled polyester, these shorts make for one of the best sustainable gifts for workout enthusiasts!
Terra Thread Aarde Eco-Friendly Gym Bag
For the avid gym-goer, a duffel bag is more than necessary. They’re likely running from work to the gym or vice versa, and having a reliable bag that they can throw over their shoulder or into their car is a must. While most gym bags are made from plastic-like polyester, it’s important to opt for a more sustainable option.
The Aarde gym bag is made from 14 oz organic cotton canvas. This heavy-duty canvas will keep all contents safe and secure. Additionally, organic cotton doesn’t use any nasty chemicals in its production, which can cause environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. It can also biodegrade at the end of its useful life - unlike polyester and other synthetic materials.
Teva Ridgeview Mid Hiking Boots
While the production of shoes can be incredibly harmful to the environment, Teva aims to change that. It makes hiking boots, shoes, and sandals from “preferred materials” - that is, recycled, renewable, bio-based, plant-based, and certified natural materials. This includes materials like recycled polyester (RPET) and Leather Working Group certified leather, which promotes sustainable environmental practices at tanneries. It also now offers a recycling program, in which Teva will pay for you to ship well-worn Tevas to TerraCycle, where they’re recycled into something new rather than sending them to the landfill.
In particular, the Ridgeview Mid hiking boots are perfect for your outdoorsy-est pal. They include a 50% recycled polyester mesh upper and 100% recycled polyester waffle-knit lining. These boots are best for multi-day hikes, as they offer a breathable, waterproof experience that can keep feet dry and comfortable even through heavy rain and snow. Since the boots are lace-up, the wearer gets a customizable fit for ultimate comfort. With responsive footbed cushions and a TPU shank to stabilize the foot on uneven terrain, these boots can carry your favorite hiking enthusiast through even the roughest hikes!
Sustainable Gifts with Seadon
Whatever sustainable gifts you choose, we hope you feel encouraged and confident as you pick out and deliver these presents. Sustainability is near and dear to our hearts at Seadon. Seadon was born to help people enjoy the natural beauty of the world around us - from the land to the sea - via innovative, eco-friendly clothing. We choose ethically produced materials, like recycled nylon and plastic, and biodegradable packaging. We’re also proud to offset and reduce our emissions, as well as donate 1% of all product sales to nonprofits that support environmental action.
When you give the gift of a Seadon, you also give all of those sweet, sustainable benefits to your friends and family. You can read all about your transparent practices here . What are you waiting for? Get eco friendly gifts and green presents by shopping our sustainable clothing now.
