Sustainable gifting is a tricky concept. Ideally, we’d all forgo physical presents and instead give our loved ones something more experiential: a gift card to a local restaurant, a donation in their name to a mutual aid fund, or a seat at an online class for a new quarantine hobby. But if you’re itching to watch your favorite person open up something tangible this holiday season, you can still do so while keeping the planet in mind. A few things to think about: Give gifts that will actually get used, not end up in a landfill, and be on the lookout for minimal plastic and packaging. If you’re in need of a few ideas, here are 11 to consider.
1 Festive Soap Stack
One thing your loved one most certainly needs and will use during a pandemic? Soap. These festive sets from Lush come tied together with a cotton wrap that can double as a hand towel. Plus, if you can’t pick it up in person, Lush ships items in recyclable and compostable packaging.
2 Blue Marble Soap Dish
Binu Binu binu-binu.com
$75.00
For the person who’s already on the bar soap game but just needs a fancy place to store them. Bonus: These dishes help soaps last even longer in the shower, meaning less waste in the long run.
3 Golden Pothos
Grounded Plants grounded-plants.com
$20.00
Give the literal gift of life with a new houseplant—or even a packet of seeds for your DIY friend. If the plant ever dies (sad), it can be composted and the pot reused.
4 Pink Onyx Marble Candle
Gilded Body gildedbody.com
$68.00
When you’ve burned through this candle, simply order a wax refill from the same site and get lit again and again and again.
5 Shea Butter Hand Cream
L’Occitane nordstrom.com
$29.00
After months of vigorously washing up, a luxurious hand cream is a no-brainer gift. This one in particular won a Good Housekeeping award for its sustainable, recyclable packaging.
6 Mulberry Paloma Bra
Girlfriend Collective girlfriend.com
$38.00
Girlfriend Collective has its own ReGirlfriend program where customers can send back old items that then get recycled into new apparel. Just make sure you purchase a Girlfriend Collective Compressive piece, since those are the only ones that qualify. (Also, their bras are just really, really comfy.)
7 Naked Stone Solid Moisturizer
Kate McLeod saksfifthavenue.com
$45.00
Once you have this solid moisturizer and its accompanying bamboo storage case, you can buy plastic-free refills and keep on indulging.
8 Pukka Herbs Tea Selection Luxury Gift Box
A surefire way to ensure a present gets used? Make it edible. This tea gift box from Pukka is made from recycled paper and can be put in your home recycling or compost, while the individual teas come in their own recyclable envelopes.
9 Botancial Dyeing Kit
Cara Marie Piazza caramariepiazza.com
$65.00
This botanical dyeing kit—which comes with organic flowers for transforming your clothes—is an eco-friendly way to get your tie-dye fix.
10 The Sustainable Mask
Christy Dawn christydawn.com
$20.00
This face mask from Christy Dawn is made entirely of deadstock (read: leftover) silk and comes in five different colors.
11 Food Composter
For that special someone who’s been wanting to compost but needs a cute bin to get started.
Madison Feller
Madison is a staff writer at ELLE.com, covering news, politics, and culture.
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