Our holiday gift guide with a sustainable slant puts the focus on gifts that keep on giving. Specifically, if environmental concerns have you seeing red, go green this season with presents that look to a cleaner and more beautiful world in the future.
1. Zero-waste wood vases
Zero Waste Wood Vases, from $39 and up, are made from the remnant byproducts of the materials used at Avocado Green’s Los Angeles-based furniture factory. (You probably know them for their popular organic mattresses.) The vases are not intended to hold water, but are perfect for dried flowers, branches or desk supplies.
2. Classic, sustainable T-shirt
Sustainably designed with organic cotton that has earned the Global Organic Textile Standard designation (GOTS), the men’s long-sleeved V-Neck T-shirt by the Classic T-Shirt Company is made in California and incorporates fair trade policies into every step of the production process. $72. Over a dozen colors to choose from. (There are womens’ short sleeve, long sleeve and V-neck shirts, too, with 17 colors to choose from.)
3. Upcycled beach towel
Sometimes beach towels speak louder than words. Protect The Planet-themed beach towel, $39 by Geometry is quick drying, ultra absorbent and made from post-consumer recycled materials. Printed in Southern California.
4. Hand & body wash that’s refillable
Reduce plastic waste: Self-care products like Lemongrass Burst hand and body wash and Lemongrass and Sage lotion by Sun Moon Rain, from $24.50, are packaged in glass containers designed to be refilled at the Sun Moon Rain shop in Santa Monica.
5. Upcycled bracelets
Also from Sun Moon Rain: Each handmade bracelet is sustainably crafted with disc-shaped crystals, vintage glass, seed beads and upcycled metal from discarded brass pots and pans. $35 and up. The bracelets are individually tagged with explanations of the materials used and the benefits associated with those crystals or gems.
6. Hand-dyed kid’s dress
Hand dyed in Los Angeles using traditional Japanese Shibori tying techniques and certified Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) pigment made from extracts of madder root: The Kid’s Organic Cotton Plant-dyed Shibori dress, $46, by Sustain by Kat is available on Etsy.
7. Hand-loomed scarf
Also from Los Angeles-based Sustain By Kat: This hand-loomed Plant-dyed Scarf, $76, is created in conjunction with a charitable trust that provides dignified work for women in India. Available at Sustain By Kat on Etsy.
8. Sustainable vegan wallet
Good things come in small packages. The Mia Card Case, $55 from Svala, maker of vegan luxury handbags and accessories. This item is hand-crafted in Los Angeles from metallic silver Pinatex fabric which is made from pineapple leaf fiber harvested by farming cooperatives in the Philippines. No extra land, water, fertilizer or pesticides are required to produce the raw materials and no pineapples were wasted in the process.
9. Sustainable vegan tote
Also from Svala: Designed and made in L.A., hand crafted from biodegradable, vegan cork, the gold speckled Simma Tote, $195, is lined with recycled polyester made from recycled plastic bottles and organic cotton. Comes in a variety of colors.
10. Gently used Patagoniawear
Do you believe in reincarnation? Worn Wear is outdoor clothing leader Patagonia’s trade-in and resale program aimed at reducing consumption and keeping waste out of the landfill. By trading in gently used clothing, gear, wetsuits, and kids stuff for resale (at prices reduced from brand new!), everybody wins. Watch the always-changing website for great gift options for someone who is trying out a new hobby.
11. Recycled cashmere hoodie
Knit from yarn made with pre consumer cashmere waste that has been sorted, mechanically broken down and spun into super soft new yarn, the men’s recycled cashmere hoody pullover, $249, from Patagonia is casual luxe at its most environmental.
12. Blanket Trucker jacket
The Blanket Trucker, $268 is designed in Los Angeles by Outerknown, the sustainable clothing company created by pro surfer Kelly Slater and acclaimed designer John Moore. The jacket features an iconic silhouette with a blanket-shirt lining cut in organic and recycled cotton from B Corp Certified suppliers. Outerknown prioritizes resale, repair and recycling programs and plans to be fully circular by 2030. There’s a women’s version, a blanket jacket, that’s $248 and plenty cozy.
13. Upcycled GOT bag
Outerknown teamed up with GOT BAG to create the world’s first backpack made from Ocean Impact Plastic — specifically the flotsam and jetsam of plastic waste that collects along the Indonesian coastline. The rolltop bag, $179 is designed with a 15-inch removable laptop sleeve, includes a two-year warranty and is waterproof.
14. Hemp Shorline Anorak Jacket
The industrial hemp used for making fabric contains CBD but almost none of the psychoactive THC — so the only high you’ll get from the Shoreline Anorak Jacket, $211 by Jungmaven, is the fashion kind. Cut and sewn in Los Angeles in lightweight ripstop hemp and designed to work as a long-lasting layering piece for hikes in the city or on the trail. Unisex. Comes in 10 colors.
15. Mechanic Jacket
The genderless Mechanic Jacket, $238 from Jungmaven, is made in Los Angeles from ten ounce-hemp twill, a sustainable and durable material that requires no irrigation, pesticides or synthetic fertilizers.
16. Busy Bees eco dryer balls
Set of six Busy Bees eco dryer balls, $32 from Friendsheep Wool are made from 100% premium New Zealand wool and used to replace single-use dyer sheets and fabric softeners. The felted balls are reusable, toxin-free and save energy by reducing drying time. They just also happen to be adorable.
17. Sweater Stones
You know those little round balls or pills of fiber that can ruin the look of a favorite sweater? Yeah, we hate them too. The pumice-like Sweater Stone is made from recycled glass and designed to remove the balls, renew the look of the knit surface and extend the life of the garment, $12, at EileenFisher.Com, with stores in Pasadena and South Coast Plaza.
Do you have suggestions for our Holiday Gift guide?
Are there local places you love to shop, gifts you’d like to suggest, or holiday activities you recommend? We want to hear them all.
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