Here is my Sustainable Holiday Gift Guide (for Canadians!).
The holidays are a wonderful time to spread cheer and give gifts to loved ones. However, it is a sad reality how much waste is produced. On average, household waste can increase more than 25% in the holiday season. Also, did you know that Canadians use 6 million rolls of tape to wrap up Christmas presents every year??
So here are some of my favourite holiday gift ideas to make the season a little more green. All of the brands/items listed below are either Canadian or ship to Canada at a reasonable cost.
1. The Gift of a Getaway – Airbnb
The best way to reduce your consumption of waste this holiday season is to give the gift of an experience! Airbnb is a great option for giving the gift of a little getaway. Follow this link to see what adventures are in your backyard (or even a little further away). Airbnb also offers experiences! They have implemented some really great Covid-19 protocols too for extra safety and security.
2. Sustainably Made Clothing
Clothes have always been a staple for holiday gifts. However, fast fashion wreaks havoc on our earth. Did you know that clothing production is the third biggest manufacturing industry after the automotive and technology industries? Textile production contributes more to climate change than international aviation and shipping combined.
So instead of supporting these fast fashion businesses, support an ethical one. Organic Basics is an eco-friendly brand that focuses on basic wardrobe staples. Gift your loved ones with something that is made well and you know will last them for years to come.
Another great sustainable clothing basics brand is The Good Tee. Follow this link and use the code MAKAYLA15 for 15% off your order!
3. Eco Home Products – TruEarth Laundry Detergent (great stocking stuffer!)
I’m sure you know of my love for TruEarth by now. I shared a full review of it here. TruEarth is a super sustainable (and Canadian company!) that makes concentrated laundry detergent strips. They’re super easy to use and last for a long time. The package is also the perfect size to fit into the stockings of your loved ones!! Check out their special on packs of 10 here. Perfect for sharing!
4. All Natural Bath and Body Products
This is definitely one of my favourites to give and receive during the holidays. I mean, who doesn’t like to receive an incredible smelling bar of soap or bath bomb?
One great Canadian brand is Buck Naked Soap Co. Not only are their products beautiful, but they are vegan, cruelty-free, and quite sustainable. Follow this link and use the code NATURALLY10 for 10% off your order!
5. A Sustainable Subscription Box
A month or two of a subscription box is definitely a fun gift to give and receive. If you don’t know what a subscription box is, they are specialized boxes of goods for pretty much any niche. They get sent by mail to yourself or to your gift recipient either one time or on a monthly/bi-monthly/quarterly basis. There are beauty boxes, vegan boxes, cocktail making boxes, etc. etc. And Cratejoy is your one-stop-shop for finding pretty much any subscription box that you could want.
What I’m focusing on here are the boxes that focus on sustainability. One of my absolute favourite subscription boxes that I have tried is AM Soaps. It’s a small business based in Alberta that hand curates eco-focused subscription boxes. The October box that I got contained zero-waste soaps, deodorant, a shampoo bar, a collapsible travel cup and more. Definitely one to check out.
6. Sustainable Jewelry
Jewelry is a classic holiday gift. However, this year, rather than buying from conventional jewelry brands, try buying from a sustainable, ethical, Canadian Brand.
One of my favourite sustainable jewellery brands is Chic Made Consciously. With sustainable, handmade goods, this brand is pushing back against the current “disposable” fashion industry. I have a pair of their Repurposed Brass Hoop Earrings and I love them!
FAIR Jewelry is also an incredible sustainable jewelry brand based out of Vancouver. A component in each FAIR piece is recycled, up-cycled, or ethically-sourced and a percentage of each sale goes to environmental charities. And since it is 2020, they even have beautiful mask chains (who would have thought we’d want them so bad?). Treat your loved ones (or yourself) and use my code NATURALLY10 for 10% off your order at FAIR.
7. Sustainable Toothbrush (Great Stocking Stuffer!)
Did you know that 3+ billion plastic toothbrushes are disposed of every year? That’s enough to circle the earth 12 times. I highly recommend checking out Grin for sustainable toothbrushes — get one for each of your family members in different colours! I’ve been using this Canadian brand for months now and love my Grin toothbrush. In fact, I did a whole IG post about them here. They also sell beautiful upcycled travel cases.
8. Leaf “Leather” Wallet
If you’re looking for a creative, eco-friendly gift for a nature lover, this Leaf “Leather” Wallet from Tree Tribe is a great option. It is plant-based, sustainable, handcrafted, and comes in a variety of colours (but the green one is my favourite!). Tree Tribe also sells journals and travel wallets made from leaves.
I will continue to add more items to this Sustainable Holiday Gift Guide (for Canadians!) as they come up, so keep checking back! Please feel free to send me any other products that you think would be a good fit for this list.
*Note that some of the links included in this post are Affiliate Links.
