page.press

Eartheasy

Eartheasy

Top Green Holiday Gifts

Unless you’re one of the lucky ones getting a financial bailout, chances are you’re feeling a bit pinched this year during the holidays. Perhaps now is a good time to rethink our holiday values and traditions, with an eye towards lasting value and sustainability.

By EARTHEASY Posted NOV 20, 2009

expensive gifts

We favor less expensive gifts from small businesses that are trying to do things differently, using renewable resources, recycled materials and minimal packaging. The gifts on our list are made by members of the Green America business network.

Organic, fair-trade chocolates packaged in a seed box

handcrafted vegan dark chocolates

Enjoy handcrafted vegan dark chocolates sourced with local Wisconsin, organic and fair trade ingredients, then plant the seed-infused box paper to grow a native prairie garden appropriate to the Midwest bioregion.

Terra Source, $4.95

Give a Personalized tree!

Planting a tree

Planting a tree may be the best action a person can take to help protect our environment. The legacy of a tree planted in your name brings intangible and lasting value which anyone can appreciate. Help restore a forest in your friend’s name, with a gift from Trees for a Change

Trees for a Change – $35

Eco Stars Recycled Crayons

Eco Stars Recycled Crayons

These star-shaped wax crayons are made from used broken crayon pieces that students from across the country send in to the manufacturer. The manufacturer, located in Wisconsin, hires people with developmental disabilities to sort the crayons by color and remove paper debris. The old crayons are then melted down and poured into star shapes, giving the next user five points with which to draw.

Red Apple, $7.49

Veggie-Hides Dog Treats

Veggie-Hides Dog Treats

Give your dog a healthy, vegan treat. Made from vegetables, sprouted seeds, herbs, grasses, and fruit, these treats are much easier on the environment than the typical meat-based treats.

Onesta Organics, $8.98

Organic cotton & water-based ink kids clothing

Organic cotton &amp

Shirts, one-pieces, pants and hats are made in the USA using 100% certified organic cotton and water-based inks. They’re healthy for kids, don’t pollute the earth, water, or expose farm workers to toxins.

Barley and Birch

Organic Loose-leaf Tea

Organic Loose-leaf Tea

The Boston Tea Campaign offers pure, organically grown, loose-leaf Darjeeling black and green tea. They are the sole funders of a large reforestation project, carried out locally by World Wide Fund for Nature, India.

Boston Tea Campaign – from $10

Recycled Glass Pottery Heart Bookmark

Recycled Glass Pottery Heart Bookmark

Handmade in Washington from recycled glass, this makes a unique gift for the bookworm in your family.

Paloma Pottery, $10.50

Get Free Shipping at Paloma Pottery using Coupon: FREE SHIPPING E09

Organic Essentials Body Kit

Organic Essentials Body Kit

If you’ve ever wondered about the chemical ingredients in personal care products, and their impact on your body, consider giving an Organic Essentials Body Kit from Trillium Organics this holiday.

Trillium Organics – $15.28

Handmade Necklace from salvaged wood

Handmade Necklace from salvaged wood

Wood found on the forest floor is hand gathered and carefully sanded and oiled to produce this beautiful necklace.

Eco Artistic Products, from $17

Organic Hand Crème

Organic Hand Crème

Many personal care products sold today are derived from petroleum, and users may react with allergic symptoms as the products are absorbed into the skin. This crème is made in California using organic and natural ingredients.

Lotus Moon, $18
Save 15% at Lotus Moon using coupon EARTH15

Organic Cotton Polar Bear with natural dyes

Organic Cotton Polar Bear with natural dyes

Handmade personally by Diana Yun at her home business, Honeysuckle Dreams, in Maryland. Safe for children to snuggle up with, this polar bear is made of 100% organic cotton (all components! not just the outer fabric); and where colors are used, Diana works with natural (botanical) dyes.

Honeysuckledreams.com – $18

Mens Classic Shaving Kit

Mens Classic Shaving Kit

Handthrown ceramic shaving mug, wooden-handled, natural bristle shaving brush, with two discs of our natural Aloe Vera Shaving Soap make a traditional shaving kit in a convenient natural fiber bag.

Simmons Naturals – $20.75

Fair Trade No-Kill Leather Journal

Fair Trade No-Kill Leather Journal

The cover is made from hand-embossed cruelty-free leather, which means it comes from animals that have died naturally. The paper used is made from recycled cotton and is 100% tree-free! When you’ve filled it with all your words of wisdom, just slip off the cover and slip in a new tree-free insert and you’re ready to go!

Unity – $24.95

Solar charged LED flashlight

Solar charged LED flashlight

With a 100,000 hour bulb lifespan, solar-panel handle, and rechargeable batteries, this is a useful gift for the gadget lover. We live off-grid and use flashlights all the time, and we’ve put this one to the test. It has never let us down.

Hybrid Lite – $24.95

“We Add-Up” Organic Cotton T-shirt

We Add-Up” Organic Cotton T-shirt

Most of the clothes we wear are made with non-organic cotton, which is the most pesticide-intensive crop on earth. We like these shirts because they’re made with 100% organic cotton, and they promote an environmental message (over 20 designs to choose from). Plus, each shirt has your unique number printed on it, showing others that your actions really do add up.

We Add Up – $25

Reusable, recycled, American-made shopping bag

American-made shopping bag

Once you get used to using, and reusing, cloth shopping bags, you wonder why you stuck with plastic for so long. The Pebble Beach bag is made in America from recycled PET plastic bottles. They don’t shrink like canvas, their manufacture removes plastic from the waste stream, and they’re made in USA! And they do a far better job of holding goods than plastic bags.

Clean Conscience– $27.95

Rain Forest Finger Puppets

Rain Forest Finger Puppets

Feed the imagination and create a finger puppet theater with this 10 piece finger puppet set. Each finger puppet is hand knitted and is a tropical rain forest resident, including a monkey and its baby, a crocodile, two parrots, a turtle, a sloth and of course a snake! All can be stored away in a convenient colorfully hand embroidered bag. Made with fair trade labor by The Joining Hands Against Poverty Network.

Global Exchange – $28

Truffles-To-Give

Truffles-To-Give

Organic, fair-trade, chocolate truffles are a popular holiday gift, but these have an added feature! Instead of being packed in a fancy throw-away plastic box, these are packed in stainless steel reusable tins which keep them fresh and can be reused to store nuts, candies, dried fruit and other snacks.

Coco-Zen – $30

Foil Candy Wrapper Purse

Foil Candy Wrapper Purse

Very clever and attractive, these unique and durable purses are handmade using reclaimed foil candy wrappers. A great example of people creating useful products using minimal available resources and a wealth of imagination. Fair Trade.

Planet One Gifts from $32.95

L’uvalla Hydrating Milk Cleanser

L’uvalla Hydrating Milk Cleanser

Everyone can use facewash, and this is one of the ‘greenest’ available. L’uvalla is made with 100% natural, organic, vegan ingredients and bears the highly-respected European COSMEBIO organic certification.

L’uvalla – $37