2 Environmentally Friendly Gifts To Give Family & Friends For The Holidays

The holidays are just around the corner, so what will you get your loved ones this Christmas? And what are you going to ASK for from your loved ones?

What we receive and purchase for others can set the precedence for the type of holiday gift-giving season we want to participate in. If you want to be more eco-conscious in your gift-giving, you have to rethink what kind of gifts you want to give others.

Spoiler alert: gifts don’t always have to be something physical to unwrap. Nor do they always need to be purchased from the nearest big chain store.

Sounds kind of crazy, right? We promise it can actually make your holidays every BETTER! Especially if you want your holidays to include more planet-friendly practices.  

As a subscription-based company that specializes in providing your precious pups with environmentally conscious items, you can bet that the standard western gift-giving holidays (like Christmas) usually make us cringe with all of the waste and unnecessary buying.

Think about it, how many gifts have you bought because you’re supposed to buy everyone a gift? Or how many gifts have you been given over the years that you don’t need but also don’t know how to get rid of politely? Consumerism has infiltrated Christmas. But we can turn the tide back to what Christmas is truly about –one environmentally friendly gift at a time!

Instead of getting pressured into participating in the ceremonial holiday gift-giving –what could you give your family and friends that are both useful and unique? Oh, and of course, not wasteful!!

To help you avoid giving gifts that people won’t use, we’ve put together a (short) sustainable and environmentally friendly list of gifts to give family and friends for the holidays! No junk allowed!

E Gift Cards

We love gift cards! Sure, it’s not the same as opening a physical present, but honestly, most of us want specific styles, sizes, or colors of an item, so why not allow giftees to pick out exactly what they want? Instead of guessing or choosing an item color/size/style for them, let them decide for themselves!

We’ve all opened that neon pink sweater from Aunt Kathy and fake smiled our thanks while internally thinking that the black or light green would have suited our coloring much better. Or no sweater at all.

Instead of being the instigator or receiver of this scenario, let’s give people what they actually need from stores or merchants they actually buy from! Whether it’s clothing stores, toy stores, or even a gift card for gas, giving gift cards can be a little more enjoyable and personal than getting a gift you don’t want, love, or need. Gift cards are also nicer to receive than shoving a wad of cash into an envelope!

You can even use creative ways to wrap the gift card, so there is still a “gift opening” element happening! We have a detailed holiday guide to eco-friendly gift wrapping if you want fun ideas on wrapping your e-gift card!

Gift cards also help promote environmental sustainability during the gift-giving season. We’ve all gotten presents with no personal touch or a stocking filled with random items from Target's $1 or $5 section. Let’s stop the unnecessary production of junk that will only end up in landfills by reducing the demand!

Let’s encourage the giving and receiving of gift cards so everyone can buy what they need or what they will actually use! Bonus points for gift cards to unique and local shops that your giftee loves but maybe never has the money to shop at!

And, of course, we have to mention that we offer a Pure Earth Pets Gift Card starting at $10.00 for those friends and family members with sweet dogs they want to pamper with sustainable goodies!

Gift Experiences

A step away from gift cards is gifting experiences! We all love to experience different things, so why not encourage your family and friends to experience life by gifting it to them?

There are so many fun experiences to gift –it’s actually one of our favorite ways to show appreciation to our loved ones at Christmas (and any other holiday or celebration)

And let’s be honest, most people will go out and buy whatever they want, whenever they want. So why not gift them something they might not buy for themselves….like an experience?

For all those people who have everything they need, here are some fun experience gifts to give instead.

• Massage from a local masseuse
• A day out to the local zoo or amusement park
• Online Learning Platform Membership (like Udemy, Masterclass, Teachable, etc.)
• Online Fitness class pass (yoga, pilates, HIIT, Zumba)
• Airbnb Experience (for your travel friends)
• Wine tasting experience
• Online Indoor Design Experience (Decorist)
• Life Coaching Call
• White water rafting
• A Stay-cation (an Airbnb in their own town!)
• Online Music class
• A local art class
• Broadway musical/comedy show
• Sports game tickets
• Misfits Market subscription
• Eco-friendly Subscription Boxes (like Pure Earth Pets!)

The list is endless! You can gift so many experiences depending on where you live. The Simplicity Habit has a great blog post filled with experiences you can gift this Christmas (or for birthdays, anniversaries, wedding gifts, and more!).

There are so many different online gifts that you could fall into a rabbit hole trying to decide which experience you want to give! Remember, gifting experiences can also help your local businesses!

Hopefully, this post has sparked some sustainable and environmentally friendly ideas on what to give your family and friends this holiday season that isn’t a physical gift (that they probably don’t need)!

Want to donate this holiday season? Check out our favorite ways to donate in this blog post (both money and time)!