Original sustainable gift ideas for this Christmas

Christmas is a time when a large volume of purchases and returns is generated, which has a large polluting effect on the environment through transport, returns, manufacturing and mass consumption.

If you are thinking of giving your family, your friends or your partner this holiday season something sustainable and that does not increase that negative impact, here are some original ideas with which to surprise them and, in addition, generate an ecological footprint in Christmas shopping.

give a tree

It is already said that planting a tree is one of the three things – along with having a child and writing a book – that one must do in life before dying. You can help fulfill it by giving a tree at Christmas. The Amica organization allows you to sponsor a tree, with a reservation program so that you and your family can be part of the moment. You get a sponsorship certificate, the possibility to visit it whenever you want and to taste the harvest before anyone else.

sustainable fashion

Giving clothes and accessories is perhaps the most common idea to give at Christmas. So why not do it in a different way, betting not only on fashion committed to the environment, but also supporting small ecological fashion brands.

There are hundreds of clothing brands that make their fabrics with recycled materials, such as plastic bottles. Or with natural materials without going through a polluting manufacturing process. For example, that of the creator Carmen Hinojosa, who has managed to turn pineapple leaves into a sustainable alternative to leather for making clothes.

There are many other brands, such as Veganized, that are committed to vegan fashion, so their manufacturers do not use animal oils, fats, additives or dyes.

ecological toys

The sustainable toy brand Kamchatka Toys offers a wide selection of wooden toys from prestigious European manufacturers.

The Italian brand Chicco also launches its first line of ecological toys: ECO+, products made with bioplastics and recycled plastic, sustainable and safe for children. This ECO+ range currently consists of seven early childhood toys: the Owl Rattle (made from recycled plastic and bioplastic), four different models of animal teethers (made from bioplastic), a set of five stackable stones and a baobab tree with geometric shapes (both , made of recycled plastic).

compromised cosmetics

The Valencian sustainable cosmetics brand La Albufera uses rice germ to create 100% natural and artisan products.

Like the creators of Fresly Cosmetic, who have devised a wide range of products with natural ingredients free of toxic substances such as sulfates, silicones or petroleum derivatives.

Fair Trade

Intermon Oxfam itself offers an online store where you can directly buy clothing and accessories manufactured in an ecological and responsible way.

Or the Fairphone company, which tries to manufacture ethical mobiles through the supply chain and the way of working with suppliers. They bet on another way of creating technology using fair, reusable materials and maintaining optimal working conditions.

The cosmetics brand The Body Shop, for its part, has an exclusive line for Christmas gifts from its fair trade community associations or that are contained in recycled packaging.

sustainable readings

Another Christmas classic are books. Giving away culture is always a success. But if you can also help change other people's habits that benefit our ecosystem, much better.

We highlight several titles of books on sustainability and climate change, such as the one by the activist Naomi Kleim 'In Flames', who advocates the Green New Deal as an alternative to climate change. Or that of the writer John Elkington and the next boom of 'regenerative capitalism'.