Meaningful Gifts that are Easy on the Planet

Share your talent

Rather than wrapping up a present, give a gift certificate for your talents like knitting or cooking. For the person who has everything but time, give a service like shoveling snow, babysitting, cleaning, helping with yard work, mending clothes, organizing photos, teaching a computer program, etc. Help someone “green up” by going through their home to give it an energy upgrade with CFLs, window caulking, extra insulation, etc. 

Buy local 

Consider gifts like baked goods from a local bakery, shares to a CSA (community-supported agriculture), or gifts purchased from locally-owned stores.

Choose a used treasure 

Boulder County is extremely fortunate to have a wealth of “reuse retail” stores full of previously-owned, one-of-a-kind treasures like vintage clothing, antique furniture, first-edition books and more.  

Give gifts that keep giving

Choose holiday gifts that will help your loved ones reduce their resource consumption all year long, such as potted herbs, a new or refurbished bike, bus passes, a bike tune-up, an energy- or water-saving device, a compost bin, a pack of rechargeable batteries and a recharger, or a case of CFLs. Purchase these through Amazon Smile (the same Amazon.com you know) and part of the proceeds will be donated to Eco-Cycle!

Contribute in a loved-one’s name

You can improve the lives of those in need around the world by giving donations as gifts. Consider www.kiva.org, where your donation becomes a small loan to entrepreneurs around the world, and www.heifer.org, where you can purchase a cow, goat, or even honey bees, to help families become self-reliant.

Give memories instead of stuff

Experiences are more memorable than stuff. Give the gift of an activity, such as tickets to a movie or museum, dinner at an organic restaurant, a massage or a day out at a spa.

Give the gift of Zero Waste! 

Make it easy for your friends and family to go Zero Waste with trusted, reusable, waste-cutting essentials like Klean Kanteen® water bottles and recycled ChicoBag™ rePETe™ shopping bags.