Running out of time or ideas to make the last Christmas gifts for this year? I understand the feeling! That’s why I put together this article with my favourite zero waste gift ideas, which you can buy last minute and that will still show the care you would have put if you had the time to make them.
Food gifts: Buying high quality, artisanal food is a simple but very effective Christmas gift idea. I have bought some loose chocolate buttons from Jarr Market in London as a gift to my grandmother who is a dark chocolate lover. 200 grams of chocolate costed me a little less then £6! I have upcycled an old jar to make them into a presentable pretty gift.
If you don't have access to a bulk store, I highly raccomend Tony's Chocolonely, a sustainable brand on a mission to fight slavery, poorly paid cocoa workers and child labour on cocoa farms in West Africa.
Join my FREE weekly email series, the Makers Letters!
Join the conversation by signing up to my weekly email series, Makers Letters and receive more free recipes and unpublished resources all about making your own products to reduce waste.
Other lovely food gifts ideas that are easy to find from sustainable brands or in bulk store are gourmet fruit jams, cookies, high quality tea leaves. For example, I some chocolate flakes to make hot chocolate, made by Meredith Whitely from Food at Hearth when I was at Zero Waste Christmas Market in London on 7th December.
Vintage, second hand items: I visited a local Christmas market and found a store called Alice and Co Store which sold the most lovely, pre-loved second hand vintage clothes and accessories. I got a pair of vintage earrings, a pair of small beakers perfect for tea time lovers and a cute vintage shirt. Total spent: £30
Many second hand shops such as Humane Vintage, also use part of their profits to support projects in developing countries.
Zero waste bathroom items: I got a pair of reusable vegan nail polish remover pads by Tabitha Eve, a set of bamboo toothbrushes by Organic Basics, or even a set of scrubby loofah sponges to share with different people. My relatives are also getting soaps and shampoo bars from me!
Books: I am a big fan of Kindle and read most of my books from there. A voucher to spend on any kindle books would be a useful idea for a book lover. If you prefer to gift a physical book, Amazon has an immense choice of second hand books.
Some sustainable/vegan reads I recently had are:
How to go Vegan: The why, the how, and everything you need to make going vegan
Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism
Eating Animals: Should we Stop?
How to Simplify your Life and Live Sustainably
The Essential Vegan Toolkit (also a really cute book for kids!)
I hope you enjoyed these zero waste gift ideas, and if you have more suggestions, just let me know in the comments below!