With the holidays fast approaching, the pressure to find that perfect gift for everyone on your list is quickly growing. The end of the semester is chaotic for almost everyone. Students, faculty, and staff are usually busy with exams, grading finals and papers, or getting ready for move-out time. It can be easy to forget the world that exists outside of the University. But don’t panic yet! There’s still time to make a last minute stop at the mall or order something offline. Here are just a few eco-friendly gift ideas for this holiday season.
Homemade candle- Everyone loves candles during the holiday season. Why buy a new candle when you can make your own? You can easily make a homemade candle from used candles that you might have around the house. To do this, simply melt down the used candles and poor the wax into a new jar. Place a new wick in the wax and wait for it to cool. Ta-da! You have your very own homemade candle.
Holiday ornaments- Homemade holiday ornaments are always a cherished gift. This is a great idea for children as well. Ornaments can be made out of almost anything- paper, fabric, pine cones, string and beads, etc. Holiday ornaments can be used year and year again, making them sustainable.
Terrarium- Terrariums are small gardens usually inside a medium or large glass jar that are kept inside. Terrariums are great winter gifts for people who love to garden, but can’t due to the weather. A terrarium can easily be made with small stones, house plants, and moss.
Lush products- Lush is a store that sells fresh, handmade cosmetics. Lush is great because they fight animal testing, practice ethical buying, use 100% vegetarian products, everything they sell is fresh and handmade, and they avoid packaging as much as possible, using only recycled materials when they have to. Lush can be found in most malls or you can order their products online.
PangeaSeed Painting- PangeaSeed is an international non-profit organization that collaborates through artistic and creative mediums with members of the contemporary art and environmental communities to raise public awareness and education regarding the conservation and preservation of oceans, sharks and other marine species in peril. You can purchase a painting for the art lover in your life for as little as $50.
Birds & Beans Coffee- For a lover of birds or coffee, this certified bird-friendly coffee from Birds & Beans is helping to protect endangered honeycreepers and regenerate forest canopy in Hawaii. All of the coffee sold by Birds & Beans is sustainably grown, but this bag is also a special fundraiser. One hundred percent of sales of the Maui Mountain Home Grown Special Harvest Coffee go to support the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project and the Kuau’i Forest Bird Recovery Project.
Elephant Pants-For every purchase you make from The Elephant Pants, a few dollars are donated to the African Wildlife Foundation to help fight ivory poaching and protect threatened elephants. In addition to the pants and leggings shown here, The Elephant Pants also sells tees, kids items, and bags. All the clothing is made in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where the seamstresses are paid twice the average wage and provided with health care benefits.
Reusable Mug- Reusable mugs are a much more eco-friendly choice than throwing away a disposable cup every time you want coffee. You can get this cute one inspired by Arctic penguins when you make a $55.00 donation to WWF.
Picture Source: en.wikipedia.org
Written by Alyssa Lemire, Class of 2017
Love those terrariums!