Eco-Friendly Gifts Friends & Family Will Love

When it comes to gifting for the holidays, or any occasion for that matter, thinking outside the box, literally, is what will make your gift stand out. By putting some creativity into your gifts, along with essential eco-friendly requirements, you’ll be able to put together unique gifts with personality.

Here are our favorite eco-friendly gifting strategies, plus a few sustainable gift ideas, that friends and family are sure to love.

1. Get creative on the gift wrap. As easy as it is to buy a roll of wrapping paper from your local store, keep in mind that not all wrapping paper is recyclable. In fact, much of this single-use gifting ends up in the landfill, particularly glittery, shiny, and/or metallic wrapping paper, which can’t be recycled.
   
   

   A good rule of thumb from the Ecology Center in Berkeley, California: If you can crumple the paper into a ball, it’s recyclable. If it’s hard to crumple and doesn’t hold its shape, it’s not.

   If you can’t find a good recyclable gift wrap or just don’t want to waste trees (we hear you!), look no further than fabric wrap. You can find beautifully creative remnants at a local fabric or upholstery store that can be used again and again. In Japan, wrapping in fabric is called furoshiki and is considered an art form!

   What you can also do: Find gifts prewrapped in eco-friendly, recycled packaging like our natural Pharmacopia Body Bars in Citrus, Mint Argan, and Verbena. These soap paper wraps are also able to be simply recycled in your local municipal recycling. Simply tie them together with a fabric ribbon and voilà, an instant gift. Our biodegradable Body Bars contain natural and organic plant ingredients—formulated without parabens, sulfates, phthalates, and synthetic dyes or fragrances—include hydrating shea butter and vitamin E.

2. Skip the tissue paper, particularly the glittery kind. Most people don’t realize that tissue paper isn’t recyclable, though it is compostable provided it doesn’t have any glitter specks in it. But tissue paper really doesn’t offer much nutritional value, which is why we prefer to steer clear of it when wrapping our gift. A better option if you have to pack up a gift is sustainable kitchen or bath towels. Not only are they reusable, they’re purposeful: They can add a little extra to a gift.
   
   

   Our favorite towel-ensconced gift: Our Verbena Shower Trio Bundle, complete with Shampoo, Conditioner, and Body Wash, wrapped in a sustainable CleanBamboo luxurious waffle hand towel from Ettitude. Simply tie a reusable ribbon around it, and you’ve got a gift that’s good to give.

3. Save and reuse colorful boxes. We all have those boxes that are too beautiful to recycle, so next time you receive one, save it for future gift giving. Or even if you have a brown box, you can save it and paint it or wrap it in fabric to upcycle it into a beautiful gifting box.

   These boxes work for any occasion, but particularly for theme gifts like bathing or cooking boxes. Simply collect what you’re giving, cushion with a beautiful pair of hand or kitchen towels and pack it up. A few dried or fresh flowers or herbs as finishing touches can make these gifts standouts.

   Try a gift for your favorite chef: Pack up a box with one or two organic kitchen towels (we like the organic, vegan- and eco-friendly kitchen towels from Public Goods), our better-for-you trio of essential-oil infused hand soaps, and a bottle of extra virgin olive oil like Solspring Biodynamic, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

4. Give and gift reusable totes. This is simply one of our favorite ways to give gifts. By packaging your gift in a reusable tote, your gift does double duty.
   
   

   We’re partial to using our own reusable Pharmacopia Tote Bag, which makes the perfect gift bag for a Shampoo and Conditioner, Body Wash and Lotion, or even one of our Luxury Bundles with all four products, plus a Body Bar, for that special someone in your life. Just add to your gift for only $9.95.

5. Baskets make the perfect eco-friendly, reusable packaging. Ethically sourced baskets made from sustainable fibers like jute can be used to package up gifts and can be a gorgeous gift in their own right.
   
   

   We’re loving the sustainable jute baskets from The Foundry Home Goods, particularly when they’re used to hold our biodegradable, better-for-you Pharmacopia formulas. For a finishing touch, add a beautiful sustainable sisal dry body brush from 4Ocean.

6. Make mason jars a gifting essential. These glass jars make the perfect upcycled gift. You can add anything to these jars, finishing it off with a twine bow, for a thoughtful present.
   
   

   One of our favorite eco-friendly Mason jar gifts: Make your own Epsom salt bath, add to the jar, and package with home spa-day essentials. To customize Epsom salts for friends or family, simply add a few drops of a favorite essential oil to 1 cup of plain Epsom salts. (We love bergamot, mint, and cedarwood, to name just a few of the aromatic essences found in our better-for-you bath and body care products.) Stir in a bowl to mix thoroughly, and then add to the mason jar. Add a little bit of fabric to the lid before securing it. Top off with a twine bow and a Pharmacopia gift card to complete the perfect hostess, birthday, or holiday gift.

   You can also use Mason jars to plant herb seeds like mint for friends or family—and pair up with eco-friendly gardening gloves like those from Womenswork. Finish off the gift with a mint-infused Pharmacopia Verbena Body Bar and Verbena Body Lotion, which works to hydrate hands, too.

7. Sometimes simple is best. Gifts don’t have to be elaborate or expensive to be remembered.
   
   

   One of our all-time favorite gifts to give, particularly for stocking stuffers: Our Tangerine Lip Elixir Trio. This three-pack of our bestselling lip balm, formulated with olive oil, vitamin E, and hemp seed oil to hydrate and protect your lips, makes the perfect gift when tucked away in a reusable stocking with a personal note about why you love these balms so much.

Whether you’re giving our Lip Elixir or creating a thoughtful fabric lined box with home spa goodies, creativity is what makes gifts personable, memorable, and sustainable. No matter what gift you’re wanting to give, our Pharmacopia better-for-you and better-for-the-environment products give any present a much-needed eco-friendly touch!