Shopping for the holidays can be more satisfying when the businesses making these gift products are trying to contribute to sustainability and human wellbeing. It’s challenging enough to make a go of it in business, yet many companies today are also trying to lessen their impact on people and the planet. At Eartheasy, we seek out suppliers who use sustainability as a benchmark in developing new products. While there are other interesting gift ideas in our Gift category, here are a few of our favorites for this season.
Eartheasy Conservation Soaps
Nineteen tons of ‘microbeads’ are washed down the drain in New York alone each year. These tiny scrubbing agents found in many soaps, toothpastes and other personal care products are harmful pollutants in the marine ecosystem.
We’ve developed our own line of cleansing soaps that are free of microbeads, yet have the same cleansing action. Enjoy the moisturizing and soothing feel of Eartheasy’s line of completely biodegradable soaps. We’ve carefully selected the ingredients so it’s good for you and for the environment. Choose from the Honeybee bar, Orca, Leatherback Turtle, or Orangutan bar – and know that 100% of the profits – yes, 100% – is donated to organizations working to save each of these animals.
LifeStraw Mission
Is there a camper on your Christmas list? The new LifeStraw Mission, using the same award-winning filtration technology as LifeStraw Personal, is the state-of-the-art water purification system for multi-person outdoor use. Available in two size capacities, 5 liter and 12 liter, you simply scoop water from any outdoor water source into the bag and hang it from a tree branch or anything available. Now all the members of your party can simply decant safe drinking water into their cups, cooking vessels, backpack bladders or canteens.
LifeStraw Steel
LifeStraw Steel is an extra-sturdy version of the award-winning LifeStraw Personal water filter. Great for hikers and travellers, the new LifeStraw Steel makes suspect water safe to drink. LifeStraw filters down to an incredible, 0.2 microns in size! This removes virtually all the bacteria (99.9999%) and protozoa (99.9%) from contaminated water, and reduces turbidity (muddiness) by filtering out suspended particles.
For every unit sold, a student in Kenya gets clean water at school for an entire year thanks to the ‘Follow The Liters’ program. To date, over 360,000 students now have safe, clean drinking water.
Big Dipper Wax Works 100% Pure Beeswax Candles
Candles are great for gift-giving since people can always use them, and beeswax is the only type of candle you can feel good about giving. Give the gift of the warmth and health of the hive with this great selection of natural beeswax candles made especially for holidays, special occasions, and gift-giving. Often, companies sell “pure” beeswax candles that contain a combination of 51% beeswax and 49% toxic paraffin. The candles we carry are “100% Pure Beeswax” candles.
What’s more, 10% of the net profits from all candle sales is donated to organizations dedicated to outreach, education, and sustainability efforts devoted to promoting sustainable beekeeping.
Bambu Coasters
A coaster set often makes a good gift since they’re useful, and older sets seem to get lost or stained or worn out. These coasters have some weight to them so they won’t hang on to your glass when you lift it, then it drops into the cheese dip. And they won’t split under a hot teacup. They are made from sustainably harvested bamboo. Bamboo is one of the most renewable and fastest growing resources on earth. While bamboo has many of the properties of fine hardwoods, it’s actually a species of grass that needs no replanting. Bamboo grows without the need for chemical fertilizers or pesticides, and can be harvested in just 3-5 years.
Abeego Wraps
Most people would agree there’s too much plastic in our lives, and much of this is used for food storage. Abeego was created as a natural alternative to plastic for food storage. Use Abeego Flats to wrap up fruit, vegetables, cheese, bread, sandwiches, and to cover dishes and leftovers. Abeego is soft and pliant, with an air-resistant beeswax coating that keeps food fresh. And the Abeego sheets are easy to rinse clean for reuse. Abeego is made from a blend of pure ingredients, each selected for its natural food preserving qualities. Made with pure beeswax, tree resin and jojoba oil infused into a hemp and organic cotton cloth. Abeego wraps are reusable and compostable.
Solmate Socks Recycled Cotton Socks
Eco Friendly – These socks are knit from recycled materials. The recycled cotton yarn is created by recovering the scraps left over from the production of cotton t-shirts. All the little cotton scraps are gathered, ground up and spun into yarn for Solmate Socks. By using recycled cotton, these socks reduce the amount of cotton waste sent to landfills. Our recycled yarns are certified by Oeko-Tex to be free of harmful toxins.
Made in the USA – Sock design, yarn manufacturing, knitting, and finishing final touches are completed at small, family-owned businesses in Vermont and North Carolina.
Scrubba Wash Bag
This ingenious, portable “washing machine” will be a valued gift for the traveler in your list. With a Scrubba you can wash clothes anywhere! It folds down to pocket size so it will fit in a stuffed pack, yet it expands to hold 3 gallons of washing water.
Scrubba is an ongoing contributor to Charity: Water, an organization that supplies clean water and sanitation to thousands of people in need in Bangladesh and Ethiopia.
Onsight Travel Gear
First, they look cool. The designs are modern and stylin’. Then they’re sturdy – the stitching is robust, they are durable. And even more, this line of bags and travel gear is made 60% – 100% from recycled PET bottles. The backpacks are lined for easy cleaning,Onsight products maximize the use of recycled and non-toxic materials, which reduces their environmental impact significantly.
Lifestraw Carbon Credits
A meaningful gift for a person who has it all. When you purchase a LifeStraw® Carbon Credit, you’re helping provide LifeStraw® water filters to families in Kenya. Besides providing safe drinking water to local communities, the availability of safe drinking water means firewood is not being gathered and burned for water purification. Because firewood is no longer needed, children (the firewood gatherers) have time available to go to school. And not burning wood for water purification means all this wood stays as standing forests which scrubs carbon, rather than releasing carbon once felled. The ripple effect of LifeStraw goes beyond the initial benefit of providing safe drinking water.
For more sustainable gift ideas, please visit our eco-friendly gifts category.