Monday, November 21, 2011

Great green gifts

Gearing up for Christmas shopping? Here's a collection of green gift ideas for everybody on your list...


(image: recycled circuit board ornaments from GeekSugar.com)

Visit sites like Ecoist, FairTradeSports, OrganicBabyGiftsBoutique, OliveGreenDog, and WearYourMusic to find unique gifts that are organic, recycled, fair trade, charitable, or all of the above. Follow this link to the Consumer Reports Greener Choices page for these sites and a few more.

Don't forget the rechargeable batteries to power your gadgets. View CR recommendations for long-lasting, greener batteries.

http://www.wired.com/ Their holiday buying guide has some groovy gifts like the MudWatt electrochemistry kit and a sculptural CFL bulb called the Plumen 001.

http://www.uncommongoods.com/ - Unique gifts and creative design found here, many handmade and/or recycled, with items like record bookends, tree ring coasters, and bamboo dry erase boards.

http://www.resourcerevival.com/ - Green gifts, awards, and promotional items made from recycled bicycle parts.

http://www.signals.com/ Gifts that inform, enlighten & entertain, including recycled wine bottle drinking glasses, bamboo keyboard and mouse, and newspaper bead bracelets. Building buffs will enjoy the origami architecture book and Frank Lloyd Wright Lego sets, while electrician types will get a charge out of the "Resistance is not futile…" T-shirt.

http://www.etsy.com/ The worldwide online marketplace for handmade gifts.

http://blog.makezine.com/ Or bypass the shopping altogether and make your own stuff, like DIY iPhone gloves.

Happy holidays!

P.S. Today's Grist newsletter had a good article about eschewing "stuff" - complete with links to Annie Leonard's Story of Stuff and George Carlin's NSFW rant about it.  Food for thought...

1 comment:

Dave said...

Thanks for the great green gift ideas. The Tree Ring Coasters make a wonderful gift. They can be purchased from Uncommon Goods or directly from the manufacturer at www.TreeRingPens.com. For a really spectacular green gift, check out the Tree Ring Pen at the same site.
Dave