Gifts to our dear ones are to remind them how special they are to us. It’s not about the price or size, it’s about the thought that goes behind it. Some of the best options are gifting something hand made or your favourite book, or cooking a nice dinner for them or a ticket to a play! It need not even be materialistic. However, we have all been in situations where we run out of ideas and look for something in the last minute, like my brother usually does on Raksha Bandhan days! 🙂 The list below is just indicative of some ecofriendly and guilt free options. This is not sponsored at all, and please comment below if you know of any other ideas or brands! Happy gifting
  1. For the Eco-lover :
   If you are planning to gift a card, you could check out seed paper greeting cards. Check out seed papers, seed paper greeting cards, seed pencils on this website. Gift these eco-friendly seed papers and see them grow into a plant! https://www.seedpaperindia.com/papers
Â
2. Online games for the gaming enthusiasts:
 It is as an e-gift that is Paper-less, plastic-less and environment friendly. You could also gift an e-book. These options are zero- waste and is an ideal option for online game enthusiasts and e-book readers.
3. For the serial watcher:
Gift a Netflix subscription- Yass! You might be wondering how is this eco-friendly?
Well, it involves no paper, or plastic and your friend might be considering buying it anyway! So, why not gift something that’s useful to your friend?
Â
  4. For the plants lover or to add some greens to a new home:
  Indoor plants and succulents are environment friendly gifting options that make for a great décor. Although there are a lot of websites to order these from, your best bet it to buy it from the nearby nursery or plants vendor. Spider plant, Snake Plants, Rubber plants, succulents are some great eco-friendly gifting options in the true sense. Some indoor plants are great air purifiers. They are environment friendly and a great addition to one’s home. Some good online stores are https://www.ugaoo.com/ and https://www.myplantmytaste.com
I have shopped frommyplantmytaste.com . They have some amazing offers and an option to reach out to them if your plant isn’t doing well and you need help. How cool!
Â
5. For the Travel Enthusiasts:
Zero Waste Travel Kits: If your friends love travelling, this is a great gifting idea.
A quirky travel mug to help people prevent using disposable/use&throw cups or a zero waste travel kit is an environment friendly gift. Refer to the following links to get zero-waste travel kits that include travel cutlery, reusable straws etc.
https://barenecessities.in/collections/zero-waste-gifts/products/zero-waste-starter-kit
https://www.shubz.in/top-10-travel-mugs-under-rs-1000-in-india-2018/
https://www.theecotrunk.com/reusable-cutlery/2849-GreenOnTheGoCutleryKitWithBambooStraw.html
Â
6. For the creative and DIY lover:
You can also make some innovative gifts using left-over bottles and cans. Coorg Craft Store uses everyday items to make beautiful home décor like flower vases, pen stands, tissue holders etc. Craft made out of bottles that would have been otherwise thrown away are a great option for creative minded people. It also results in less waste to landfills. For more ideas look up the CoorgCraft store account https://www.instagram.com/coorgcraftstore/
7. Personal Care and Grooming!
Handcrafted soaps and personal care items and accessories- Handmade soaps and shampoo bars that are sold in the local melas are good options for gifting. Other options for environment friendly soap bars that come in plastic free packaging by these brands, as below:
Soapworks has some affordable gifting options both for men and women. They are environment friendly and have plastic free packaging. Check out their products below:
https://soapworksindia.com/t/gift-a-soap-hamper
Check out BareNecessities for some amazing zero waste home and personal care products:
https://barenecessities.in/collections/zero-waste-gifts
Â
8. For the chai lover:
Get some interesting tea blends from teatrunk.com. They come in nice tin boxes. Try not to get the small samples that come in single use packages. Loose tea is a good alternative to tea bags, as tea bags have plastic lining and do not decompose naturally. You can even get these stainless steel tea infusers, that are quick and easy replacements to tea bags!
Nice tea cups from local artisans with simple paper packaging are nice innovative options for a chai drinker!
8. For the bookworms:
Gift your favourite book or buy one from a local bookstore if you want to buy a hard copy. Kindle readers would be very happy to get an ebook from their wishlist!
9. For the art enthusiasts:
Head to artmeno.in to buy some beautiful pieces of art. It’s newly launched and by a good friend of mine. 🙂 So you can reach out to them to ship some beautiful original artworks by budding and popular artists!
10. For your friends with a sweet tooth
Head to a local bakery or sweet shop to pack some cupcakes or sweets. They usually come in nice paper boxes. Say not to plastic bags. There it is! Win-win ! 🙂
11. For Upcyclers:
For sustainable, eco-friendly and ever so beautiful gifting things that are made of upcycled materials and discarded paper, visit thesecondlife instagram account.
Head to this page to shop their products http://abcd.co.in/shop
Great! Thanks for compiling the list.