Sustainable gifts

A completely free, but all the more valuable gift is time. Especially in the often hectic everyday life, there is sometimes too little time for friends or family. So it’s a great idea to simply give away time together: a picnic together, a bike tour, an excursion, a meal together, the list of ideas is incredibly long.

Another sustainable gift, which is also super practical, is a reusable bottle. Filled with tap water, topped up at filling stations or filled with water from larger canisters, it can become a constant companion. The bottles are available in a wide variety of materials and sizes for young and old. My favorite bottle is still the Stainless steel bottles by Klean Kanteen*, because they are very robust and can survive falls. I’ve had my bottle for over 5 years. It did take a few bumps over time, but is otherwise still in good shape. Otherwise, I also think Soulbottles* are great. The CO2-neutral and fairly produced bottles in Germany come with beautiful designs and are definitely worth a look.

A great way to save a lot of garbage is to use a safety razor instead of disposable or plastic razors. Not only are these sustainable, but the replacement blades are also very cheap. A safety razor is therefore an absolute must on our sustainable gift list. Our favorite safety razor is the Safety razor by EcoYou*. It is made of wood and stainless steel. The razor lies comfortably in the hand and thanks to the wooden handle does not slip away when showering. It has already convinced many skeptical hearts, as can be seen from the many positive reviews in countless shops.

The renewable raw material cork is often listed as an environmentally friendly alternative to leather. And rightly so. The bark of cork oak can only be peeled every eight to twelve years, the trees themselves can even be up to 250 years old. One ton of cork fixes around 1.8 tons of CO₂ per year. The provider Corkor has specialized in the use of this material for wallets, cell phone cases, and laptop bags. These cork objects are made in Portugal under fair and social working conditions. They’re durable, noble, and vegan. The cork oaks, which provide the material for production, grow very close to the company’s headquarters, which means that long transport routes can be avoided. Thanks to its properties, cork is an ideal substitute for leather. It is elastic, water-repellent, and stable. Nevertheless, it has a soft surface and is warm in the hand. With all these positive properties, a Cork wallet* would be a great gift idea, wouldn’t you?

One of my absolute favorite gifts that I have given away countless times is a bee sponsorship. With such a sponsorship the bees are supported and our environment is protected. As a rule, one beehive is assigned to each adoption and given its own number or name. In return, depending on the size of the bee sponsorship, you will receive a certain number of honey jars from “your” bees. Usually, you can visit “your” bees in the course of the year and see how honey production is handled. In addition to the honey, there is a certificate to hang up at home. Due to the fact that bees are dying out, bee sponsorship is a sustainable gift with which you can easily protect the little ones without having to have your own garden. You can get such a bee adoption by der Bienenpate or by Bienenpatenschaft.info.

A tree adoption is similar to a bee adoption and supports the environment. Depending on the tree species, your tree can bind a certain amount of CO2 and thus counteract global warming. And the great thing is, you don’t have to do anything yourself. Instead, depending on the provider, like Treedom, you can watch your tree grow over the Internet. At the same time, your tree supports the community living at the planting site, providing them with food and work. A tree sponsorship starts with a few euros, but can also cost several hundred or thousands of euros if you adopt an entire forest. You can find tree adoption on Treedom or primaklima, among others.

Do you know someone who would like to live more sustainably, but doesn’t know where to start? Then a zero waste starter set would be just the thing. In such a set you will find useful items that make it easier to start a more sustainable life. A starter set usually includes things like bamboo toothbrushes, solid soaps, or vegetable bags. You can either buy the starter set ready-made, as here from EcoYou* or this one from Ecomonkey*, or you can create your own individual starter set with the help of the 55 sustainable gift ideas list.

A very helpful book on how to live more sustainably is one of the books by smarticular. With simple tips and explanations, the editors will guide you step by step to live more sustainably. The book 5 Home Remedies Replace a Drugstore* shows you many helpful tips, for example how you can make your own cleaners and completely do without chemicals from the supermarket. The plastic savings book* gives you over 300 sustainable tips and ideas for a greener life. Thus, the books are two examples of sustainable gifts that make it easier for the recipient to start or develop their own sustainable life.

With the OxfamUnpacked gifts* you can give twice the joy – once with the recipient and a second time on site in an aid project. The oxfam gifts have very unusual names – you can give away a goat, a donkey or a classroom. These names are only symbolic of the emergency aid and development projects that Oxfam supports. The recipients receive a greeting card with a funny fridge magnet, the money goes to where it is urgently needed. Incidentally, these charity gifts can also be deducted from tax as donations.

As a diving instructor and committed marine conservationist, this gift idea should not be missing on my list. Sharklab Malta, in collaboration with the National Aquarium in Malta, has set itself the goal of saving as many catsharks as possible. Unfortunately, pregnant Haimamas are sometimes fished out of the sea by Malta’s fishermen. Their eggs ended up in the garbage for years, which dramatically decreased the catshark population. Since Sharklab Malta cannot stop the fishermen from doing their job, they are now saving the unborn sharks instead. The shark eggs are now collected at the fish markets and raised in the National Aquarium until they hatch. As soon as they have reached a certain size in the aquariums, they are released into the sea. A shark adoption supports this organization in its work. As a thank you, you will receive an adoption certificate including information about your adopted shark. After a few months, you will receive an eggshell like the one your shark hatched out of. As soon as your shark is released into the sea, you will receive an invitation to participate in this event – even if a lot of it takes place in Malta, it is worth supporting the work there. And maybe you can even combine the suspension event with a vacation. Here you can get the shark adoption.

An insect hotel is a habitat for many small creatures that are important for our environment and plant diversity. Since many domestic insects hardly find species-appropriate habitats due to intensive land use, radical pest control, and monocultures, such a “hotel” is a suitable method for the small beneficial insects to enable them to live comfortably. Insect hotels are available in a wide variety of designs and sizes, for the garden, for the balcony, or for the house wall, so there is something for every environment. In addition to the practical aspect as a living space, an insect hotel is also totally exciting for children, as they can observe the biodiversity of the residents who live peacefully side by side when they look closer.

What about fresh organic vegetables and fruits as a gift? A bio box* can be just the thing. Especially for those who do not want to do without healthy, regional, and fresh organic food, but have no farm shop or organic market nearby, the organic box is a real alternative. With the organic box, you can order organically grown food directly from the producer and have it conveniently delivered to your home. The delivery is usually made in reusable boxes. A voucher or a whole subscription as a gift* not only supports the local farmers but also keeps the recipient healthy.

Nowadays it is not difficult to compost even in a city apartment, did you know that? Thanks to the bokashi or worm box, you can easily turn your kitchen waste into something useful for your plants instead of just throwing it into the organic waste bin. The Bokashi Bucket* helps you ferment your waste. Thanks to effective microorganisms, your waste turns into fermented vegetable residues within several weeks, which are then processed into high-quality fertilizer. The resulting juice can be diluted and used as a liquid fertilizer or drain cleaner. An alternative to the Bokashi are worm boxes. These boxes, some of which are disguised as stools, depending on the provider, process your vegetable waste directly into precious worm hummus. The compost worms living in the box are responsible for producing the soil. The compost tea produced at the same time can be diluted and used as a liquid thinner, similar to the Bokashi. Both variants are simple but effective methods without being able to compost and create valuable fertilizer for your own plants even without a garden. That’s why both of them should not be missing on the list for sustainable gifts.