Holidays are fun, aren’t they? Special food, seeing people you haven’t seen in a while, spending time doing seasonally appropriate activities. All good stuff. Know what’s not fun? Dealing with the mountains of trash that holidays tend to generate. Even if you DON’T run a sustainable sewing company like Something Different Upcycled, I’m sure that you’ve noticed the extra-full garbage cans that line the street on the waste collection pick-up days after Christmas. We can do better. This year, let’s be all about low-waste gift-giving!
Special note: This morning (Friday, 15 November 2024), Canada Post workers went on strike. Everything in this post can be applied to shopping locally, in person, now and at every gift-giving occasion.
Where to start?
While we could also talk food waste, emissions from transportation, the pressure to buy a whole bunch of new clothing, or wasteful gift-wrapping, this week’s post is all about low-waste gift-giving.
But if you are looking to reduce your gift-wrapping footprint and are in the Lower Mainland of BC, check out the gift bags I made! They’re at Homemade Community Shoppe in Chilliwack and will be with me at the Good Stuff Market Nov 30 and Dec 1 at Heritage Hall in Vancouver. Also, look for the low-waste gift wrapping blog post, coming in early December. Follow me on Instagram to know when it’s up.
I think that it helps to keep in mind WHY we give gifts to one another. That might be different for different people that you give to, or according to some cultural or religious protocol. Be clear on your intentions and let that help you to decide what’s right for the situation. For example, a gift for your child is likely to be quite different in intention from a gift for your work bestie or neighbour.
Remember, too, that a gift – ANY gift – that is from a local, small business or artisan is automatically more awesome than something from a massive, online retailer or big box store. I don’t make the rules but that’s a true fact. 😉
You can go as small or as big as you like: a gift card for a coffee, a few baked goods, a piece of art. Low-waste gift-giving is a great practice for even the smallest gifts.
Personally, I love to be able to tell my recipient a bit about where I found it, who made it, or the neighbourhood the place is in. I find that more charming, personal, and engaging than having NO connection to the gift other than exchanging money for it.
Here are five suggestions for how to choose and give low-waste gifts. These work for all gift-giving occasions.
#1: Know your recipient.
If you can, I mean. In other words, be thoughtful about the gift that you give and make it specific to the person you’re giving it to, to the greatest extent possible. At the very least, if you don’t know the recipient very well, consider gifting something consumable, and in recyclable, reusable, or compostable packaging. A batch of cookies or pickles or hand-milled soaps are all great gifts.
Pro tip: If you can MAKE your gift, I think that’s even better. Bake the cookies that your parent loves, print and frame a meaningful photo for your sibling, sew/knit/crochet that thing for your child/partner/best friend. You don’t have to commit to doing this for all of your gift-giving and it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
#2: Experiences
Consider foregoing the ‘thing’ gift entirely in favour of gifting an experience. Choose something that you know your person will enjoy, or one that can be passed along in case they don’t. Some ideas: a cooking class, whale watching or other wildlife tour, concert tickets, admission or annual membership to a botanical garden, aesthetics treatment, tickets to a sporting event, gift vouchers toward travel. You get the idea. Your options will obviously be specific to where you (or your recipient) live, so check out some of the local places, events, and services that are available to you.
#4: Look for your gifts secondhand.
Thrifting at least part of your gift is an awesome way to keep things low-waste. I’ve been seeing ‘what I thrifted and how I gifted it’ posts all over Instagram and YouTube lately, and I think it’s a great idea, especially if it includes items that you think your person will LOVE and/or if it helps them to do something. Maybe your person has said that they want to learn to knit. No charity thrift store I’ve ever seen has been without a vast collection of knitting needles for sale. Or yarn, for that matter. Find an appropriate basket or bag to package it together and your gift is ready to go. If you know how to knit, you could also include an offer to teach your recipient.
#3: Gift certificates
These could be for practical things like groceries (great idea if combined with a cooking class experience gift), or for something that you know the recipient enjoys, participates in, or is planning to do. For example, if your person is a runner who is training for a race, gift certificates toward new shoes or other gear, travel or hotel certificates if they’re travelling for the race, or even a massage voucher for when they’re recovering would all be thoughtful gifts. Gift cards or certificates are also great ways to support local businesses in your community.
Another take on gift certificates is to make your own. This way, you can gift your time and/or skills to someone. Mending, childminding, household repairs, cooking, and organizing can all fit into this category. I really love this idea for kids to gift to their family members. Younger kids can ‘gift’ artwork, special chores, or their own skills (e.g. reading a story out loud or singing a song), while older kids might include looking after younger kids, preparing meals, or some other household task.
#5: Upcycle, Repurpose, Reimagine.
If you have a talent for re-imagining and creating things anew, put it to good use and make some awesome stuff for your recipients this holiday season! If you like this idea but don’t have the time, patience, or other resources, I’ve got you! Have a look at the shop for some ideas, and come see me the Good Stuff Market at Heritage Hall in Vancouver later this month. You can also find Something Different at Homemade Community Shoppe in Chilliwack. Check out this post for some idea of the special holiday goodies available in both of those locations.
Support Local (make a local small business owner’s or artisan’s day)
Support your local small businesses and artisans as much as you can. It’s been a rough few months (*ahem* years ) for everyone and keeping our communities healthy by investing in them with the buying choices we make is important. Money spent locally tends to stay local, and that helps to keep our communities strong and resilient. And it makes that small business owner or artisan SUPER happy. Really.
Happy gifting, everyone! Let me know in the comments what your most wished-for low-waste gift is this year. Do you have any other suggestions for low-waste gift-giving? Leave those in the comments too or send me a message!