An escalating cost-of-living crisis combined with growing concern for the amount of waste generated by unnecessary consumption has many people re-evaluating Holiday gift giving this year. Shopping local, giving second-hand or handmade gift and looking for experiential alternatives to cheap stuff no one really needs has become an act of resistance to the mega corporations that are fuelling many of the crises we face.

For our full 50+ Holiday Eco-Friendly Tips – including Zero Waste Wrapping Guide, Gift Guide, Tree Guide and more – click here.

A new report says that up to 80 percent of items—and any plastic packaging they are wrapped in—will end up either in landfill, incineration or—at best—low quality recycling, often after a very short life. Read more

For those of you looking to bring some cheer to friends and family while reducing waste, here are some low-waste Holiday gift ideas to get you started.

1) Normalize Secondhand Gifts

Maybe your loved one has been pining over something specific and you want to bring them some Holiday cheer by fulfilling this wish. Giving physical gifts is not wrong, but there are ways to find things that are more sustainable and won’t break the bank. And that’s in the secondhand market.

You might be thinking — how can I get a preloved gift when all my favourite secondhand stomping grounds are closed due to lockdown? Don’t fret – in the age of the Internet, engaging in the secondhand market isn’t as hard as you might think. Here are my go-tos:

The great thing about most of these platforms is they have built-in search engines that make it easy to find the item you know your loved one wants (this is how I found a gift for my daughter when she asked for a specific unicorn toy). In many cases, it’s even be possible to arrange the item you find to be shipped.

Let us know in the comments if you try it out!

The future of gifting is secondhand

2) Give consumables 

When in doubt, you can’t go wrong with gifting low-waste consumable items, such as:

  • handmade soaps that use locally sourced ingredients
  • locally handcrafted beeswax or soy candles that come in jars or no packaging
  • handcrafted bath bombs or soaks that use wildcrafted and local ingredients
  • fairtrade or local teas, coffees or hot chocolates (if you live near a bulk store that is accepting reusable containers again, you can upcycle your own jars to put these items in making them package-free)
  • fairtrade chocolates or other locally made sweet treats

The easiest way to find local, handcrafted items is to attend artisan Holiday markets in your area that feature local vendors. If you live in an area that is still in lockdown and Holiday markets are not open for in-person shopping, you can still visit their websites where many of them have listed their vendors. Find what you’re looking for online and order directly from the maker or contact them to arrange a pick-up.

3) Make a gift 

Did you pick up a pandemic hobby like knitting, sewing, macrame, painting or some other crafty skillset? Time to put your new skills to the test and make your own gifts! There’s nothing more meaningful than putting time and effort into something to give your loved one a one-of-a-kind handmade object.

>> Here are some handmade gift ideas.

What you make doesn’t need to be complicated; it could be as simple as writing them a poem or a letter that details all the things you’ll do together when the pandemic is over, that you put inside a handmade card. The point is you are offering them something meaningful that comes from you, and this embodies the true spirit of gifting.

These gifts can even be delicious homemade consumables! One of my colleagues is making soups in jars for loved ones. Check out these recipes. 

Our Head of Digital prepared delicious ingredients for homemade soups in jars to give as Holiday gifts this year!

4) Give them an experience

Skip physical stuff altogether and consider giving them an experiential gift. This could be anything from an online class to a digital magazine subscription to tickets for an online film festival or concert (or in person as things begin opening up again! Local cinemas and cultural centres need our support!).

With the increasing corporate and American ownership (and the largest of those with ties to Trump) of Canadian news and media platforms, giving a subscription to independent Canadian new sites is not only a great gift, in the age of disinformation, it supports democracy itself. We have some incredible independent journalism in Canada, consider a gift subscription to:

Find more in this list here.

Find something your loved one is interested in and search for a unique online experience to give them. This has the added benefit of letting you skip the long lines at the post office or trying to arrange an item to be picked up.

Around the world, a growing movement of people are saying NO to mass overconsumption and YES to a greener, sustainable way of accessing things and working together as a community to ensure everyone has their needs met. Read more

5) Wrap responsibly

According to Zero Waste Canada, Canadians generate 540,000 tonnes of waste from gift wrapping and shopping bags every year — that’s the equivalent of 100,000 elephants if you need a visual! And over the Holidays, our waste volume goes up by at least 25%.

If you are giving a physical gift, wrap it the wasteless way and employ one of these Zero Waste wrapping techniques to reduce unnecessary Holiday waste.

ZERO WASTE WRAPPING GUIDE
Please wrap responsibly.

6) Empower the next generation of activists

Youth around the world face unprecedented challenges – a runaway cost of living crisis, a growing slide into authoritarianism, the roll back of human rights and a climate crisis that compounds it all. Their future is increasingly being caught in the cross hairs of corporate elites that have amassed so much wealth and power they are answerable to no one.

And yet, all around the world, young people are saying enough is enough: IT’S TIME TO RESIST corporate capture.

Greenpeace has been on the frontlines resisting and fighting for a peaceful, just world since the 1970s. As an organization funded entirely by the people, not corporations or governments, we are uniquely positioned to meet this moment. We have the freedom to speak out on the biggest environmental and social justice issues of our time, free from third party influence. Consider giving a gift of support to keep us free to speak up – and to amplify the voices of all who are fighting for a green, just future.

GIVE THE GIFT OF RESISTANCE
May Day Demonstration against Far-Right Party in Paris, France. © Hélène Boissel-Arrieta / Greenpeace
Nearly 100,000 people demonstrated in Paris and 300,000 in France to defend workers’ rights, including the right to live in a peaceful world and a healthy environment. Greenpeace France participated in the demonstration to denounce the collusion between billionaires, fossil industries and the far right, and to emphasize the unbreakable link between ecology and the fight against discrimination. Nearly 100,000 people demonstrated in Paris and 300,000 in France to defend workers’ rights, including the right to live in a peaceful world and a healthy environment. Greenpeace France participated in the demonstration to denounce the collusion between billionaires, fossil industries and the far right, and to emphasize the unbreakable link between ecology and the fight against discrimination. As part of Greenpeace International’s global campaign against the SLAPP (Strategic lawsuit against public participation) order against Greenpeace USA, Greenpeace volunteers unfurled a banner with the text “Time to Resist”.
© Hélène Boissel-Arrieta / Greenpeace