Evite and greeting-card sites have seemingly done wonders for the environment with respect to saving paper. But sometimes the electronic note can’t replace a holiday card or paper invitation—especially when it comes to occasions like weddings, baby showers or graduation. Don’t sacrifice the green. Send a handmade recycled-paper card that when planted grows into a wildflower. Botanical Paperworks and
Green gifts are certainly chic this holiday. Every media outlet ranging from House and Garden to Plenty has an eco-gift guide for the environmental shopper. Even chi-chi department store Barneys went green this year, with recyclable shopping bags and an eco-themed catalog. (I’m not sure $1,000 for a grocery-store handbag is the best way to go about conservation, but the idea is right.)
So what is the average eco-minded person looking for in a gift this year? Well, to start with, soap.
Lucas Heldfond, owner of San Francisco’s Spring, a store that sells earth-friendly home accents, said that many people are making their own gift baskets this year with Mrs. Meyers’ aromatherapy dish soap, countertop spray and all-purpose cleaner–products that don’t use toxic chemicals. Given that the packaging should be reusable, too, the products come in a bowl made of sustainable bamboo. The gift is thoughtful and useful, he said.
“What’s nice about green gifting is there’s a very practical side,” Heldfond said. “Dish soap isn’t typically a consumer gift, but this year, it’s chic.”