Give Green Gifts

Here are some tips on how to give eco-friendly gifts.

1. Homemade coupons for low-impact activities (like hikes, bike rides, or back rubs) are always a good option.  For other coupon options, check out the offerings from Organic Coupons.  If you (or your giftee) live in the San Francisco Bay Area, check out Green Zebra for coupons all about green living.
2. Make a donation in someone's name.  There are a lot of great organizations out there that can benefit from your generosity (two good ones are Heifer International and Conservation International).
3. Buy someone a carbon offset!  TerraPass has a whole gift section (and they even now offer stuff like a plastic bag dryer and Smart Strips). 
4. Buying for a fashion lover?  Check out How To Green Your Clothing and any of the designers mentioned there.
5. It seems the perennial gift for someone you don’t really know is some type of bath product (i.e. soap, bubble bath, lotion, etc).  But even if you don’t know them, do you really want to give them some paraben-laden, un-eco-friendly thing?  No!  Instead try something listed in the personal care category.
6. Give a national parks pass or a membership to a local botanical garden or aquarium.
7. Of course there are always eco-books and movies (think Worldchanging and an Inconvenient Truth).
8. For the chocolate lover, go with organic or fair-trade treats.  TryArt Bars, Endangered Species Chocolate, Dagoba Chocolate, or Green & Black's.
9. Got a kid’s birthday party or baby shower?  What little tyke wouldn’t love some lovely organic clothing or toys?  Look into LAPSAKY Organic Clothes, Happy Green Bee, and EcoToyTown.
10. If your giftee has a shoe fetish, try Simple Shoes, Natalie Portman’s new vegan line, Earth, or Stella McCartney. 
11. If it’s a bag fetish (and think beyond purses to messenger bags, laptop cases, etc), try Alchemy Goods and Freitag.
12. If you’re looking to give jewelry, try antique or vintage.  Or if you think maybe you’ll be getting down on one knee, check out greenKarat.
    
13. Sure, bags were mentioned in number 11.  But...bags are cool and if they're tote bags that fold up into a 4" x 4" square pouch, well that's even cooler!  These are strong and lightweight and come in great colors - they are called Baggu bags.  And they hold a lot.  Someone gave Huddler Ping three of them and she carries one in her purse at all times.  You can order them online direct from the company or through Amazon.

14. Need a journal? Journaling has many positive psychological effects. Why not get a tree free paper journal?

For mother-specific gifts, check out the Mother's Day Gift Guide.