If you are looking for something extra special for your loved one, look no further. I made a list of seven luxury eco-friendly gifts. Many of the suggestions are very location-specific, so I do not include specific recommendations. Other items might be harder to find in general. Unique pieces that you might need to search for a specialized shop in your location. I assume if you are looking for a very special gift, you are willing to go the extra mile for your loved one.
I am not using any affiliate links, everything I recommend is because I like it and think it is useful. Feel free to search for different options in the same products category.
The list of luxury eco-friendly gifts includes
- Spa day or weekend
- Yoga retreat
- Eco-resort holiday
- Gift set of eco-friendly cosmetics
- Items made of reclaimed wood
- Matt&Nat
- Avocado Green Mattresses
Spa day or weekend
Pampering your loved one with a massage, skin, and body treatments, or healing practices might be just what they need in order to relax. You can either go together or send them alone to a full spa day or a full spa weekend.
There are many spas with sustainability policies in place. They use natural, organic products, and will adopt a variety of sustainable practices in their spa that go beyond reducing waste, plastic recycling, or paper-reduction.
This gift will depend so much on where you live. Therefore you have to do your own research on which spas in your location will use natural green products and what kind of green policies do they have in place.
Yoga retreat
Similarly, you could book a short or long yoga retreat. Yoga retreats will usually have many eco-friendly policies in place. In addition, they will offer mainly vegetarian food. Yoga retreats are often done internationally, which would include travel. But you really don’t need to travel to India, Thailand, or Bali to have a great relaxing experience. Try searching for a local yoga center that will offer retreats in a close-by location. This way, you avoid international travel that causes so much air pollution.
Eco-resort holiday
For your next holiday destination, why not look at the best eco-friendly options. Ecotourism has been on the rise for the last years even decades.
Ecotourism is defined as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education. Education is meant to be inclusive of both staff and guests” by The International Ecotourism Society. Some of the principles to follow are to minimize the impacts, build awareness, and respect. Provide direct benefits in terms of conservation, operate low-impact facilities, involve local communities, among others. You can find eco-friendly destinations all around the world. Whether you are traveling locally, nationally, or worldwide, research the best options.
For some inspiration, here are some worldwide eco-resorts:
Ecocamp Patagonia Chile
It is the region’s first fully sustainable accommodation south of the Amazon and the world’s first geodesic hotel room. EcoCamp primarily uses renewable energy sources. They use various sustainable practices. For instance, composting toilets and a biofiltration system to help replenish the soil. They also use natural gas, additionally to biodegradable products, like soap or shampoo. They separate all the trash.
Bardessono Eco Resort and Spa in Napa Valley, California
Bardessono Eco Resort and Spa is a LEED-platinum certified hotel and spa. LEED is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification. They have rooftop photovoltaic solar power systems in place in addition to grey and black water treatment systems. They use geothermal energy onsite to ensure the retreat is environment-friendly. There is also a restaurant serving locally-grown foods. Other sustainable policies include low water usage, reusing of material, or organic gardening.
Lapa Rio Eco-Lodge in Costa Rica
Nature conservation and community development are part of their mission. They use tourism as a means to acquire and protect the surrounding endangered rainforest. They use systems for solar water heating and only use organic cleaning products & bath products. Lapa Rio has its own organic vegetable garden and has a strict no-plastic policy. They are recycling more than 80 percent of the hotel’s waste. They built the whole resort with renewable materials.
Cosmetics: luxury eco-friendly gift set
We do not consider traditional cosmetics and toiletries eco-friendly. They use chemicals and toxic ingredients and unsustainable resources in their production processes. These cosmetics do the most damage to the environment once they are washed away down our sinks. Moreover, they usually use excessive plastic packaging that is rarely recycled after use. Usually, because these products are made from mixed plastics. Mixed materials are not possible to recycle and so most of the packaging will end up in landfills.
What to look for
In order to choose a greener option, look out for these 3 characteristics:
- Natural organic ingredients as natural oils, and herbs and/or biodegradable formula that ensures the products are capable of decomposing naturally after they are washed away.
- Less and better packaging: soap, shampoo, and conditioner bars barely need any packaging. If the product needs packaging, look for glass, metal, cardboard containers, or alternatively recycled plastic.
- Many of the eco-friendly brands will be vegan, cruelty-free, fair trade certified
Some of the brands:
Fortunately, it is fairly easy to find eco-friendly brands that make cosmetics and makeup. Pick one of these brands or search for another brand of your liking. Pick a gift set if they offer them or just buy several items and pack them in a nice basket.
100% PURE™
Their mission is to produce the purest, healthiest products, and to be environmentally sustainable. Their definition of a natural product is having ingredients or formula composed of plant, mineral, and/or marine vegetation that undergo chemical changes due to biological processes such as fermentation, distillation, and cold processing. They are certified cruelty-free.
Juice Beauty
Their products are all made with Certified Organic Ingredients, in order to enhance powerful antioxidants and to limit pesticides & synthetic fertilizer residue. They use sustainable packaging made from FSC paper, Bioresin, glass, and recycled plastics. All the products are vegan and not tested on animals.
Barefaced Beauty
Their products are made with sustainable, natural ingredients. They are also ethically sourced from suppliers with clear policies in place to make sure they use legal procedures and are free from child labor. The brand is completely cruelty-free and vegan certified and they only use recycled or recyclable packaging.
Items made of reclaimed wood
The impact of forestation throughout the world has heightened the awareness of how using reclaimed wood could help save our environment. Reclaimed wood is any kind of wood, that has already served a purpose and is given a “second chance”. Instead of throwing the wood away and letting it go to the landfills, it is treated and used again. The reclaimed wood usually comes from old constructions, after they dismantle them.
Because the process might involve the preparation of the wood, it usually is more expensive than new wood. It also might be harder to find specific items.
For gifts, you can find a variety of items made of reclaimed wood such as furniture, wall art, cabinetry, and more. The best option probably is to go to a local specialized furniture shop, shop online on Etsy, or any place where they sell unique art items.
Matt&Nat
This brand sells a variety of items from bags, footwear, accessories such as sunglasses, belts, dog accessories, coats, jackets, vests, and many other products.
The company only uses vegan, and sustainable materials: vegan leathers, cork, rubber, or linings made of 100% recycled plastic bottles. The company explores new innovative ways to remain sustainable and eco-friendly. They have experimented with different recycled materials such as recycled nylons, cardboard, rubber, and cork. They have also introduced recycled bicycle tires to their collections.
The company encourages employees to volunteer for environmental causes and to donate unused items to different organizations.
Avocado Green Mattresses
This Certified B Corporation produces mattresses and bedding that are handmade in California. Using only certified organic, natural, and non-toxic materials. Their mission includes being the most respected source for organic and natural mattresses, pillows, and bedding while maintaining environmentally-conscious, ethical, and sustainable business practices across the entire supply chain and help protect our planet.
The used materials include GOLS organic certified latex, GOTS organic certified wool, GOTS organic certified cotton, and GOTS organic certified kapok fiber. And they also have a specialized vegan line for mattresses and bedding in general.
Moreover, they also publish digital Avocado Green® Magazine. The magazine covers green design, health, wellness & natural living, plus non-toxic, ethical, organic, and sustainable lifestyles & experiences.
Eco-friendly gift wrapping
After you have chosen the best gift, you might need to wrap and decorate it. I have written a whole article on eco-friendly ways to wrap a gift. Read it and get inspired so you don’t mess your green gift with plastic wrapping. In this article, I cover how to reuse what you already have in your house for wrapping, some non-traditional ways of wrapping including a Japanese traditional way of wrapping called Furoshiki. Moreover, I give tips on how to tie and decorate the gift.
If you want to learn more about what does it mean to be eco-friendly, check out this article where I cover everything from the product stages, materials, to certifications, and much more.
I am not using any affiliate links, everything I recommend is because I like it and think it is useful. Feel free to search for different options in the same products category.
