Best Ideas for Eco-Friendly Gifts for Women

They say that a gift should be meaningful. But there’s much more to this saying today, as modern presents are often not only unique and thoughtful but also sustainable. You see, not all cute gifts out there positively impact the environment. A lot of them are non-biodegradable and quite harmful to the ecosystem.

Sure, it’s hard to cope with that feeling when you pick a great present that your one and only will surely love. But choosing a gift that’s both symbolic and eco-friendly is like caring for your loved one and the whole planet at the same time. Isn’t this a good reason to rethink some of your present-buying habits and support the environment by encouraging zero-waste consumption? If you think in this way, here’s what you can do to please your significant other and reduce humanity’s global environmental footprint. To make it easier for you to join the green side, we’ve put together a small list of eco-friendly gifts ideas she’d love and explained all the benefits of sustainable products.

What Are Eco-Friendly Gifts?

Eco-products are on the rise. A growing number of people start caring about the ecological impact of the products they purchase. Eco-confident buyers want to know where food companies grow fruits and vegetables, how their clothes are made, what the products they use, and so on. The market is seeing a great variety of green goods that didn’t exist just a few years ago: from cleaning products to clothing, from grocery bags to food, from pasta to kids’ toys. But what are eco-friendly products, anyway?

Eco-friendly (environmentally friendly or green) is a multi-valued concept used to refer to goods, services, laws, and policies, which claim to do minimal harm to the ecosystem. Let’s say you go browsing the Web to meet hot girls online, and your computer runs on energy from a solar panel. You can proudly call this eco-friendly online dating. But typically, the term is used in relation to products that correspond to a green lifestyle, help save resources, such as water and energy, and/or don’t pollute the environment. Making a completely environmentally friendly product means creating a product that doesn’t harm both the environment and people. But it takes a lot of effort to make a completely eco-friendly product. The entire chain, from the production of a product, including transportation and storage, to its consumption and utilization, must have no or minimal ecological footprint.

An essential sign of eco-friendliness is the non-toxicity of the product. When choosing cheap, eco-friendly gifts, the first thing you should pay attention to is their composition. The list should contain only organic ingredients or materials obtained without the use of petroleum products, toxic pesticides, or herbicides. Glass, wood, or metal products labeled "made from recycled materials" are also a good choice.

Benefits of Eco Gifts for Girls

When you go green, you make your lifestyle beneficial not only for you but for everyone surrounding you as well. So why not share a small part of that lifestyle with your loved one? While single woman dating doesn’t benefit much from green gifts, our planet sure does, so if your one and only isn’t eco-friendly at the moment, it would be a nice idea to show her the pros of sustainable products and help her change her mind. We’ve picked five main benefits to consider.

You get what you need without harming the ecosystem

We can’t imagine our lives without such necessities as food, clothes, gadgets, cosmetics, and so on, but why should our consumerism threaten the environment? The whole point of natural organic gifts is to cut down the negative effect on our planet – your special someone gets a cute present, and nature doesn’t suffer. That’s what we call a win-win situation. There are not that many Earth-like planets out there, so reducing your carbon footprint to make our chunk of rock last longer seems reasonable.

Sustainable gifts bring a healthier life

Naturally, all-natural products are healthier in nature. Seriously, though, depending on the gift you choose, it may benefit not only the planet but your girlfriend’s well-being too. Some of them are even more durable than their less friendly analogs (natural materials often last longer than chemical ones). When it comes to healthy and green products, you can choose between food, clothing, and cosmetics. As for clothes, for instance, nowadays, there are dozens of great brands that make their products from high-quality yet eco-friendly materials. You’ll have no problem finding nice-looking jeans, underwear, or even baby outfits, and that’s only one tiny part of the eco market – there are many more eco-friendly gift ideas. Giving your significant other a sustainable present, you put a smile on her face and bring her closer to a healthier life.

No personal morals conflicts

Green gifts aren’t just biodegradable, healthy, and pollution-free – they’re also animal-free. Most eco-manufacturers never test their products on animals and avoid using animal byproducts. As a result, they never suffer from the negative aspects large companies usually have to deal with, such as poor manufacturing or animal-related scandals. If your girlfriend is an animal lover, don’t hesitate and go looking for organic gifts for her.

They’re unique

Another reason to start looking up green gift ideas is the authenticity of eco-friendly presents. You’ll hardly find another product like the one you’re going to buy, so you can be sure your idea will be unique. Small eco-friendly companies usually produce one-of-a-kind gifts, and those that have the same shape and size come in different colors. There’s no better way to tell your loved one she’s special than to give her a special present.

You might be able to save some money

And last but not least, sustainable gifts can cost you a lot less than ordinary ones in the long run. For example, most modern smart home devices, from light bulbs to toilets, are designed to consume fewer resources. Besides, many companies offer generous discounts on eco-friendly home gadgets, which is also a plus.

Why There Is a Trend for Eco-Friendly Ideas?

The demand for sustainable products is on the rise. In the last couple of years, interest in environment-friendly solutions has gradually increased, and this trend won’t be showing signs of stopping any time soon. But why did it occur in the first place?

Since we live in a world of high technology and mass consumption, it seems plain impossible to stay green. In reality, things turned out to be much easier than we thought. The main thing is to realize that you don’t have to wait for someone to do it first. The trend for eco arose when the number of environmental problems increasingly began to outweigh standard solutions to them. Previously, global warming was a vague conspiracy from books and yellow pages, but now this is one of the worst threats to the planet. The key principle of any eco-friendly solution is to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere and rationalize the use of natural resources. Eco allows you to do something useful for yourself and the planet, saving money in the process. That’s what attracts so many eco followers.

The main motive for buying only the best organic gifts is the opportunity to make a personal contribution to the preservation of the environment. Some consumers are attracted by health benefits. No animal tests but fair and decent working conditions are also powerful factors.

Eco-Friendly Gift Ideas for Her

Green products are the perfect gift not only for a zero-waster but also for someone who leads a conscious lifestyle. We’ve pulled together a short eco-friendly gift guide in case you’re new to the trend.

Natural soap

Eco-presents for the home will perfectly suit any occasion. One of the most popular options is natural soap. It’s made of a soap base, flavoring products (like citrus fruits), and scrubbing particles (for example, coffee). Alternatively, you can present a soap making class certificate so that your one and only could learn this art on her own. There are also natural air fresheners. These are flavored cotton bags with zest or dried flowers that saturate the house with pleasant smells.

A thermos or thermo-mug

Another way to join the eco-trend is to ditch disposable cups and lids for them. Zero-wasters encourage people to buy takeaway drinks and ask to pour them into a personal thermo-mug or thermos. You can support this trend and present this eco-friendly accessory to your loved one. The price may be different, depending on the volume. If you’re on a budget, you can order a thermo-mug with a minimum volume of 200 ml. You can also find 250, 330, 500 and 700 ml cups. To add a lovely touch, you may order a unique print with your girlfriend’s name.

Recycled clothing

If you’re choosing among unique eco-friendly gifts, check out clothing, shoes, or accessories made from recycled waste. Many leading brands produce recycled items: H&M, Nike, Levi’s, and so on. You surely won’t have a problem finding a pair of recycled sneakers. Consider a designer handmade belt bag that has been recycled from car tires - original and environmentally friendly, isn't it?

Biodegradable cookware set

A broken plate or mug, once in a landfill, won’t harm the environment much, but it will decompose there for centuries. Alternatively, biodegradable cookware made from bamboo, corn starch, wheat straw, and sugar cane will never leave a trace once you throw it away. The way it’s disposed of isn’t more complicated than the way you dispose of a rotten apple – after a couple of months in a compost pit, such cookware will turn into fertilizer.

Natural sweets

One of the most popular options for cute presents is edible goodies of natural origin. Eating them, you shouldn’t worry about the safety of your health or the calories you’ll have to work off in the gym. They include:

• Honey. You can present the product in its pure form or a variety of goodies based on it, like sweetened cocoa beans, nuts, dried berries, seasonings, etc.
• Jam. Fruit, berry, or even vegetable jam – modern cooking knows no bounds. You can even make this eco-friendly gift yourself. This will not only exalt you in your loved one’s eyes but also ensure that the product is completely eco-friendly.
• Pastille. A delicious snack that your sweet tooth girlfriend will love. The basis of the product contains fruit or berry puree full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
• Natural candies. You can make them from various ingredients, like dates, nuts, coconut, honey, fruit puree, and others. Just make sure they were grown in an eco-friendly environment.

You can present a set in a single style (for example, a gift set with different varieties of honey) or combine several options of sweets in one gift.

It’s always tricky to choose gifts for an eco-friendly woman, when you’ve done it or purchased a gift, it's time to think about packaging. It would be weird to wrap your green, sustainable present in plastic, so try to abandon plastic film or bags because the packaging doesn’t last more than half a minute, and then goes straight to landfill. It’s better to choose paper (ideally – some craft that’s pleasant to the touch and made from recycled cellulose) and tie the bundle with cotton braid or jute twine. If you want to decorate your holiday packaging with class, you can easily find green ideas on YouTube.