Shopping for the holiday season can be a doozie. Every list has a few hard-to-buy-for individuals (okay, it’s almost always the in-laws). 

Plus, there’s so much waste involved with gifting. Will they even use it, or will it sit on the shelf for the next seven years before they donate it to Goodwill? Is it a single-use item that ends up in the landfill almost as soon as they’ve opened it?

Shopping and gifting sustainably is yet another factor to take into consideration, but it can be done with the right holiday gift guides.

This list will get you started with six eco-friendly gift ideas, whether you’re shopping in-person or online—just be wary of any online shopping scams!

#1 Reusable Beeswax Wrap

This one goes out to the mom on your list who loves Tupperware containers. She’ll probably love reusable beeswax wraps just as much, especially when they come in such vibrant, funky patterns from Nature Bee. 

They’re perfect for covering bowls, wrapping leftover blocks of cheese, and keeping raw ingredients fresh. Just wash, dry, and repeat! Who doesn’t love that kind of convenience?

#2 Portable Wine Tumbler

The holidays can get a little hectic, to say the least. And how do you take the edge off? With a conspicuously concealed wine bottle tumbler, that’s how!

Gift this to the environmentally-conscious adult in your life who loves a wine-and-cheese-board picnic, a glass of merlot on the patio, or a beach trip beverage. Forget glass, forget plastic—give them the gift of refillable wine tumblers instead.

#3 Biodegradable Phone Case, Watch Band, and More

Just because it’s biodegradable doesn’t mean it’s not still adorable. Pela sells a whole line of eco-friendly tech accessories with beautiful and unique designs:

• Phone case – Their most notable cases include engravings of sea turtles, honeybees, and more, but they also sell transparent, solid-colored, and wallet cases. 

• Watch band – Pela sells the world’s first compostable Apple Watch band in five stunning colors. 

• AirPods case – Choose from six unique colors for either the AirPods or AirPods Pro, all made from the same biodegradable materials.

#4 Sustainable Socks

Everyone knows it’s not Christmas unless someone receives underwear and socks (sorry, we don’t make the rules). This year, you can extend your gift a little bit further by shopping with Bombas. 

Bombas socks are some of the comfiest essentials around—especially their merino wool calf-socks—so your friends and family will be wearing them for months and even years to come. Purchasing durable, high-quality socks keeps the cheap stuff from pouring into landfills at unprecedented rates. 

They also give back with every purchase made. When your recipient opens their gift, someone in a homeless shelter does, too. The sock-rule doesn’t include anything about giving a second pair away to someone who needs it (we checked), so we’d say you’re in the clear on this one. 

#5 Something Handmade

Not only are handmade gifts full of love, but they can also be full of repurposed items. To get those creative wheels spinning, here are just a few suggestions:

• Try crafting something with stuff you can find in your house, including old photographs, scrap newspaper, cardboard boxes, and more. 

• Gather pretty stones or dry leaves from outside to decorate a picture frame with. 

• Ask around for old fabric or yarn to knit or sew something.

The opportunities are nearly endless.

Whether it’s a handknit scarf or a DIY photo frame, your recipient is bound to love it because it came from you—not some overseas factory that relies on cheap, toxic materials. 

#6 Recycled Journals & Planners

Paper is one of the easiest materials to recycle. Now, thankfully, people are turning that recycled paper into beautiful, handmade journals. 

Ten Thousand Villages makes elegant eco-friendly journals with leftover leather from local food production processes and tree-free paper. They partner with a fair-trade company, Noah’s Ark, to come up with new sustainability practices. The Musings Journal is handcrafted in India with a stunning cover design that any avid journaler, note-taker, or doodler will swoon over.

Get Eco-Friendly with Your Friends’ Gifts

When searching the web for the perfect gift, why not add one more criterion to the long list of factors to consider? How hard could it possibly be to find sustainable gifts that your friends and family will actually like? 

Okay, so your shopping list might not be 100% ethically sourced, produced, and shipped, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still try. There’s an eco-friendly version of most items out there—all it takes is a quick Google search and maybe $5 extra at checkout. Your family and friends are worth it, right?