The holidays are here and most of us will be over-consuming turkey, stuffing and materialistic goods because of gift-giving and FOMO on Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales. It’s the worst time of the year for turkeys, turtles and Mother Earth. I was browsing gift list ideas recently and the cheap gift lists are full of crap while the better lists are full of $1000 coasters and $500 sweaters masquerading as realistic gift ideas for the average person. 

I made this sustainable gift guide composed of vintage/secondhand/reworked items and also new and sustainable items for every budget. Maybe you want to treat yourself to an investment piece or indulge in pricier items for your loved ones but if you’re trying to find a gift for that aunt you see once a blue moon, the weird cousin that’s making a surprise visit at Christmas or that annoying co-worker – you’re probably not entertaining the idea of a $100+ item (unless you have ~$mOoNey~ like that, then in that case: do you.) Most of us stick to the $10-$100 budget per gift but there are people who can afford a $1000 Louis Vuitton coaster set without selling a kidney so I included luxury items as well.

Some people aren’t comfortable gifting secondhand items as a gift but others (like me) wouldn’t mind receiving secondhand items as a Christmas gift – so know your target gift-ee. If they’re into reusable straws, tote bags or passionate about being eco-friendly then they’d probably appreciate receiving a vintage gift. If they’re into fast fashion, plastic straws or killing the planet, then maybe vintage gifts aren’t for them. Luckily, you can still buy new and sustainable gifts that won’t kill the turtles and damage our ecosystem forever! 🙂 

But on a serious note, this post isn’t here to shame anyone buying new or “unsustainable” items. We all buy from unsustainable brands. I just want bring attention to our consumption habits and inspire more conscious shopping decisions. A friendly reminder from Annie-Marie Bonneau, a zero waste chef, “We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.” 

P.S. I have already priced the items low to high.