Do you struggle to find gifts for the eco warriors in your life? Relax, because we've done the legwork for you. Explore 25 of 2024's best eco, ethical, and zero waste gifts for all ages and interests.
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Explore hundreds of inspiring ethical and sustainable gifts that support charities, empower people and protect the planet at Good Things.
Give the gift of choice
Let them choose something they'll love. A Good Things gift card allows them to choose from hundreds of goods creating positive impact. Perfect for last-minute gifting or schedule the gift card to arrive on a date of your choice via email. Available in denominations from £5 to £250. Good Things gift card, from £5
For Kids
For those trying to make more sustainable choices, gifts for children can be tricky. We're often presented with pink and blue plastic toys and out-dated stereotypes. We bring you some inclusive, planet-friendly alternatives.
Long-lasting Beach Toys Made from Recycled Plastic
This play set is something special. Great for the beach or the bath, it's made entirely from recycled plastic bottles (apart from the rope handle). It's fab to teach little ones about the importance of protecting our precious marine life, is hardwearing and can be recycled itself at the end of its life. Green Toys Beach Bucket and Spade Set, £17
Fair Trade Plant-Based Food Set
This play set is super-cute and a fun and tactile alternative to plastic toy food sets. It's sustainably made in Sri Lanka, preserving ancient skills and providing Fair Trade work and education for women in rural areas. The 12-piece set contains all your plant-based essentials, including chard leaves, a block of tofu, an aubergine, and an ear of sweetcorn. They're nice and quiet to play with, washable and they all pack up into the cute cotton basket! As well as having plant-based food, this set is made vegan-friendly as it's PETA-approved too! Fair Trade Vegan Toy Food Set, £35
Build An Eco House
Fun for eco warriors big and small, this build and play eco house set is sustainably sourced, plastic-free and great for challenging young minds. Pop out the 91 playboard pieces and follow the visual instructions to construct your two-storey eco house, including solar panels and green roof plus loads of other fab details. Playpress Build and Play Eco House, £16.95
Woodland Wonders
This gorgeous and engaging activity pad squeaks, rattles, crinkles and has a maple wood teething ring. Wee Gallery are committed to using sustainably sourced materials and adults and babies will love the soft organic cotton outer and squashy recycled filling. Suitable from birth. Wee Gallery Woodland Activity Pad, £35
Royalty Without Costing the Earth
Non-plastic crowns can be hard to find. Here's a cotton alternative that's Fair Trade, and reversible and washable! Pleasing for any monarch and robust enough to be passed down for generations. Reversible Cotton Crown, £18
For Teens
The teenage years can be a trying time - particularly for a gift-giver! Here are some of our top gifts for teenagers that are bound to please and they're all plastic-free too!
Socks Saving Animals
These super soft and sustainable socks also help protect the animal featured on the sock! Bare Kind donate 10% of profits to a charity protecting the animal in the design and there's a range of animals and sizes to choose from. Bare Kind socks, from £7.50
Get competitive!
Bridge from one side of the board to the other using your pieces and before your opponent, bridging, blocking and counter-blocking your way across the board. This beautiful handmade wooden game is crafted from sustainably-sourced Sheesham wood and comes in an organic cotton bag. Better still, it comes from a Fair Trade supplier in India who reinvest their profits to provide workers and their families with healthcare, education and sanitation. Bridget, £29
Colourful Backpack
These vibrant, handcrafted backpacks are setting a new standard in eco-conscious style. These striking backpacks are carefully crafted, blending printed cotton with an inner fabric made from recycled plastic bags. Ideal for teenagers, these backpacks not only make a bold fashion statement but also champion sustainability. Each purchase supports girls’ education and women's empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa. Colourful backpack, £44 or small colourful backpack, £35
The Coolest Kid on the Block
This gorgeous linen block print cushion will brighten up any teenager's room. The screen-printed cover was handmade in Tanzania by a Fair Trade enterprise that empowers people with disabilities through work, skills and adapted housing. Comes with optional natural feather inner sourced in Europe. Block Print Cushion in Blue and Yellow, from £19
A Bright Idea
These pocketbooks are made for ideas great and small. Their stylish covers are made from recycled corn fibre and the pages are 100% recycled too. Every purchase also supports global education projects getting children back in to school around the world. Available in blue, green, pink or cream. Ideas Pocketbook, £4.99
For Zero-Waste Eco-Warriors
Finding zero-waste gifts for your favourite eco-warrior can test the imagination. Check out these ideas for inspiration.
Beautiful Triple Insulated Bottle
Why not give your favourite zero waster one of these beautiful reusable and triple-insulated water bottles? They keep your water cool for 30 hours, drinks hot for 20 hours, and have a lifetime guarantee. Made by Root8 and featuring gorgeous ARTHOUSE Unlimited artwork on the bottles. Triple insulated water bottle, £28
Bags of Goodness
This cute bag is an excellent gift because it has so many uses: pencil case, makeup bag, wash bag, paintbrush holder - you decide! It's made from screen-printed linen by a Fair Trade project that employs people with disabilities in Tanzania. Neema uses money generated from selling their sustainable products to support the charity and build adapted housing for their employees. Tropical Leaf-Print Bag: Handmade and Fair Trade, £12
Re-Cycle Something Good
Unbelievably this wallet is created from recycled waste inner tubes from bikes. It's vegan-friendly (great for those looking for eco leather-alternatives), water-resistant and it prevents waste from going to landfill. These upcycled products are also Fair Trade certified and provide work to artisans with disabilities in Cambodia. Recycled Wallet made from Inner Tubes, £22
Organic Soap with Social Impact
ARTHOUSE Unlimited creates colourful, striking and fun recycled cards, bath and beauty products. Their products are made from sustainable materials and feature gorgeous, high-contrast designs. All the artists live with complex epilepsy and learning disabilities. 100% of the revenue ARTHOUSE Unlimited raises through their products goes back into the charity: they aim to challenge perceptions and create better acceptance and inclusion for all people living with disabilities.
This luxurious triple-milled organic soap has a beautiful lavender and citrus fragrance. It's made in the UK from organic and vegan-friendly ingredients. Presented in embellished recyclable packaging featuring a collaborative design celebrating the underwater world. Lavender & Citrus Organic Tubular Soap, £6.75
The Travel Bag that's Changing Lives
These handmade gym or travel bags are unique and made to an extremely high standard. Each one is made from local cotton fabric, and hand sewn by young mums and survivors of violence in Uganda. The lining is even created from recycled plastic bags! Gym or travel bag, £54
Gifts for Nature Lovers
Our favourite planet-friendly eco gifts for nature lovers.
Plant a Seed of Hope
Create a habitat for vital pollinators, enjoy some beautiful wildflowers and help change the lives of people living with mental health problems.
Seed of Hope is a social enterprise that helps people with mental health problems through recovery-based therapeutic gardening. Every pack of wildflower seeds supports their work and helps 1,500 pollinators native to the UK! Choose individual seed packets or the wildflower seed gift set, from £1.50
Provide a home for the birds
We love this artisan bird nester which is the perfect size for small garden birds to make a cosy home. The nester is handmade from natural seagrass and recycled saris in Bangladesh where these products provide women and their families with a vital income. Sheshali Artisan Bird Nester, £18
Celebrate the wild
This gift set celebrates and supports wildlife! With "save the bees" bamboo socks, wildflower seeds, luxurious "blooming marvellous" jasmine and orange soap in an embellished gold floral design box, and a beautiful "Keep Wildlife Wonderful" card with your own message, handwritten by us. With wildflower seeds supporting mental health recovery, socks supporting the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and the other items supporting the charity ARTHOUSE Unlimited, promoting and supporting the artists' work. Wildlife Lover's Gift Set, £18.95
No-Water Houseplant trio
For the, ahem, less green-fingered nature-lover, or those who might be away a lot, try this felt houseplant trio. Each plant comes in a felt pot and makes a gorgeous addition to a desk or windowsill. They're completely biodegradable and made using natural dyes too. These felt houseplants are made in Nepal where they also provide Fair Trade accredited work which protects and promotes ancient skills. Miniature felt plant trio, £25
Dedicate a Tree
Also a good option for those who don't want 'things', with the Woodland Trust you can dedicate a tree in one of 50 locations around the UK. Planting trees helps combat climate change and supports Britain's wildlife. Select your exact grove on the map and find out which type of tree will be planted. You can dedicate a tree for lots of special occasions including a birthday, Christmas, mother's day and for a new baby. Dedicate a tree, from £20
For Those Who Don't Want Stuff
Many people are keen to avoid accumulating 'stuff' just for the sake of it. So what are some alternative gift ideas?
Migrateful cooking classes
Here's a brilliant idea: cookery classes led by refugee and migrant chefs. Migrateful offer classes in London, Bristol, Brighton and Kent, and have a huge range of cuisines on offer, including Iranian, Ecuadorian and Eritrean, with lots of vegetarian and vegan classes too. The classes enable refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to integrate, access employment and share and celebrate their cultural heritage. Online or in-person cookery class, from £25
Write a Recipe Book
It's not as hard as it might sound! Just handwrite a few of your favourite recipes and bring them together in a journal or folder. Extra marks for creatively decorating the cover. Top of the class if you have a secret recipe, passed down through the generations to include. If I ever give you my Grandma's chocolate brownie recipe you'll know it's true love. Check out our eco-friendly stationery collection if you need a special notebook.
Grow Your Own Forest
A houseplant doesn't just look good, it also improves wellbeing and productivity, and may contribute to better indoor air quality. Good options include peace lilies, rubber plants and ivy. Peace Lily, £9.99
Give an Experience
For someone who doesn't want a thing, why not create a voucher for a special occasion together. A gig, theatre trip or inexpensive options like a picnic or day out are thoughtful and something to look forward to. To go all out, create a series of clues, leading to your chosen activity. Make it extra fancy by writing your voucher in a card that plants a tree! Check out 1 Tree Cards.
A Pile of Poo
Oh we're serious! For £12 Oxfam Unwrapped provides training to families in eco-friendly composting which supports people to grow and sell more food. Alternative gifts include seeds, beekeeping training, or a chicken. At checkout you can personalise a card (or e-card) for your friend or family member, it will explain exactly what their gift has supported and the impact it makes. Pile of Poo, £12
Have we missed anything? Comment below if you think there's an eco gift or alternative we should include.
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At Good Things you’ll find inspiring ethical and sustainable gifts that support charities, empower people and protect our planet. Discover gifts for all ages and inspiring ideas like cards that plant trees, handmade cushions empowering people in Tanzania and eco toys made from recycled milk bottles. Have a look at our collections.
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