Precious sustainable gifts good for the environment

1. Give dried flowers instead of ‘normal’ polluting flowers

Sustainable gifts are not bunches of flowers from a regular florist. Because after a week they are ready to be thrown away and the environmental impact is high. So better dry flowers from the fields or from your garden yourself or buy a bunch of my dried lavender. In this way there is no pesticides used, it is good for biodiversity. Also your present can replace a lot of polluting bunches of flowers and there is no waste.

2. Make your own soap

If you make your own soap, you no longer need to buy bottles of shower foam or body lotion, because a good home-made soap moisturises the skin. Good homemade soaps are also sustainable gifts. Read how to make lavender soap here. Or find a DIY soap making kit here.

3. Use local sheep wool products naturally dyed

For a newborn you can buy this self made felted and natural dyed slippers from soft Spanish sheepwool. You can also knit, crochet or felt something for someone if you are good at it. But don’t use wool from far away. Better ask for local wool because almost every wool comes from the other side of the world. Read here about sheep’s wool that is often thrown away.

4. Reuse beautiful bottles and jars for your sustainable homemade presents

5. Make a body scrub and put it in a nice re-used jar

MMaking your own body scrub is not only very easy, but also much healthier and more environmentally friendly. Read here how to do it.

6. Distil your own lavender oil

Distill your own ethereal lavender oil or encapsulate it in a base oil. This is not only good for you and the environment, but you will always have something to give as a gift.

7. Buy or make a lavender stress ball for a friend who needs to relax

Stress balls are usually made of plastic. They do work against stress, but are bad for the environment. This stress ball is made of local sheep’s wool that is naturally dyed and filled with lavender. The lavender scent makes the stress ball extra soothing. And when it is discarded, nothing is left but natural materials. You can buy a DIY kit or a ready-made stress ball.

8. Take care of your friends with bath salts in different oils

Making your own essential oil takes time, but making bath salts in different oils is a lot easier and also very nice to give or get.

This is how you can make lavender bath salts out of Epson bathsalt. Also I tell you why it is that good. Above all you can vary bath salts with different essential oils. So buy the basic salts in larger portions and you won’t have to keep throwing away packages.

9. Reuse products you already have

Reusing products in stead of buying new is the best you can do for the environment. For example: don’t buy a separate storage system for bottles of essential oil. But pimp up a pouch you still have and put the bottles in it like a train like this..

10. Use pressed flowers to make a present

Make or buy pressed flowers for in a self-made piece of jewellery or a cover for a book.

11. Make or buy a lavender bags as sustainable gifts

Make a lavender bag from a nice piece of fabric you have lying around. Most importantly you don’t need much material for this. Or if you don’t have the time you can buy them from me.

12. Do you have a fabric, but it is not nice, dye it, with natural dye

13. Give a lavender eye pillow for someone who needs to relax

A light pressure on the eyes and the scent of lavender will make you relax. So buy a lavender eye pillow for someone who is struggling or working too hard. Read how an eye pillow helps you to relax.

14. Reading in in heavenly fragrances

A lavender bookmark is good idea for someone who likes to read books. With this bookmark he or she can read books in heavenly scents.

15. If someone is getting married, make a door wreath

A door wreath on arrival home is a nice sustainable present not difficult to make. The only thing you need is a lot of lavender flowers. So make it yourself in the summer. Here you can read how.

16 Make magic wands with ribbon you still have at home

Magic lavender wands are very beautiful and not difficult to make, if you are a bit handy. For instance use ribbon you already have at home or even better is using a more natural material. Read how to make them here.

101 more tutorials

These were the sustainable presents and tutorials on my own website to make or buy. Likewise You can find 101 more tutorials for green ideas on this website.

So what makes a sustainable present sustainable?

If you keep thinking about this 5 points, you are doing well with you sustainable presents!

1. Reduce waste
2. Reuse products
3. Save energy
4. Use no plastic
5. Buy products with less transport kilometers

Think of what you can do more against climate change

• Save energy in your home
• Save energy while travelling
• Eat less meat
• Use reusable alternatives
• Go paperless but that doesn’t mean you should buy the newest models of mobiles
• Use renewable energy
• Recycle and reuse
• Grow your own produce
• Donate unused items but even more fun is upcycling them into nice presents
• Save water
• Buy fair trade products
• Drive less and above all fly less
• Don’t waste food
• Wear sustainable clothing so say goodbye to fast fashion
• Use eco-friendly cleaning products and further make your own soap

Do you have more ideas for sustainable gifts?