Green Gift Guides Abound: Deep Green, Light Green And In Between

Perhaps you have already had the chance to take a look at our green gift guide, but consider these other options, too. Happily, eco-friendly gift are sprouting up all over the place, as are in-depth analyses of exactly what to buy (or make) for each person on your list. Here is a break-down for some of the most key categories.

1. Green Gifts for Mom
For many, mom is the trickiest person to find gifts for. Not only does she tend to have a lot of stuff, generally speaking, but she can also be quite discerning and might no longer welcome another sculpey pinch-pot.

Treehugger features several fairly simple DIY kits and ideas in their green gift guide, which mom might dig. With the eco-me body kit, she can concoct her own bath products. If not, perhaps their green fashion selections - from vegan high heels to recycled plastic sunglasses will please her.

The Daily Green has rounded up eco-friendly ideas that will please anyone from a green skeptic to a dedicated conservationist. If your mom is at all green savvy, she might fancy this EcoSphere Pod, a miniature biosphere, encapsulating the fundamental workings of a sustainable ecosystem, complete with tiny Hawaiian shrimp sustained entirely by heat and light.

2. Dad
Not to perpetuate gender stereotypes, but the Daily Green's suggestions for gardening-enthusiasts and "the adventurer" might fit the bill for dad. The manual Brill Razor Reel Lawnmower, for example, is C02-, noise- and trouble- free. The Tumbling Garden Composter, which is nice and dark green, will turn kitchen scraps, leaves and grass clippings into a constant supply of rich compost for the yard.

Grist has compiled a slew of green gifts for sports fans and beer drinkers, such as tickets to the winter Olympics (which are not particularly green) and this brew your own beer kit (light green).

CNBC features light green crowd pleasers such as a Philips Eco TV, which has sensors to dim the glow from the screen when the lights in the room are off, uses less energy when its in standby mode and is packaged in 100% recycled materials, in their green gift guide When in doubt, throw in a couple of green stocking stuffers featured on White Apricot, such as a little potted herb plants or ergonomic bamboo salad servers.

3. Toys, Etc.
Kids are perhaps the most important people to give green gifts to. Not only are you setting the right example by going green with your gifts, but you are also protecting tots from potentially toxic chemicals and materials often found in conventional toys. Planet Green has deemed the Discover Rig the latest must-have eco-toy. Molded from Sprigwood, a combination of recycled wood and reclaimed plastic, it stores energy created as the car rolls. Other top picks include a Wooden Vegetable Set made from environmentally friendly rubberwood and non-toxic water-based paints, and Woodstock's handmade ukulele, which is handmade from sustainably sourced wood.

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Treehugger has compiled several green gifts for the "wee hugger", from non-toxic beeswax modeling sheets in 12 bright colors (made from plant dye) to the adoption of a penguin from South America.

4. Gifts for Guys
Ecofabulous suggests some funky, though fairly light green, accessories for the men in your life like a messenger bag made from recycled tires and a reusable travel mug that boldly states: "I'm Organic." (Whatever that means...)

Inhabit proposes eco-gifts that are solidly medium-green, such as this extremely handy radio-flashlight that can be charged either by hand cranking or by its own solar panel.

Treehugger recommends buying solar powered holiday lights for your green gadget-lover, which is an evergreen idea because not only will they make your house twinkle, fossil-fuel free, but they can be used year after year. Green Upgrader presents lots of other green electronics and gadgets.

Sprig's suggestions, while fun, are quit a bit paler green. Gifts such as a flask decorated with recycled paper and a conventionally produced "skinny tie" might even been deemed yellow. Never fear to give your friends and family properly green gear! They will think you all the more considerate for considering the planet this season. Planet Green offers a few indispensible green guidelines should you choose to venture to the stores rather than order gifts online, and need a cheat sheet.

5. Ladies Might Like...
The Environmental Defense Fund has rounded up a slew of green gift suggestions. Girls might find their recommendation of recycled jewelry and glassware particularly charming. Or perhaps consider giving your favorite gourmand a sustainabiliy-themed cookbook. Big Green Purse suggests simply giving your friend time by looking after her kids one afternoon or weekend, or offering to weed their garden in the springtime. If your lady is more into glamour than gardening, perhaps these recycled and recyclable platform shoes featured on Plenty would please her.

Comments

[CardboardQueen]

Here's the place for elegant and eco-friendly home decor, childrens playthings, and furniture, all made of cardboard. All products are made in America of 100% recycled paper fiber. Unique and wonderful holiday gifts at www.cardboardesign.com.

[marcosweb]

your link doesn't work this one does:
http://www.cardboarddesign.com/

great products..­.thanks for sharing.

http://www.livinggreenmag.com/

[marcosweb]

Here's a link about giving green and the site also has a green mall:

http://www.livinggreenmag.com/archives/life_choices/conscientious_gift_giving.html

[thewoodywest]

I'm going to buy gasoline gift cards for friends and family this year so they can spew more wonderful carbon into the atmosphere.

[fumes2]

i'm giving chainsaws so we can cut down more trees.

[sensitiveplant]

Here is a unique affordable gift I give to my friends, family and students who enjoy plants, nature or gardening. A TickleMe Plant!
Have you ever seen a plant move when you tickle it? The TickleMe Plant grows year round indoors, closes its leaves and lowers its branches when it is tickled. It is an easy flowering plant to grow in its own TickleMe Plant Greenhouse. When I first saw it move I was startled and amazed. I love seeing the big smile on my students, family or co-workers faces when they see the plant move for the first time! It is a great conversation piece.
Visit http://www.ticklemeplant.com for a greenhouse to grow your own TickleMe Plant, more information and videos of the live plant. I found the coupon code BLOG to take TWO dollars off your order total.

[regularmess]

Green is the color of Islam: what a conscientious religion!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbOegeeOndM

[Anciano]

What about Christmas? Elegant baskets of organic food. Your local craft fairs are good places to buy locals’ handmade goods. Pay cash. The old adage, "If you can't write it off, why write it up?" is appropriate. People are desperate and buying things used on Craigslist helps them out with cash, saves you money, helps the environment and as a bonus, helps bury the GOP's legacy. How do business owners participate in the above? Just like household goods and expendables, no buying of any inventory or supplies until Inauguration Day. No repairs or new equipment unless critical. We’re paying our employees to clean and prepare for what we believe is going to be a lot of pent up deliberately withheld and carefully channeled demand come February.

[Anciano]

We have taken a vow not to spend one cent on anything we don't have to buy at retail such as food or gas until the Obama administration is sworn in. Bush’s rebates that added $1200 to our tax liability and his pleas to go shopping show the importance of consumer spending to the legacy of Republican economics. Bush hijacked the country for the benefit of the wealthy for eight years. Let the wealthy keep the Bush consumer economy going for the next two months until the Republicans are flushed in disgrace. Learn about and patronize your smaller locally owned businesses and pay cash so it's under the radar of statistics. We're hoarding all our discretionary retail spending until the Obama Administration when the recovery can begin.

[GoVeg]

Buy them a vegetarian cook book, that's the ultimate green.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ol_6Ju3oYI

[Organic-Guy]

How about hreen gifts that are green?

-All Vegetable, Herb and Flower Seeds are on sale through the end of 2008.

*
o Type in this coupon code (ORGANIC-SEEDS2008) at check out to receive your 20% discount on the vegetable seeds
o Type in (ORGANIC-S­EEDS2008-1­) for 20% a discount on herb seeds
o Type in (ORGANIC-S­EEDS2008-2­) for a 40% discount on organic flower seeds through February 2009!
www.dirtworks.nets.net

[GingerB]

Thanks for the link! I just ordered my herb and flower seed and received a nice discount. Some of my purchases will be green gifts for friends. : )

www.dirtworks.netks.net

[msmohit]

I just bought these two great, very green, gifts for my parents at http://www.terrapass.com/green-store/.

1. A Home Energy Power Cost Monitor - This is for gadget-minded people who believe "You manage what you measure". It gives you real time info on how much energy you are using. I LOVE it because I can always tell if something is on that shouldn't be on. For example, I check it before I go to sleep and if it is above it's regular baseline, I know something needs to be turned off. It is saving me money every day. I know my parents will love it because it will both save electricity and money, and really, who doesn't want to save money these days.

2. A Ladybug Showerhead adapter - Okay, this isn't the most glamorous gift, but I think it is great is because IF your shower takes a long time to heat up, this device easily saves you money, time and the annoyance of getting into a tepid shower. Basically, what it does is turns he shower to a trickle as soon as the water reaches a certain temp. You hear the trickle and then know that your shower is ready, but you are not running it any longer than necessary to heat up. This is perfect for people with teenagers who tend to run the shower too long, and waste lots of our precious resource-water!

[Greenguy25]

A tote bag made from recycled tires, great idea, he'll love it. At least until you're out of the room. Hey look at me I just helped keep 1/64th of a tire out of the landfill. Now the only question that remains, is how do I dispose of this freakin bag.

A flask decorated in recycled paper, you managed to turn crap into super crap.

Ok, so not all these ideas are bad, an electric lawnmower, solar powered landscape lights or a sustainable cook book right on.

The biggest misunderstanding I have come to witness is the fact that many of these so-called "green" gift ideas floating about overlook the most pressing issue; packaging. I just bought a new cell phone the other day and the box it came in could have contained a new chainsaw, thank goodness there was a big picture on the side, so I knew it was a phone.

Be smart and buy gift cards, let the recipient make the choice to be green.

www.mygreenscene.com

[greenie227]

Unfortunately, gift cards themselves aren't recyclable! I like the idea of getting people something they can use -- by allowing them to choose how to spend it -- but there are millions of those plastic cards running around unused, and they took a lot of resources to make and they can't be made into anything else.

That being said, don't buy anything just to buy something this year. Use the recession and the wonderfully shrinking wallet to force creativity in finding meaningful gifts. The gift that gets used -- and doesn't just take space in a closet before heading to a landfill -- can be the greenest gift of all.

[lmvd3]

Plastic gift cards? That's green. How about the real green...as in cash?