With this month being the holiday season, this month’s challenge was to figure out how to find and give plastic-free presents. There were 3 strategies we used to help us meet this goal – shopping local, easy homemade gifts, and gift wrap alternatives. Now it’s time to reflect on how practical and eco friendly these 3 strategies were in general.
Plastic-Free Presents Strategy #1 : Shopping Locally
Shopping locally this time of the year is a lot of fun! Not only are there a lot of unique gifts to be found this way, but I also got to check out several craft fairs and festivals. These festivals are such a great way to meet and support local artisans and home-based-businesses the area. So, for this year, I got several handmade items and downtown gift cards that I can give as gifts.
Granted, I know shopping local doesn’t automatically mean the gifts are more eco friendly. What makes an item more earth friendly is shorter transport distances, less packaging, how its made, and what materials it’s made from. In general though, shopping at small local businesses does have a lower carbon footprint. This is because small businesses are more likely to source items locally and be more responsive to sustainable practices. I cover this topic in more detail in my shopping local post.
Plastic-Free Presents Strategy #2: Easy homemade gifts
Thanks to my ‘Replacing TV dinners‘ challenge last month, I had quite a few meals-in-a-jar recipes I could use for gifts. My favorite one to make was the ‘gf pancake in a mug‘ recipe. It only has a few ingredients so it was quick and easy to assemble. Plus the jar mix looks quite nice as a gift! I was also able to find items for gifts at the local zero waste store and bulk food store in town. This made for a nice variety in my jar gifts and still supported local businesses.
Plastic-Free Presents Strategy #3: Gift Wrap alternatives
The key goal for this strategy is to cut down on waste along with being plastic-free. The best alternative to standard wrapping paper is reusable gift packaging. This can take many different forms from cloth wrap to store bought reusable gift bags.
Originally, I planned to make my own fabric gift bags but I have to admit… I didn’t actually get around to making any. Despite the patterns being quick and easy to sew, I couldn’t really get to my sewing machine. I moved earlier this year and, as some of you can probably guess, my sewing area is still bogged down with moving boxes. But I did luck out by finding lots of decorative napkins and scarves at the thrift store! Not only does shopping thrift help support the circular economy but they made for great ready-made gift wrap.
Key takeaway for this month
My key takeaway from the strategies this month is, if I could only chose one plastic-free present strategy to implement, I’d go for the the gift wrapping one. The other 2 strategies are great, but they have their limitations. Especially if you have to be very gift specific for your present giving. But with this strategy, no matter what the gift is, you can still cut down on waste with reusable cloth wraps and gift bags.
Resources to Help with Bulk Foods
I keep forgetting, its not usually the case for an area to have several bulk food stores, and zero waste stores, all within a reasonable distance of each other. Which is the current case for where I’m at in the Front Range. So for those of you who don’t have these handy resources in your area, l recommend using Azure Standard*. This is the company I used a lot in the previous towns/cities that I lived to get my bulk foods.
Azure Standard utilizes an alternative food delivery system. Their unique approach allows them to deliver to food deserts and in rural areas that usually have limited food distribution options. They also focus on natural/organic foods that you can order in bulk. This really helps with food costs, especially gluten-free items like pasta and flour. So if you don’t have a bulk food store in your area, I highly recommend checking them out.
More resources and Ideas for Plastic-Free Presents
If you’re looking for more resources and ideas, I try to keep my Pinterest page updated with patterns and recipes to help with each month’s challenge. For those of you who enjoy having a hardcopy version to browse for ideas, I also have book suggestions. If you check out my booklists on bookshop.org* you’ll see I have a book recommendations to help with each month’s challenge. For this month’s challenge, the books cover ideas for jar mixes and meals, how to use cloth wrap, handmade projects, and more eco friendly holiday strategies.
If you have any book suggestions that you think should be on this list, please let me know in the comments below.
Disclosure: I will only recommend products that I personally use and love and hope can be of benefit to others in their sustainable journeys. (*) indicates an affiliate link where Sustainable Pursuits llc may receive a small compensation for product recommendations. This helps to support Sustainable Pursuits llc and my ability to share these experiences with you!
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