Eco-Friendly Gift Ideas for Last Minute Shoppers

The week before Christmas there is typically a huge rush of people bustling in and out of shops doing last-minute gift shopping. When you start to feel stressed and pressured for time, it can seem overwhelming to consider the sustainability of your gifts as well. It doesn’t have to be that way though if you know good spots to go to for eco-friendly gifts or have a couple of even general gift ideas to start from. 

There are many spots to find sustainable gifts in Dalton for anyone from your teenager to your father-in-law!

Try walking through Fiddleheads Garden Center for ideas. Plants and succulents are great sustainable gifts that can last and grow each day and give the giftee cleaner indoor air to breath. The garden center also has great gifts for your black thumbed friends such as wooden ornaments, reusable bottles, and decor pieces . Wooden gifts can be eco-friendlier than plastic as the trees used to produce them suck up carbon-dioxide while growing and the final product contains no toxins.  

I recently had Raspberry Row showcase some sustainable gifts on my television show that would make perfect gifts for any lovely lady in your life. They have picture frames made from reclaimed Georgia wood. They also carry Rewined candles, a product with  a unique backstory. Rewined was started by a man that worked at a restaurant in South Carolina. After seeing how many wine bottles the restaurant was discarding, he came up with an idea to decrease their waste. He began to use the bottles to recreate glass candle holders and created candles that mimic drink scents such as Pinot Noir or Spiked Cider. 

While not locally owned, REI makes sustainability a huge focus of their business and their stock showcases that goal as well. At REI you can also pick up Bee’s wrap for any foodies in your family. The wrap is a zero-waste alternative to plastic wrap or aluminum foil and looks much cuter; and you can toss in a few silicone sandwich bags too to make a reusable gift basket. They also carry the United By Blue 2020 Stewardship Calendar and for each calendar bought one pound of trash is removed from the world’s oceans and waterways. By gifting these you can give them a useful gift that can be recycled next year and let them know every time they use it that it helped clean up their environment. 

REI also carries a couple of toy options as well. Buying sustainable gifts for kids is especially important as it helps teach an important lesson on mindfulness and lets you serve as a model for young minds. Try out the eco-pals at REI. These stuffed animals are made from 100% recycled fill and have no glitter or plastic. Or try out their wooden JENGA set. 

To cut down on waste, you could also try giving an “experience” gift. These have become more popular in recent years as it isn’t a gift that somebody just ends up throwing away or storing in a basement and can be the perfect idea for someone who has everything. This can also be a great gift for family members because it not only comes with the experience, but quality time together. For ideas of experiences, you don’t have to go out of town. Big’s Axe Throwing company recently opened up at The Mill where you can try your hand at throwing and aiming axes together. Even I, with my bad hand-eye coordination, was able to get two bullseyes! If the idea of sharp axes and kids scares you, you could also gift a trip to the new Just Jump Trampoline park. I don’t know a child that wouldn’t be ecstatic about visiting and bouncing themselves into exhaustion. For more laid-back experiences, you could buy a class at Creative Arts Guild or Fiddleheads and make something to enjoy together. 

By taking a few minutes to stop before rushing out to buy gifts, you can plan for more thoughtful and more sustainable gifts this year just by planning where to shop.