Whether you’re celebrating an accomplishment or doing a holiday swap, choosing gifts for coworkers can be a challenge. Homing in on your coworker’s interests and passion can help you select a meaningful gift that she’ll love.

If your coworker prides herself on living a sustainable, eco-conscious lifestyle, you’re in luck. Here are some fantastic eco-friendly gifts for your female coworkers.

1. A Desktop Garden

Putting together a desktop is an excellent gift for your eco-conscious coworker. This creative project can be scaled for any budget and style and also works well as a group gift. 

When creating a desktop garden, consider the location of your coworker’s desk. If her desk is away from the window, you’ll need to find plants that thrive in a low-light environment. If she has a nice spot, look for bright, sun-loving plants and flowers.

Desktop gardens offer several eco-conscious benefits. They can help purify the air without requiring another drain on the electricity. Furthermore, flowers improve mood, memory, and focus to create a happy, healthy work environment. 

2. Sustainable and Ethical Jewelry

Jewelry often gets overlooked as a gift for coworkers out of fear that it could be inappropriate. By no means should you purchase your coworker a diamond bracelet or give her jewelry if she never wears any. However, if your coworker is known for accessorizing, an affordable piece of sustainable and ethical jewelry is appropriate. 

Look for a jeweler who uses recycled and natural materials to make their products. Consider the symbolism of the piece you choose. Selecting something with a positive message or association is a nice way to share your good wishes with a coworker.

3. Eco-Friendly Lunch Kit

Food packaging and single-use plastics are one of the main offenders against our planet. Things like sandwich bags, plastic wrap, disposable cutlery, and plastic straws add 130 million metric tons of waste to landfills in a year. While most of this comes from major corporations, every little bit of effort counts. 

Put together an eco-friendly lunch kit for your coworker. Include things like bamboo utensils, cloth napkins, stainless steel straws, beeswax and fabric food savers, and glass containers. This gift is a simple gesture that’s both practical and meaningful to someone who cares deeply about the environment.

4. Water Bottle from a B-Corp

A B-Corp is a business that shows proven positive impacts on society and the environment. These for-profit organizations must adhere to rigid standards to achieve their certification. While purchasing a reusable water bottle is a nice gesture, it’s also important to confirm that the producer also uses sustainable manufacturing processes.

If your coworker already has a tried and tested water bottle, choose a travel mug or another vessel instead. You can even get stainless steel beer growlers and wine tumblers for the coworker who enjoys a nightcap after a long day at work. Pair your gift with a sample of your coworker’s preferred beverage for an added touch.

5. Natural Soaps and Lotions

Putting together a collection of natural, handmade soaps and lotions is another great, eco-friendly gift for a female coworker. Look for local makers at small stores and craft markets to support your community. You can also get natural hand sanitizers and beauty products to create a self-care gift basket.

These simple, meaningful gifts are perfect for an eco-minded coworker. Choose one or multiple items from this list to make an impact, both on the recipient and the world around you.

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As the end of another year approaches, toy factories and shopping malls are working overtime to prepare for the onslaught of anxious shoppers. With 28% of gifts returned after the big day and 25% more waste thrown into landfills between Thanksgiving and New Year, it’s a good time to be thinking about ways to be eco-friendly over the holiday season for a happier (and healthier!) planet. At Faerie’s Dance, we’re here to help redefine how people think about eco-friendly shopping. Here are our top 5 ideas to consider for making your holidays more eco-friendly!

1. Ditch the Tinsel and Disposable Knives and Forks

Tradition and convenience are attractive go-to’s when the family is coming over and there’s way too much to do. Fortunately, there are several ways to be eco-friendly and prevent the huge amounts of plastic that are purchased and disposed of around holiday time each year.

Instead of plastic tinsel and baubles, consider opting for the more nature-friendly pine cones and rose hips, decorating your home with pieces of brightly colored organic cotton and homemade bunting. For ways to be eco-friendly with your holiday meal, think about switching your single-use plastic cutlery for compostable bamboo disposables or preferably make a fun activity out of washing dishes by turning up the holiday music and laying out the leftovers for helpers to help pack up. With the treats off the table and the party in the kitchen, you’ll soon have a team of eager volunteers!

2. Purchase Gifts that Give Twice

With so many birthdays and holidays in a lifetime, finding the perfect gift for each person can be a challenge. Make your presents meaningful as well as sustainable by shopping local and giving preference to eco-friendly gifts for the holidays.

Organic cotton children’s toys are free from flame-retardants and other chemicals making them a safer, softer option for bringing a smile to the kids’ faces. Organic women’s clothing or sustainable men’s styles are other ideas for ways to be eco-friendly when buying gifts for the whole family. The styles available in organic and sustainable fabrics means you won’t have to sacrifice on fashionability, and your purchase will help small family businesses make a decent living in countries around the world.

3. Wrap Your Gifts Without Killing Trees

According to a study from Sundale Research, Americans spend a whopping $7 billion on wrapping paper every year. Keep gifts a surprise without damaging our forests by looking for alternatives to brand-new “virgin” wrapping paper. As an item that is used once (or at most twice) and then thrown away, this holiday tradition can easily be replaced with gorgeous tree-free gift bags that can be folded back up and used again. The red cloth stocking hanging from the mantelpiece is a similar idea and brings back the nostalgia of centuries past.

If you must wrap with paper, there are ways to be eco-friendly while still giving the kids the fun of ripping each package apart. Create a rustic feel by wrapping gifts with newspaper and securing it with twine or colored cloth rather than plastic-coated sticky tape. When you’re done unwrapping, compost your newspaper wrapping paper to return the goodness to the earth. For those who like a sea of color in their living room, swap the newspaper for some colorful pages from used magazines. While this option isn’t as great for your compost pile, it can still be recycled for more eco-friendly holidays!

4. Gift Experiences Rather than Toys

Creative gifts can be a way to be eco-friendly and counter the excess of consumption that pollutes our homes and our hearts. Whet the appetite of curious kids with a science clinic or cake-making workshop and give the older ones the thrill of a lifetime with a voucher for a tandem skydive or white-water rafting. Is there a couple on your list who could do with a romantic getaway? For ways to be eco-friendly at the same time as showing some sacrificial generosity, consider gifting a hotel, restaurant, or movie voucher and offering to watch the kids!

5. Give Them a Choice

Having someone guess the exact gift we want is a rare pleasure that is usually preceded by 12 months of hint-dropping. Avoid the problem of gift-return and reduce waste by giving your loved ones a gift card printed on recycled paper or charity-based “gift” that plants trees or “adopts” an endangered animal.

Looking for ways to be eco-friendly with a sustainable holiday budget that won’t put you in the red? Time vouchers are a creative idea for eco-friendly holidays that only cost you an hour (or two or three) and leave the details up to the recipient. You could make these vouchers fun and attractive by including a few suggestions and decorating the page by hand. A time-voucher for your teenage son could offer activities such as:

• An afternoon of go-karting
• Putting together an engine for his future car
• Going on a camping trip together to the local state park
• Helping him practice his basketball shots
• Spending time together during something he enjoys

While this gift could seem like more effort than checking out an iPhone and calling it good, it will create unforgettable memories that last for a lifetime.

6. Change Your Mindset to Transform the World

Although looking for ways to be eco-friendly with our celebrations can make an enormous difference, changing the way we think has benefits that extend far beyond the holidays. Take a moment to step away from the hustle, bustle, lights, and music, and ask yourself these important questions:

• What am I trying to achieve with this year’s festivities?
• Which gifts have I received from others that really changed and enriched my life?
• What will I do this holiday season to build relationships with the people in my life?
• What can I let go of this holiday season?

When you step back and look at the big picture, you might realize that the most important thing is spending time with family, making memories, taking time to rest, and filling your home with joy. Ready to make your holiday more eco-friendly? Explore the best eco-friendly gifts in our collection.

Happy Holidays from Faerie’s Dance! We wish you a healthy, prosperous and, most of all, joyous New Year!