Eco-Friendly and Green Gifts

We all know we should be doing more for the environment, but are we really doing it? Sometimes it's hard to know what it is, exactly, we're supposed to be doing!

These products give you a simple way to help, while still giving a thoughtful gift to that special someone on your list.

I want to put this idea out there first, because it is not only unbelievably economical, but it can make a real difference, and the idea is beautifully simple in its execution. Mokugift will plant a tree, in anyone's name, in one of the most needy regions of the world, fighting against deforestation and global warming, for just. one. dollar.

You read that right. Just one dollar to plant a tree! Less than a cup of coffee. Not only that, but you can see a virtual rendering of your little tree on the Mokugift website, so not only will your gift recipient know the satisfaction of helping in this small but vital way, they can visualize just how their gift is helping! And the Mokugift site is so friendly and inviting, you just have to see it. Really, please click on the link and you'll just fall in love with the idea.


Here's another easy, inexpensive (in fact it's free) way to help the environment while you are out shopping this holiday season: bring your used rechargeable batteries and old cell phones to major retailers nationwide, like Best Buy, Target, RadioShack and Lowe’s, that participate in the Call2Recycle program, so they can be recycled safely. Just drop your used rechargeable batteries and cell phones in the branded Call2Recycle collection box. That's all there is to it!

Going one step further with recycled items, Eco Artware turns them into socks, accessories and even jewelry, like these bracelets made from a recycled bicycle chain and a recycled inner tube, respectively. The inner tube bracelet is adorned with flowers from recycled flip flops.

Check out more of their products, sure to be a hit with today's teens, at the Eco Artware website (bicycle chain bracelet, just $12, and inner tube bracelet with flip-flop flowers, $30).

Teens Turning Green, a nonprofit organization led by 'powerful and passionate' teens, offers healthy skin and body products made just for them, all with the environment in mind. The teens designed and created the products themselves, and even the packaging is eco-friendly. I was able to try out a sample and found them to be high-quality products that I would feel good about purchasing for my own kids.

As Carly Wertheim of Teens for Safe Cosmetics explains, "Our products are formulated with the safest ingredients and incorporate sustainable packaging with mindful business practices. These products are memorable with great scents and textures, but above all they really work.”

Right now, Teens Turning Green is offering a special gift pack with the entire product line for the holidays. Plus, part of your purchase goes to a good cause--10% of the proceeds help support the Teens Turning Green Campaign (Teens Turning Green gift basket, $125).

Lastly, just when you are running out of green ideas, Celebrate Green! comes to your rescue. Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family lists creative ways you and your family can incorporate Green into your life, making protecting the environment a part of your holiday celebration for years to come! Many of their ideas or low, or even no-cost, and as easy to implement as the ones I've listed here in our gift guide (Celebrate Green, printed, of course, on 100% recycled paper, $17.95).