Greetings, earthlings! Earth Day, celebrated on April 22nd, is given official recognition by the United Nations (which calls it, for the record, “International Mother Earth Day). This is a holiday everyone can get behind; if there’s one thing we all have in common, it’s the fragile blue planet we live on. A wise man (OK, Archbishop Desmond Tutu) once said, “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” We’ve put together a few gifts that all do a little bit of good, to celebrate the crunchy granola type in everyone.
Not everybody brings reusable grocery bags from home, but even those who return from the store with (gasp) plastic bags can put them to good use. Instead of piling them up in a cupboard, the sleek Urbano Trash Can, ($19) winner of the Pratt Product Design Competition, lets you stack the bags where you’ll use them. Garbage, solved.
A clever way to organize and reuse plastic bags.
Going green can start with buying recycled products—and there are so many of them that have function and style, from wine decanters made out of windshields to backpacks made from bicycle tires. One I like for pet owners is this ultra-snuggly, machine-washable Recycled Dog Bed by West Paw ($24.00), made of 61 percent Intelliloft, a durable, eco-friendly fill.
These super soft dog beds are made of recycled material.
Planting a tree takes a few minutes, and its positive effects are felt for generations. Especially when it’s as cute as this little Dawn Redwood Tree Growing Kit ($27), which includes everything you need to get started. A tree is a great gift for a major milestone, like a new baby or wedding.
Planting a tree will benefit the environment for many years.
Shopping for an eco-warrior? Check out Gifts.com for eco-friendly gifts perfect for every day of the year.
Lavonne Leong lives with her husband and two little girls in Honolulu, where she writes about arts, education, science, families, and yes, shopping. She’s the editor-at-large for San Francisco-based Red Bridge Press, and her first children’s book, Up in the Hawaiian Sky, was published in 2013. She has been known to rock a pair of Birkenstocks, Earth Day or no.
