Gift is or rather should be a product of thought, consideration and love. How often does it happen that there is an occasion and we are running out of Gift ideas? Very often, doesn’t it. Also, we know how frustrating it can be to wrap a gift in plastic if you are a sustainable nature loving enthusiast. Well, here are few Gifting ideas in zerowaste style that you are going to love!

1.    Gift of experience:

       Zero Waste lifestyle is about experiences rather than stuff. A gift of experience goes long way. It is not only environment friendly but memories attached to it are always close to heart. Experience gift means gifting your loved ones with tickets to a

• Concert, Comedy Show, Movies, Sports Game or
• One day trekking, overnight backpacking, Theme park or
• Bowling, Laser Tagging, Paint Balling and many more.

If any of your friends are history lovers you can get them passes to a Museum. Gift of experience is kind to nature and close to heart.

2.     Thoughtful Gifts:

• Sapling and a bag of Seeds.
• Gift of Presence. How about spending quality time with your loved ones and gifting them your valuable time.
• Digital Gifts like Online Subscriptions to Netflix, Amazon Prime or Hotstar are way to useful and cool.
• Instead of gifting a Book you can gift e-book. This will help in reducing your contribution to ecological footprint.
• Various Zero Waste kits. Now-a-days various kits are available like beginners’ kit or Travelling kit. They are adored by everyone and is a great opportunity to let your friends know about your waste-reduction efforts and inspire them to follow the same. 

3.    Replacement to Greeting Cards:

Generally, materials commonly used in making of greeting cards are not recyclable and eventually they end up in the landfills. Electronic Greeting Cards, Electronic mails or electronic delivery is a good alternative to actual Greeting Cards. But make sure electronic mails do have personalized touch. Sending them individually instead of CCs and BCCs helps. However, if list of recipients is long, then electronic cards may lose its charms. In such case you can follow these steps to minimize our ecological footprint:

• Reusing the cards received to make new ones.
• Consider adding seeds to your paper, it will make your Greeting Card ‘plantable’.
• Make sure you chose recyclable materials when purchasing a new Card.

But, there are some members of the family like elderly who prefer verbal delivery over electronic delivery or Greeting Cards. Another option to cards or mails is to voice your greetings. Make a phone call or set up a video call or how about an impromptu visit to them. They would surely be delighted to see you!

4.    Gift Wrapping in Zero Waste style:

• The best way to wrap a gift in zero waste style is to not wrap it at all. But if you want it to be surprise, these are few alternatives to common wrapping materials which you can consider:
• Using reusable pillow cases or cloth bags as a large gift wrapper. This helps in avoiding plastic induced wrapping paper.
• Using furoshiki squares to wrap a present. They are amazing techniques and do not even need a ribbon (plastic) to tie it up. It is completely reusable and easy alternative to plastic wrappings. You can also make your own furoshiki square from old sheets, curtains or saris.
• Using one gift to wrap another: If you are gifting a pull-over or a sweater or any large clothing material, you can use it as a large wrapper and wrap other small gift items in it. Kitchen towels are pretty easy to wrap things in.
•  Reusing the wrapping paper you received is always an available alternative to buying new ones.

Let’s Gift this season more consciously, cautiously and mindfully!