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Gifts with a conscience? It’s possible. This holiday season, we found practical, clever, and truly covetable presents from some of our favorite innovative, eco-friendly, and sustainable brands. From an EWG-approved luxury fragrance set with major star power to Vermont-made, recycled-fabric mittens that may or may not look very familiar—here are the best gifts for a green surprise under the tree.
Versed Deck the Shelves Gift Set
This skincare line, certified by the Environmental Working Group, proves that transparency in the drugstore beauty aisle can succeed. The Deck the Shelves gift set allows your favorite beauty guru to try a little bit of everything from the line, which features the kind of high-performance ingredients found in luxury products but eliminates more than 1,300 toxins typically found in mass-market cosmetics.
Cariuma Caturi Boots
Brazilian brand and certified B Corporation Cariuma creates lightweight, comfort-forward, sustainable footwear that performs as well as it looks. These faux-sherpa-lined high-tops are made with vegan, waterproof suede, so you can give the gift of snuggly kicks that are also cruelty-free.
Canada Goose Cypress Puffer
This is one of several creations designed for Canada Goose’s dedication to a greener company future, which, according to its 2019 Sustainability Report, includes eco-conscious changes across sourcing and manufacturing. The Cypress Puffer offers a modern shape with a modern outlook, using recycled nylon ripstop for a sleek, lightweight outer that stays dry and warm in subzero-temps.
Parks Project National Parks Iconic Enamel Percolator
Parks Project’s giveback program to keep public lands clean and able to be enjoyed for years to come has raised more than $2.2 million since its founding in 2014. Its very cool national-park-inspired swag is sure to make any nature lover smile—from graphic gear inspired by their favorite landmarks to this enamel percolator (and matching mugs) made to support the National Park Foundation’s Open OutDoors for Kids program.
Outerknown X Project Vermont Mittens
Sustainable fashion fabric innovators Outerknown teamed up with Vermont knit master Lise-Anne Cooledge to create one-of-kind, circular mittens using colorful, cozy scraps. This senatorial-inspired fashion statement will be the gift of the season.
Allbirds R&R Hoodie
Allbirds has been keeping its shoppers’ feet cozy in merino since launching in 2014, but its new loungewear takes comfort to the next level. Not only is the R&R hoodie constructed with natural fabrications, but its carbon footprint is impressive enough that the brand proudly displays it right on the garment.
Pangaia Flwrdwn Gilet
Sustainable streetwear brand Pangaia makes its clothes out of air-pollution and agricultural waste. This warm winter gilet is made using flowers. Its cruelty-free, patented solution called Flwrdwn (pronounced flower-down) replicates the thermal power of feathers using dried wildflowers and biopolymer made from maize.
Aurate Diamond Eternity Slider Bracelet
Jewelry can be an easy win—but environmental concerns can make something shiny a little less appealing. Direct-to-consumer brand Aurate works with recycled precious metals and traceable diamonds for pieces that have the type of impact you can be (more than) okay with.
Henry Rose The Playground
Give them a flight of Henry Rose’s deliciously luxurious fragrances—nine travel-size scents, including Windows Down and Jake’s House. Actress Michelle Pfeiffer founded the brand in 2019 in response to the lack of transparency in the fragrance industry. Her perfumes carry the stamp of approval of nonprofit watchdogs Cradle to Cradle and the Environmental Working Group. (Pfeiffer is an EWG board member.)
Lettuce Grow Farmstand
This stylish, self-watering, self-fertilizing hydroponic garden helps keep food waste at bay while still producing enough veggies to start giving away extras to the neighbors. (That’s what our tester, Fast Company senior writer Elizabeth Segran, did!)
Supernatural Cleaning Starter Set
An endeavor of Poo-Pourri founder Suzy Batiz, Supernatural concocts its essential-oil-powered clean concentrates using sustainable farm ingredients and offers them up in reusable frosted-glass spray bottles. Our Recommender test proved them to be reliably effective, well-designed, and able to give your home an amazing scent.
Naadam Holiday Cashmere Crewneck
This is a festive spin on Naadam’s much-loved, ethically sourced cashmere crewneck. The company stays on top of the cashmere game by cutting out the middleman—working directly with Mongolian herders and farmers to create fair prices and sustainable practices on both ends of the supply chain.
Rise Gardens Double Family Garden
Rise Gardens’ indoor gardens were a Recommender favorite this year—our photo editor Celine Grouard tested a unit and found it attractive, easy-to-use, and a wonderful source of Zen.
Cuyana Alpaca Scarf
Made with sustainably sourced baby alpaca wool, this gift from Cuyana will be the softest scarf/wrap/impromptu blanket they’ve ever received.
Dagne Dover Mila Toiletry Organizer
A place for everything and everything in its place—that’s what’s achievable with Dagne Dover’s clever, earth-friendly travel toiletries pouch made from recycled plastic bottles.
Peach Not Plastic Shampoo and Conditioning Bar Set
This clean-beauty offshoot of Grove Collaborative makes powerful solid shampoo and conditioner bars without excess waste. These colorful, product-packed pucks are long-lasting, they smell amazing, and they’re the sustainable stocking stuffer of the year.
MZ Wallace Metro Deluxe Tote
This Recommender-approved tote is made with the brand’s durable, lightweight signature nylon, which saves pre-consumer scraps from the bin and features luxurious Italian leather accents and tons of room. It’s a statement bag with more than just one message.
Photos courtesy: Versed; Cariuma; Canada Goose; Parks Project; Outerknown; Allbirds; Pangaia; Aurate; Henry Rose; Lettuce Grow; Supernatural; Naadam; Rise Gardens; Cuyana; Dagne Dover; Grove; MZ Wallace; Bearaby; Material Kitchen