31 of the best sustainable gifts on a budget

Finding the perfect sustainable gifts for eco-warriors in your life can be tricky, so we’ve compiled a list of the best eco-friendly gifts for every type of person.

Whether you’re looking for the ideal present for your eco-conscious friends or you simply prefer to buy more mindfully, we’ve got plenty of inspiration for you.

Buying sustainably can often be expensive, so we've got a range of prices for each idea so you can stick to a budget, too.

For people who don’t like too much stuff

Focus on experiences over things and give them a gift they can enjoy rather than giving them a thing they can own.

1. Experiences & gift vouchers

Gift vouchers are great way of focusing on hobbies they enjoy or experiences. Sites like Red Letter Days and Virgin Experience Days feature everything from spa days and hotel stays to gliding and zorbing. Other ideas include vouchers for theatre tickets and, for sustainable gifts on a budget, take a look at sites like Groupon and Wowcher.

2. Tree planting

You can plant one tree for as little as £1 and buy as many as you want.There are dozens of UK charities and organisations you can pay to plant a tree. Often, you can choose where in the world your trees will be planted with information on how your trees will help in your chosen area.

3. Charity donations

There are hundreds of worthy causes you can choose from for a donation gift. Environmental causes you can back include conservation, women’s rights, rainforest protection, social housing, disaster relief, pollution, homelessness, and forestation.

Donate on a one-off basis or sign up for a year of monthly payments for as little as £3, like adopting an endangered animal.

4. Subscriptions & memberships

Coffee lovers could enjoy a monthly subscription to eco-friendly retailers like Grind or Pact Coffee, and foodies can revel in monthly treats from subscription services like Gousto and HelloFresh. Check out food rescue services like Oddbox to get deliveries of ‘wonky’ fruit and veg for people who love fresh food and hate waste. 

You can also buy hobby-based subscriptions like an audiobook service from BookBeat or Kobo. If they prefer a physical book, try a book subscription like the Happily Ever After Book Box, which also comes with treats every month.

5. Classes

Shop around for classes in your area or online and buy vouchers as a fun, hobby-based gift. There are lots of things you can choose from, like art, cooking, dance, language, sports activities, and photography classes.

Class vouchers are an eco-friendly alternative to physical things. Multi-session bookings can be fairly expensive, so this could be a good idea if you want to split the cost between two or more people.

Handmade eco-friendly gifts

Some of the most meaningful sustainable gifts can be those you put your time into creating. So if you have a skill or hobby you can utilise, this could be the ideal way to create a unique gift they’ll love.

6. Make a recipe book

Pick out some of your favourite recipes that you know they’ll love and create a handmade recipe book. This can be particularly meaningful if you’ve cooked one of the meals for them in the past that they’ve enjoyed so they can make it themselves. 

Pick up some eco-friendly stationery from Paper High to put together your own scrapbook of recipes. Print out and paste physical recipes or get creative by writing and drawing them yourself. 

7. Knit a piece of clothing

Great homemade knitting gifts include scarves, mittens or gloves, winter hats, socks, slippers and blankets. More advanced knitters can even make jumpers, cardigans, and baby clothes. Alternatively, get creative with unusual knitted items like a tea cosy or mug cosy, a set of knitted coasters, a hot water bottle cover or leg warmers. 

Pick up eco-friendly yarn and wool made from bamboo or sustainably-sourced materials from Etsy or The Knitting Network. 

8. Gift a painting or drawing

Whether it’s a pet portrait, a landscape painting, or a still from their favourite film, use your personal touch to get creative with this eco-friendly gift. Pick up sustainable art supplies from Etsy and Great Art.

9. Upcycle gifts

Upcycling is a way of turning an item into something else so it can be reused in a new way. Have a look around your home or head to a market or charity shop for things you can turn into an upcycled gift. 

Upcycle glass jars and wine bottles into candles, fairy light ornaments, terrariums, or flower vases. Old clothes can be turned into everyday cloths and handkerchiefs tied up with twine for cute stocking fillers and eco-friendly Christmas gifts.

Gifts made from recycled & sustainable materials

If you want to buy something new, there are sustainable options. We even have a handy section of our website called Green Cashback so you can find these retailers more easily.

10. Homeware

There are so many options for sustainable homeware items, like rugs, blankets, cushion covers, and throws made from either recycled fabric or sustainably-sourced materials.

Soy candles make great eco-friendly Christmas gifts; they burn slower and longer than normal wax candles. Explore other homeware items like macramé wall hangings made from recycled yarn, art prints on recycled paper, and recycled cork coasters. 

11. Clothing & fashion

Shop with retailers that produce eco-friendly clothing, whether their materials and processes are vegan, sustainably sourced, or recycled. 

It can be a little daunting to know where to begin with sustainable fashion, which is why we’ve got a Green Fashion category on site with our favourite retailers. You’ll find dozens of retailers verified as environmentally friendly by the Ethical Consumer guide.

12. Jewellery

Yes, you can even get recycled jewellery! Unwanted/discarded silver and gold can be melted down and reformed into new jewellery for a beautiful gift that contributes to a circular economy. You can also find recycled glass jewellery and many of the designs will be more minimalist and simplistic in style to best utilise the materials. 

Hobby-based sustainable gifts

Treating your nearest and dearest to hobby-based gifts is a fantastic present idea. Show how well you know them and make your gift more personal by basing it around something they enjoy doing in their free time.

13. Art equipment

Discover eco-friendly art supplies and equipment so they can enjoy a creative hobby that’s more planet-friendly. There are all sorts of clever and interesting equipment you can buy, like paper, notebooks, and canvases made from recycled material. You can also pick up plantable pencils that can be planted in soil once they’re too short to use, as well as plant-based watercolour paints.

14. Allotment & gardening items

Ideas for your green-fingered friends include items that are great for the bees like wildflower seeds and blooming bombs for beautiful displays that bees love. 

Replenish some of their equipment with a gardening essentials kit, a foldable knee stool for taking to the allotment, or handmade seed markers for keeping track of what’s what. You can also buy composting equipment, like a compost caddy for the kitchen or a compost bin for use in the allotment. 

15. Charity shop hauls

It’s not just clothing you can pick up second-hand; charity shops have all sorts of items like books, vinyl records, vintage comic books, historic postcards, and much more.

Browse online at places like Oxfam Online Shop, which features a Home & Collectables category for niche collector’s trinkets like stamps, matchbox cars, military memorabilia, and coins. 

16. Yoga equipment

Retailers like RubyMoon create activewear like leggings, crop tops, and sports bras made from ocean plastics, so you can contribute towards cleaning up ocean waste. You can also find activewear made from sustainable materials like bamboo from the retailer Thought.

Yoga clothing made from sustainable materials or recycled plastic collected from oceans doesn’t come cheap, which is why it can be a meaningful present to buy for an eco-conscious yogi in your life.

Gifts for zero-waste wannabes

The zero waste movement is about switching from single use to reusable as much as possible. The great thing about zero waste gifts is that you can get creative and find unique ways to be more sustainable that you might not have thought of.

17. Zero waste dental kit

Zero waste oral care contains products that are made from reusable or compostable materials to focus on a zero or low waste dental routine. These can be items like toothbrushes and dental floss made from bamboo that can be composted, toothpaste tablets in a refillable container for brushing your teeth, and a reusable metal tongue scraper.

Pick up zero waste oral gift hampers from retailers like Georganics and Big Green Smile, who offer everything from teeth-cleaning paste and mouthwash tablets to chewing gum.

18. Safety razor

Razors you buy from normal beauty retailers have quite a short shelf life and around 60 million are bought (and thrown away) in the UK every year. With proper care and maintenance, a metal safety razor can last a lifetime. The blades need to be changed every 5-10 uses but can be collected in a jar and recycled together.

19. Recycled tote bags

Cotton tote bags are actually only better than plastic bags once they’ve been used between 7,000 and 20,000 times. Tote bags made from upcycled and recycled materials, hemp, or bamboo are great alternatives for your planet-conscious recipient to take on their weekly food shopping trips. 

Our Green Cashback retailer Kind Bag turn plastic water bottles into tote bags in a variety of designs. Not only do they make up for their production within two or three uses, but 1% of sales go to environmental and social initiatives.

20. Water bottles & coffee cups

Ditching single-use plastics is a lot easier when you have handy and well-designed products like reusable water bottles, flasks, and coffee cups. There are so many designs, sizes, and types you can pick out, from bamboo travel mugs to recycled steel canteens and insulated flasks. 

A collapsible coffee cup makes it much easier to enjoy a sustainable coffee on the go, as it takes up much less space and can be unfolded into several different sizes.

21. Bamboo utensil pouch

Another handy on-the-go zero waste product is a bamboo utensil set or pouch, ideal for camping, going to festivals, hiking, or simply enjoying street food and markets.

The utensil pouch usually features a knife, fork, spoon, bamboo straw and straw cleaner wrapped up in a cloth pouch that you can unfold. Bamboo grows incredibly quickly, making it much more sustainable than normal wood. 

Sustainable kitchen gifts

There are lots of little eco gifts for the kitchen. So whether you’ve got a foodie friend, a vegan wannabe, or someone special who simply loves eco gifts, there’s plenty to choose from.

22. Reusable & sustainable food storage

Explore reusable alternatives to Cling Film like beeswax wrap and stretchy silicone food covers. Both materials are easy to clean, free of chemicals, and endlessly useful for wrapping sandwiches, loose bits of food, or covering bowls with no lid. 

You can also find eco-friendly alternatives to plastic Tupperware boxes. A bamboo or steel lunchbox is not only durable and of higher quality but makes for a cute and useful gift. 

For multi-purpose food and drink storage, silicone food bags are ideal for everything from snacks to smoothies, with their slim design and leakproof qualities. 

23. Plant-based cookbooks

The BOSH! range of cookbooks are a popular choice if you’re looking for a wide range of recipes. From hearty dinners to yummy desserts and even cocktails, they have something for everyone, including healthy eaters and those cooking on a budget.

24. Composting equipment

A compost bin goes in the back garden and you can add all organic kitchen waste then balance it out with brown waste like cardboard, paper, and dried leaves.

To save constant trips to the compost bin, a compost caddy comes in very handy for the kitchen countertop. Even if your giftee doesn’t have a back garden, many councils provide food waste collection, so a compost caddy and some compostable bags may be all they need.

25. Unpaper towels

Also known as reusable kitchen roll, these eco-friendly kitchen gifts are simple but incredibly waste-saving. They work just like paper towels, but they are made from cotton or bamboo so you can wash and reuse each one. Some designs even feature popper fastenings so they can be attached to each other, rolled up and added to a kitchen roll holder.

For tech lovers

Staying on top of the latest tech gadgets and devices requires a lot of Earth’s resources in their production. The tech lover in your life can still enjoy their high-end gear with a friendlier footprint.

26. Cases & covers

Most technology cases are made from plastic, including laptop, tablet, and phone cases. Opt for a cover that not only protects the device but the planet by exploring options that are plastic-free and eco-friendly.

Retailers like Wave Case specialise in phone cases and accessories made from biodegradable materials. Get an incredibly durable tablet or laptop case from Elvis & Kresse, who use recycled fire hose for their products, or a softer laptop sleeve from Kind Bag that’s vegan, machine-washable and made from recycled materials.

27. Eco-friendly headphones

Save money and the environment with a pair of refurbished AirPods Max or AirPods Pro from Reboxed. You’ll be gifting something that’s just as top-of-the-range as the original product, but for a fraction of the price, plus you’re giving a second life to a pre-loved item. 

Headphones and earbuds from House of Marley are made from responsibly-sourced materials like recyclable aluminium, FSC-certified wood, and reclaimed hemp. Every purchase also supports reforestation via the One Tree Planted charity.

28. Solar power bank

A solar-powered power bank may be on the pricey side, but is a great sustainable gift idea fit for both tech lovers and camping enthusiasts. Once it’s at full capacity, a power bank can usually charge an average smartphone three times over. It’s ideal for camping use or as an everyday eco-friendly alternative to using electricity to charge phones and tablets.

Eco-friendly cosmetics

From applying make-up to taking it off, there are lots of little products we use every day that we might not even think about. Luckily, there are plenty of retailers that offer green alternatives that you can gift to the skincare fanatic and cosmetics connoisseur in your life.

29. Skincare

Shop mindfully for those oils, serums, toners, and creams by looking out for signs like certified organic, vegan, cruelty-free, coral reef safe, plastic-free, and refillable.

Explore online marketplaces like eTHikel, where you can find eco-friendly skincare products from ethical suppliers. If you’re looking for simple skincare in refillable containers, we love Beauty Kitchen, where you can find gift sets for men as well as women. 

You can also add reusable cotton pads to kits and hampers for make-up removal without the waste. These can be washed and reused, and many you’ll find on Etsy are handmade from scrap fabric.

30. Haircare

Instead of plastic bottles, shampoo and conditioner bars come in a cardboard container and once they’re used up, there is nothing left behind. Haircare bars are readily available from many shops and retailers, are easy to use, and make for a great sustainable gift or stocking filler.

For luxury haircare, our Green Cashback retailer Monpure features plant-based haircare range that's kinder on the planet and your scalp. Their aesthetically stylish range of glass bottles and recycled plastic bottles are ideal for treating your loved one.

31. Vegan make-up

We feature a whole host of vegan make-up retailers within our Green Health & Beauty range that don’t test on animals or use animal products.

Love The Planet not only offer plastic-free vegan mineral make-up but many of their products come in reusable tins or compostable refill pouches. Pick up a gift set to combine their best-selling products which also include reusable cleaning pads.

Final thoughts

These are just some of our favourite sustainable gifts to inspire you, but of course there are plenty more that you can do on a budget (like re-gifting!). 

Buying sustainably on a budget can require more thought and creativity than other gifts. 

We hope this guide gives you some ideas to get you started and pick up the perfect gift for your eco-conscious friend.