Green Gifts for Christmas
The days are shorter, the stars twinkle in the night sky, the first candle has been lit. A hint of Christmas lies in the air, which makes everyone start thinking about Christmas presents. What should I get my loved ones this year?
Buying presents is always a difficult task. You want them to like it but it to also be useful. Ideally, it should have been manufactured in a sustainable way. Getting all your wishes fulfilled in one present can be very challenging. Why not follow the new Upcycling trend? Or is it recycling?
Upcycling and recycling – what is the difference?
Everyone has an idea of what recycling is. All materials are processed in a way to make them reusable. To give an example: recycled paper isn’t as flat and white as it used to be before. The newly emerged product is of lower quality but still perfectly usable for multiple purposes – I mean, who needs pearly toilet paper?
Upcycling also means reusing materials but different to recycling, the outcome isn’t of lower quality. Quite the contrary, the end product follows the principle „make new from old“. The starting product is usually old, no longer usable and unattractive. The final product though is of higher value than before.
This means, upcycling is a kind of recycling as both use old materials to create new things. The loss of quality only occurs when recycling. Upcycling creates new, innovative and creative products. The separation of recycling and upcycling isn’t always clear. When, for example, a new product has been created from recycled materials it doesn’t have to be of lower quality.
Sustainable Christmas presents
Looks like, we have to get an upcycled or recycled product as a Christmas gift. In the best case, it combines all of our wishes: individual, creative, useful and ecologically valuable. Unfortunately, most of us won’t find the time to create an upcycled present by ourselves.
We have got the solution!
Our team gathered lots of information and compiled a list with the best green Christmas presents. Like an Advent calendar, we are going to introduce one gift idea a day until Christmas. Today we are presenting the first seven sustainable gifts.
Part 1 – presents to order in time
The coffee roasters AIber in Leipzig crafts unique products out of old coffee sacks. The creations can be looked at and ordered in store. As the product is especially made per order, the delivery time and price is negotiated on request. Our favorite: the comfortable and originally crafted beanbag.
The sustainably manufactured backpack made by Icon Acrobatics doesn’t only look good, it is also made out of 100% vegan materials. The back panel with PET board enforcement makes it extremely comfortable to wear. The bottom is padded as well to ensure high stability. The metal zipper is made of vegan leather. The flexible designed straps makes the bag usable in multiple ways: as a backpack, hand bag and shoulder bag.
The vintage wine rack has enough space for up to 14 bottles of wine. The handcrafted racks are made out of solid spruce wood. Every single one is made with lots of love and great effort. The perfect gift for wine lovers.
A sleeping bag made out PET bottles? Nordisk, an outdoor brand from Denmark makes is possible. The ultra-light sleeping bag, usable in three seasons with the name „Oscar“ is the perfect gift for outdoor lovers who like to be equipped with sustainable products.
Recycling on the highest level is what Elvis & Kresse’s MacBook case definitely stands for. The fancy case is made out of a fire hose, coffee sacks and a parachute. That doesn’t only make it a very unique but also easy on the eye. It fits the 12’’ MacBook, the 13’’ MacBook Air and the 13’’ MacBook Pro.
Who doesn’t love a beautifully blossoming garden? To attract the useful pollinators, there is now a pretty and green solution. The bee log is made from solid wood and can be either hung up on a wall or on a tree. It is a natural home for bees and great for over wintering. Ideally, it is placed near a nectar source.
The recycled bag torPET by Vaude is produced exclusively under economical circumstances. The concept is 100% green. The bag offers room for a 17’’ notebook and comes with a rain cover. It is made out of used fabrics and PET bottles. Particularly practical: the bag can be pinned on a trolley for traveling, for fast bike rides you can use the hip belt.
Next week we are presenting the following seven ideas for Christmas presents and a hot tip!