Shown above, Bee Eco food wraps, my favourite alternative to plastic wrap

Zero waste seems to finally be (almost) hitting the main stream. More and more people have heard about it, some are curious, and some are even trying it out. Yay! Living a zero waste life is a journey that takes time, be kind to yourself and remember that every positive change helps.

Some people have asked me what sorts of gifts they could give a zero waster. First, zero wasters are probably happy to get nothing. Really. Really, really. Another idea is to give an experience, like a spa visit, a movie ticket, or to give the gift of time, like a dinner date or a hike.

However, some people really like the tradition of giving material things, so here are some ideas that I can pretty much guarantee a zero waster will be happy to get, even if they already have it, they are good items to have duplicates. I’ve included links for online purchasing, however you can probably find all these items locally at a zero waste shop or natural food store. Ottawa folks, Nu Grocery is an amazing zero waste shop that has all of these things and much more!

10 Gift Ideas for Zero Waste Enthusiasts or People Just Getting Started:

1. Reusable straws: bamboo, stainless steel, or glass: My personal favourites are bamboo straws because they are the lightest to carry around in a bag, but stainless steel is great too. I have never tried glass, because I’m afraid they will break, but other people swear by them. Straws come in conventional width and large (better for smoothies and milk shakes). Don’t forget to get a straw cleaner, they are inexpensive and a life saver. This set is pretty great since it includes a bamboo straw case.
2. Bombilla straw for filter free tea and coffee: Ok, this is another straw, but for a different purpose: warm drinks. I’ve never liked using tea balls and when drinking coffee I like to make a single cup, so a french press isn’t always practical. A bombilla (also called bomba) straw allows you to steep loose tea or loose coffee grinds in your mug with hot water, and then drink through the straw. It sounds a little unconventional, but zero wasters are kind of unconventional anyway, right?!
3. Beeswax food wraps: These are indispensable, they are a replacement for plastic wrap. We use them every single day in my household to wrap sandwiches, to cover leftovers and much more. My favourite brand is from Australia’s Bee Eco Wraps, however if you’d like to order from a North American source Bees Wraps are also great.
4. Silicone food bags: For people who rely a lot on “ziplock” bags, these are for you! They are durable, reusable food bags, that you can use for storing, freezing, marinating and more.
5. String bags: Most of us have a tonne of reusable shopping bags, but often they are bulky and don’t fit easily into a purse. Ever since my sister-in-law made me a string bag as a gift I’ve been hooked, they travel well and stretch to fit a lot of stuff. We used them on vacation as beach bags, and at home for groceries.
6. Bamboo toothbrush: Everyone needs a good toothbrush, and one that is not made of plastic! Get fancy and buy a bamboo travel case for the toothbrush.
7. Travel utensils: Plastic single-use utensils are pretty evil, there are very few reasonable reasons these should exist. Carrying your own reusable cutlery in your bag or purse is one way to seriously minimize the amount of plastic you put into landfill. Bamboo and recycled plastic cutlery are nice because they are lightweight, however some people prefer metal cutlery. Either way, I recommend getting a set with a handy holder so they aren’t loose in your bag.
8. Stainless steel travel food containers: Food containers for leftovers or lunches are indispensable, and stainless steel ones are much longer lasting and don’t stain like plastic containers. We have a bunch of small, medium and large size containers for a variety of uses (I’ve tried many and the ones I’ve linked to are the best and leak proof!), including layered containers for lunches.
9. Water bottles: Travel bottles in various sizes are very useful, we use them to store cold drinks in the fridge at home, to take on excursions and for lunches.
10. Warm drink tumbler: A coffee or tea travel mug is another essential. In our home we have distinct coffee and tea tumblers, because the silicone seals tend to absorb a little of the coffee smell over time, which my children don’t enjoy when drink hot chocolate or tea during a winter picnic. If you are a coffee drinker, you should have one of these at your office, so you never have to take a throwaway cup again!

If you haven’t already caught on, the above items are sort of zero waste basics, so if you are looking to get started with zero waste living, the above would be a good starter kit, since it addresses the “big 4”: coffee lids, straws, plastic bags and water bottles — the items that are the biggest contributors to plastic waste worldwide. If you can’t them out of your life, you are doing a lot of good.

Finally, make sure you wrap your gift in a zero waste way: use reusable fabric, like a scarf, tea towel, or scrap fabric to wrap in the furoshiki method. I promise you it is very easy! Here’s my post about to wrap gifts with fabric.