Consumer Behavior Change

The Multiplier Effect, in Action! SB’s 2024 Holiday Gift Guide

Here’s this year’s list of tips for taking a more intentional approach to holiday gift giving and some of the many companies, platforms and products that we’d be happy to support anytime.

Published 1 month ago | About a 22 minute read

Image: See end of article for image credits

How is it the holidays again, already? For many, ‘tis still the season of seizin’ as many holiday deals as possible. For us, it represents a time to decompress and appreciate our blessings and continued resilience in the face of uncertainty — and support the wellbeing and resilience of others through gifts that keep on giving.

Our annual gift guide aims to encourage a more conscious approach to gift-giving by carefully considering not only what we buy but how we buy. We like to highlight products, services and experiences that create value and benefits beyond short-term gratification for the recipient — and, in the best cases, reduce waste and create opportunity or other positive impacts for producers, communities and/or the environment.

So, here’s this year’s list of tips for taking a more intentional approach to holiday gift giving and some of the many companies, platforms and products that we’d be happy to support anytime.

How and where to buy

Image credit: Karma Wallet

The convenience of one-stop and online shopping are undeniable, but more thoughtful approaches benefit local communities. So, first: Do what you can to shop locally.

Once you’ve exhausted those options, check out purpose-driven online marketplaces such as Buy Native, Goodee, Made Trade (get 70% off sale items, plus 15% off your entire order with code GREENHOLIDAY), Karma Wallet’s DoneGood and Marmalade.

If big-box stores are more accessible for you, Target is an almost one-stop shop that is actively working to rein in its carbon footprint, support Black-owned businesses and promote sustainable and waste-reducing products; IKEA has tons of lovely housewares and gift ideas, many of them recycled or otherwise sustainably made; and Etsy and Uncommon Goods feature millions of unique, often-handmade products. And if the one-stop online shop is your best bet, Amazon is also working to promote 'Climate Pledge Friendly' products and reduce its shipping footprint.

Whatever you shop for, prioritize items that are made to last: For clothes, a growing number of apparel brands repair, recycle and resell garments and accessories — keeping millions of tons of pre-loved, perfectly wearable items from becoming waste: Think Fjallraven, Levi Strauss, Madewell, The North Face, REI and Timberland, to name but a few; and for bags and luggage, you can’t go wrong with Timbuk2. Secondhand apparel marketplaces including ThredUp, Poshmark and Vestiaire Collective are packed with items from sustainable and designer brands for a smidgen of the price; or peruse the curated collection of apparel and home goods at Buy Me Once, already vetted for longevity.

One more important thing to know is that returned items are rarely resold — for most retailers, the logistical and monetary challenges of inspecting, repackaging and reselling returned goods make it more cost-effective to just dispose of them. Some brands have started to resell or donate returned items, but most still end up in landfills — so, keep this in mind whenever you shop.

Synergistic skin care

Image credit: Upcircle Beauty

Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve – what began as a home soap-making hobby over 20 years ago has expanded into a full line of USDA-certified organic skin and hair care products made from minimally processed, sustainable, cruelty-free, fair-trade ingredients. The company evaluates the whole lifecycle of its packaging materials and has traded in as much plastic as possible for aluminum and glass.
Cold Current Kelp Care - this women-owned, vertically integrated, regenerative kelp company on the coast of Maine not only farms its own kelp – the co-founders “see [their] product development all the way through, from sea to skin.” In addition to the many, many ways regeneratively farmed kelp is an invaluable tool in fighting climate change, it’s also highly beneficial to skin: Check out their Kelp Glow Facial Oil.
doTerra essential oils — the ethical personal-care brand offers a wide range of sustainably sourced essential oils and other wellness products, sales of which also support the company’s other efforts to restore native forests in Kealakekua, Hawai'i; and work with its farmers around the world to promote sustainable farming practices. And all proceeds from its Neroli Touch and Magnolia Touch oil blends through the end of the year will go to the dōTERRA Healing Hands Foundation — which supports underserved communities worldwide through health, education and economic development.
Mack Soaps – this small, Massachusetts-based, LGBTQ-owned soap company handcrafts luscious-smelling hunks of vegan soap, shampoo and conditioner bars, and hand-milled laundry soap — full of sustainable, plant-based ingredients you recognize with very minimal, recyclable packaging.
Melabébé — When Kelli Clifton Ogunsanya searched for remedies for her newborn daughter’s sensitive skin, she discovered major retail brands contained fillers, sulfates, parabens and other artificial ingredients and were not as effective for melanin-rich skin. So, she founded Melabébé to provide a clean, effective plant-based skincare line for all skin types and shades — for babies and adults, alike. The best-selling Moisture Care Bundle Box contains moisturizing body wash safe for rosacea- and eczema-prone skin, daily hydration cream parents swear by for diaper rash, and a shea butter-based deep hydration cream.
The Right to Shower — vegan body washes and soaps made with natural cleansers, recycled packaging and organic ingredients. 30 percent of profits go toward mobile shower initiatives that help people experiencing homelessness.
SproutWorld plantable eyeliners (and pencils) — made from certified wood sourced from responsibly managed forests, and developed without microplastics, the SproutWorld Black Eyeliner has a second life as wildflowers.
St. Lucy Botanists — a Barbados-based perfumery that creates 100% natural fragrances free from synthetic chemicals, and made from renewable plant essences and upcycled industrial byproducts — ex: oakwood from end-of-life oak barrels from the wine and spirits industry, and cedarwood from sawmill wood chips.
Upcircle Beauty — clean skin care products made from upcycled, otherwise-wasted ingredients including coffee grounds, blueberry extract, fruit seeds, stones and waters and more.

The masculine side

Image credit: Stubble & ‘Stache

Bulldog: Self-proclaimed 'Man's Best Friend,' the UK-based brand makes clean, vegan, cruelty-free skincare products for men with naturally derived ingredients — and no plastic microbeads, synthetic fragrances or artificial colors. Plus, it’s working to reduce its virgin plastic and energy use; and its recyclable Glass Razor is made from recycled beer bottles.
Doers of London: Another British brand upleveling men’s skincare — this one is on a mission to create products you need less the more you use them, for an affordable price. The brand's products are vegan; free from the problematic usual suspects (parabens, glycols, synthetic fragrances and colors, etc); made with traceable, natural ingredients; and they prioritize glass, aluminum and recycled plastics in their packaging.
And for our bearded friends, Green Koala, Professor Fuzzworthy, Stubble + ‘Stache and Valorhood all offer beard balms, oils, shampoos and more made from natural, organic ingredients; without those usual suspects; in recyclable, reusable and/or zero-waste packaging.

Responsible recreation

Image credit: Solight Design

For loved ones who thrive in the wild, you can’t go wrong with functional, durable, sustainable garments and gear from Fjallraven. And REI recently made a big move away from limited sizing based on a binary gender model and released a broader, more inclusive range of sizes in apparel, sleeping bags and more to serve the wider range of bodies that wants to enjoy the outdoors comfortably.
On the bag front, Jansport has a range of choices for the sustainability-savvy: 80 percent of its styles are made with recycled main body fabric — including Restore, made from textile waste — and the company offers a repair with warranty program. And Freitag, which has specialized in RIPs (recycled individual products) since 1993, has released its first fully circular backpack: The Mono [PA6] is a traceable, multifunctional backpack/crossbody bag made from a single material that is fully recyclable.
For the crafty ones: French needlecraft company DMC’s newest line, EcoVita, features 60 differently colored threads made from 100% organic wool and natural dyes including walnut, rhubarb, indigo and juniper. The limited edition collector’s box includes 30 full-sized skeins of the EcoVita naturally dyed organic wool thread in all the colors of the rainbow. Perfect for friends and loved ones into crafting, mending, embellishing, embroidery, cross stitching, punch needle and weaving.
YOGO’s folding yoga mat: The latest iteration of Yogo’s award-winning travel yoga mat is thicker and cushier, and made from FSC-certified tree rubber, with straps and label made from recycled plastic bottles.
Upgrade their cap game with Vermont-based Turtle Fur’s new Boondocker and Cairn 5 Panel hats, which the company says is basically equivalent to buying three hats: They’re mostly made from hemp (with a small amount of organic cotton) — which lasts three times longer than cotton — which means they’re likely to stick around for decades without wearing thin. Plus, hemp plants use much less water than cotton and nourish the soil while growing — helping save resources and restore the agricultural landscape.
Solight Design’s award-winning, origami-inspired, self-inflatable, weatherproof, portable solar lights and phone chargers are great for camping — as well as power outages and other off-grid lighting needs — and proceeds benefit the 1.6 billion people who live without access to electricity: Over 600K have been donated to refugees, war-torn areas, survivors of natural disasters and other communities without easy access to light and power. Customers can also choose to support specific organizations.
And when you’re tired of all the fun and ready to tune out the world, it’s tempting to grab conventional, ultralight, single-use earplugs — but there are many environmental and health-related reasons not to. Enter San Francisco-based GOB – a startup on a mission to leverage biology to reinvent wearable wellness products, starting with the world’s first earplug made from lab-grown mycelium. They’re home compostable, free from any harmful chemicals or additives and designed with Fit technology to conform perfectly to users’ unique ear shape.

Clothing for a cause

Image credit: For Others

Kind Cotton — This Florida-based social-impact brand offers a line of colorful, gender-neutral Ts, hoodies, hats and more with a range of socially conscious messages — and for every item sold, the company donates a book to a child. It’s on a mission to donate 1M inclusive books to kids across the US; 171,341 books & counting.
For Others: For every hat, hoodie or T sold, proceeds are reinvested directly back into the buyer’s local community. So far, the company says it’s donated 85,000 meals to 80+ food banks and provided supplies to 43 public school classrooms across the US.
And for the nature lovers in your life, check out apparel and gifts from BeCause and World Wildlife Fund — which fund a variety of nature and wildlife conservation initiatives.
Scrappy Socks — North Carolina-based Project Repat has been turning customers' t-shirts into quilts since 2012. After producing over a million quilts, they faced a new challenge: leftover t-shirt scraps. With 5% of global waste coming from textiles, they decided to turn those t-shirt scraps into 100% recycled Scrappy Socks. By partnering with Material Return and worker-owned factory Opportunity Threads, Scrappy Clothing Company is promoting a localized, circular economy — reducing waste, supporting local jobs, and helping build a more sustainable textile industry.

Home stuff

Image credit: Renew by Trinity

Our Place’s versatile, non-toxic, nonstick cookware is made to last longer — they say 50% longer, with a ceramic nonstick coating made without toxic materials including PFAS, lead and cadmium — and designed to do the job of 8-10 pieces of traditional cookware. Plus, they use recycled materials, plastic-free packaging and ethical labor practices.
For beautiful, circular home decor, check out Sungai Design — which has upcycled 2,300,000 kg of plastic waste from Bali rivers and other Indonesian waterways into a unique line of chairs, benches and tables. And from its ‘Chop Shop’ in northern Texas, the RENEW by Trinity team upcycles reclaimed bamboo chopsticks into gorgeous cutting and serving boards and furnishings including benches, shelves and tables.
Get the whole family interested in growing their own organic veggies and herbs with indoor growing kits from Instafarm and seeds, soils, growing kits, plant food and more from Back to the Roots.
And for keeping cozy in winter, recycled down comforters, blankets and scarves from Rewardown are made in the company’s solar-powered production center with a fabric-regeneration technique they say has saved over 540 tons of fabric since 2021. Plus, its DownPlus Tracking system allows customers to view the full journey of their recycled down — including its origins, the collection process and the recycling methods used.

Next-gen kids’ stuff

Image credit: Miniware

What better gift for new parents than to help them avoid some of the biggest expenses and sources of waste associated with babyhood? Rebelstork’s baby gear recommerce platform offers deals on overstock and open-box items, and Uppababy offers extended warranties and a free Tune-Up Gear-Up program to keep its products safe and useful for longer. Other good ideas include Miniware’s safe and durable kids’ tableware made from renewable, non-toxic, plant-based materials and food-grade silicone; recycled plushies and dolls from Gund and organic, upcycled cloth diapers from Esembly. And Legacy Bundles allows parents to ‘Bundle swap’ their kiddos’ gently used items and request more — based on the size, season and gender of their choice – saving money, extending the life of kidswear and reducing textile waste.
The Sunflower lanyard has become a globally recognized symbol with which people with hidden disabilities — 80% of the 1-in-6 people globally who live with a disability — can discreetly signal their potential need for extra help navigating public spaces. As part of its mission to foster inclusive play, LEGO has released three Sunflower-lanyard-themed sets in collaboration with the nonprofit Hidden Disabilities Sunflower. Fans can also now customize minifigures using the Sunflower symbol online and at all 55 Minifigure Factories and LEGO stores worldwide.
Looking for other toys and games that go way beyond tired pink or blue? Presently Goods’ marketplace features a wide range of inclusive play activities from small toy brands that represent a variety of cultures, ethnicities, abilities and backgrounds; challenge gender norms, use recycled materials, and give back to their communities.

Beneficial beverages

Image credit: Republic Restoratives Distillery

For those that still want to do good while they enjoy a good buzz, the list of sustainable and socially impactful spirits continues to grow:

Alma de Jaguar tequila and Mutiny Island Vodka are sustainable spirits whose business models were built around nature conservation. Aspen Vodka is made one of the world's first carbon-negative distilleries — the first in North America with LEEDv4 BD+C Platinum certification.
And whiskey fans have no shortage of choices of brands promoting regenerative agriculture: In 2023, Maker’s Mark became the first spirit to achieve Regenified certification; Woodford Reserve is on its way; and proceeds from WhistlePig’s FarmStock Beyond Bonded Rye Whiskey and Brother’s Bond’s Regenerative Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey help support Kiss the Ground’s Regenerate America coalition.
On the wine front, California wineries are all over regenerative agriculture: Paso Robles’ Tablas Creek was the first and Mendocino’s Bonterra is the largest winery to achieve Regenerative Organic certification; Alexander Valley’s Eco Terreno is Demeter Certified Biodynamic — recognized standard for regenerative farming; and Lodi’s LangeTwins Family Winery is scaling its regenerative practices.
Then, there’s Republic Restoratives Distillery – This DC-based, women/LGBTQ-owned distillery makes small-batch, outspoken spirits — including Dissent Gin, Purpose Rye and Fascist Tears Vodka — whose proceeds benefit nonprofits including Vote.org. Perfect for those needing liquid courage for family holiday gatherings!

Conscientious coffee

Image credit: Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co.

And the same goes for those who want their daily cuppa to pay dividends:

Atomo Coffee is one brand working to climate-proof coffee by eliminating the coffee bean altogether — but for those who aren’t quite ready to make the switch, its 50:50 blend (50 percent Atomo’s bean-less coffee and 50 percent Arabica) can help ease the transition.
Steeped Coffee — yes, it’s steeped — like tea — in compostable, single-serve bags. Perfect for camping!
For the bird lovers in your life, try Birds and Beans coffee — this family-owned business out of Ontario, Canada began in 2008 with a mission to produce coffee that supports the ecosystems that sustain our critical bird populations. It’s grown to offer a range of USDA Organic-, Fair Trade- and Smithsonian Bird Friendly®-certified coffees that protect biodiversity and support ethical trade. And 5% of every bag sold funds conservation efforts.
Grounds and Hounds Coffee – 20% of proceeds from its organic, Fair Trade-certified coffee – and 100% of profits from its Rescue Roast Blend – support rescue initiatives and organizations providing a safe havens for pups in need.

For the love of pets

Image credit: Rescued Wine Candles

Speaking of gifts that benefit our animal friends, and those in need:

Through a partnership with the 15/10 Foundation, 15% of proceeds from We Rate Dogs’ ‘Tell your dog I said hi’ collection helps shelter dogs with behavioral or medical issues to become more adoptable.
Rescued Wine makes soy candles in recycled wine and beer bottles, and 10% of its annual profits support animal-rescue organizations including the Fetching Tails Foundation.
All profits from eyeglass and sunglass frames by Fetch Eyewear — founded by Ann Sacks (of Ann Sacks Tile fame) — support the Sacks’ family’s Pixie Project, which has facilitated adoption and provided low-income veterinary care for thousands of Oregon pets.
And on the planetary front, Cave Pets – launched in Spring 2024 – is the first and only pet brand throughout the globe to have its chomps, treats and nutrient powders Regenerative Organic Certified®.

Don’t ruin it with wrapping!

Image credit: Wrappily

Once you’ve put extra consideration into buying ethical and sustainably made gifts, it doesn’t make sense to then wrap them in materials that will further clog landfills — most conventional wrapping paper not only isn’t recyclable or biodegradable, the glittery stuff can end up polluting waterways and poisoning marine life. Instead of adding to the millions of tons of holiday wrapping waste, check out recyclable and compostable gift wrap from companies such as Wrappily; or opt for reusable gift bags.

Or get a little creative with alternative materials (newspaper, magazines, maps, inside-out chip bags) and reusable materials such as furoshiki wraps, based on the Japanese tradition of wrapping items in a single cloth — Wrapp’r and Etsy have a ton of beautiful options.

Enriching experiences

Image credit: Rick Hatch

But at the end of the day, do any of us really need more stuff? More and more people are gravitating toward gifts of experience — where recipients can have an educational adventure or tread more lightly while getting away from it all:

Gift travel with more conscientious tour operators working to combat overtourism and benefit communities on the ground: Intrepid Travel specializes in small-group tours that prioritize “lower-carbon, human-powered travel” over flying; G Adventures ensures destination communities benefit from tourism; Natural Habitat Adventures promotes alternative European destinations where tourism supports the communities and travelers can enjoy a slower pace; and Kind Traveler's Every Stay Gives Back program features a collection of boutique destinations, glamping experiences and luxury resorts from around the world where every guest stay with participating lodging and destination partners funds local charities that are important to the community — regardless of where you book.
For those looking to slow down and reconnect with nature, check out the growing list of immersive and gear-free outdoor experiences on offer in your area and beyond: Think kayak and paddleboard tours, geocaching, treetop adventures, stargazing tours, sea and skydiving … all of these and thousands more are options included in packages from companies such as Tinggly and Virgin Experience Gifts.