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30 Wedding Gift Ideas For Your Eco-Friendliest Friend
From bidets to sparkling water machines.
When wedding season hits and you suddenly need gift ideas for every couple you’ve ever met, who are you going to call? The eco-friendly gift industry, of course. Yes, the best advice is to always stick to the registry, but what if everything out of your price range is taken? These wedding gift ideas are also environmentally friendly. Better yet, the gifts on this list are beautiful whether your friends are hippies who regularly hike under the stars, or urban sophisticates who love lattes and jet-setting. Eco-friendly wedding gifts are everywhere these days, so it's a matter of your budget and their taste.
A word of warning: just because a product says it's eco-friendly doesn't necessarily mean it has the credentials to back it up. Look for certifications and do your research. Certified B companies have passed rigorous testing on their environmental performance to earn their membership, for instance. And if something says it “contains” sustainable materials but they only make up a tiny percentage of the whole, they're probably not as green as they might look. Fortunately, eco-friendly gifts are trendy in a big way right now — whether you're purchasing for a lavish-lifestyle couple with a house and garden fill or newlyweds with a tiny apartment and a windowsill garden. Get ready to be the hit of the post-wedding thank-you note session.
1A Sweet Bug Hotel
This bug hotel is made without pesticides or chemicals and uses bamboo tubing to provide a sweet home for bees and bugs in a new garden.
2This Gorgeous Fair Trade Bowl
This fair trade ceramic bowl is made by local artists in a Tunisian artisan studio. The studio offers education opportunities and free transportation to the community.
3Recycled Glass Wine Goblets
This drink set is made from recycled glass. Cheers to keeping it green.
4A Glam Compost Pot
Nobody says composting has to be ugly; this ceramic pot can hold kitchen scraps before they're ready to go outside for composting.
5A Fair Trade Bedspread
Made with sustainable materials using ancient traditional techniques by a fair trade initiative in India, this bedspread will keep newlyweds warm all night long.
6A Recycled Steel Pizza Cutter
Handmade in Vermont, this pizza cutter uses recycled steel to make cutting up your pepperoni a breeze.
7Two Delightful Reusable Coffee Cups
These reusable, insulated tumblers are made for newlyweds to grab their coffee without needing a plastic cup.
8Recycled Glass Vases
Varying in size from small to large, these recycled glass vases make for picturesque and eco-friendly gifts.
9Eco-Friendly Luggage
Perfect for honeymooning, this 29-inch Samsonite case is made entirely from recycled plastic bottles.
10A Patterned Lantern
This lantern, made of partially recycled iron, just needs a candle inside to shed a glorious glow.
11Zero Waste Travel Cutlery Sets
A paired set of these zero-waste cutlery kits make for adorable travel companions for two.
12Recycled Coasters
Even if the newlywed twosome have never been near skateboards in their lives, they'll love these recycled skateboard coaster sets.
13Bamboo Bowls
As a replacement for plastic and other materials, these sustainable bamboo bowls are excellent additions to the kitchen — and can last for years.
14Indoor Gardening
These four "grow kits" for herbs allow people who've never had a plant they didn't let wither to produce a flourishing kitchen garden — complete with its own watering system.
15A Sustainable Mini Speaker
This little speaker is made entirely of recycled materials, including bamboo, PET and cotton, and for every purchase Earthgood plants a tree.
16A Celebration Candle
Prosperity candles are made of eco-friendly soy and coconut wax by female refugees in the U.S. A celebration set will contain the story of the woman who poured the candles, too.
17Organic Robes
These recycled cotton robes are handmade using eco-friendly techniques and make for a spectacular lounging-around gift.
18A Hemp Cooking Apron
Made from 80% hemp, a sustainable crop, this kitchen apron will withstand the hardiest of stains.
19Recycled Wood Bread Boards
These bread boards are constructed from vintage French wood from the 1970s and '80s, making them both eco-friendly and one-of-a-kind.
20Online Vegetarian Cooking Class
For those who like experiences over items, an online vegetarian cooking class is the perfect gift for breaking in a new kitchen.
21Organic Soap
Bathing Culture makes plant-based, water-free soaps in reusable (and super stylish) glass containers. Perfect to dress up a newlyweds bathroom.
22Bamboo Sheets
These bamboo sheets are sustainably made to last and will make for a soft nest for new love birds.
23A Toilet-Paper Saving Bidet
A home bidet isn’t just the lap of luxury, it’s the unlikely face of sustainability. Using water saves a ton of toilet paper every year, and will step up your newlywed’s bathroom.
24An Organic Tea Set
These organic teas are made with ethically sourced herbs as part of the Ethical Tea Partnership, with recyclable, minimal packaging. Warm up their kitchen and save the planet.
25A Grow-Your-Own Mushroom Kit
A grow-your-own mushroom kit is a hobby and a snack all in one. Give your bride something to do — and something to eat.
26Zero-Waste Baking Set
This zero-waste kitchen set contains reusable sandwich bags and containers for produce and leftovers. Give the gift that keeps on giving.
27A Set Of Vibrant Reusable Shopping Bags
Who said sustainability can’t be stylish? A set of patterned reusable shopping bags will let your eco-friendly bride shop in style.
28Reusable Sandwich Bags
This colorful set of reusable plastic bags will dress up your bride’s lunch and keep all their bulk nuts and dried fruits fresh.
29A Sparkling Water Machine
A home carbonator means endless seltzer with none of the packaging. Nix one-time use metals and let the good times roll.
30A Rescued Produce Delivery Membership
A sustainable produce subscription saves produce from food waste, and your bride a trip to the grocery store.
Additional reporting by Griffin Wynne.
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