37+ Low and Zero-Waste Gift Ideas For Every Budget

Disclosure: I sometimes earn products or commissions from affiliate links or partnerships on my blog. I only recommend products and services I trust to serve you. Learn more.

If you’re anything like me, you might be trying to live a more low-waste or even a zero-waste lifestyle. It’s important to you to reduce your plastic waste and lower your impact on the planet. And because of that, the thought of buying more useless plastic junk for the people you love just because it’s a gift-giving occasion is total nonsense. 

Whether it’s the holiday season, a birthday, or something else special to celebrate, having sustainable gift-giving options is a great idea. But you don’t want to look cheap or like some kind of eco-Grinch in the process! You may have family members who aren’t exactly on board the sustainability train. Or perhaps the special people in your life don’t get the big deal behind having more sustainable practices. 

But YOU get it!

Now is a good time to give eco-friendly gifts that don’t break the bank, are high quality, and encourage the folks in your orbit to make little changes that could add up to a world of good. 

I recognize the need to find the perfect zero-waste gifts in a wide range of budgets.

After all, I have 100% been that broke person who had to buy everyone’s Christmas presents with crusty pennies I found in the sofa.

I wholeheartedly endorse gifts that are free, reused, repurposed, thrifted, or secondhand. I don’t like to perpetuate the cycle of consumerism and tell you that you NEED to get something for someone and that it MUST be the newest thing.

But also, I realize that there are folks who may want to gift something premium or who may finally be in a position to give generously and are looking for something new. Whatever your budget may be, I hope this list will give you some good ideas and options that fit your particular needs! 

I’ll also strive to provide you a few different buying options as well. While some people may be perfectly fine with shopping at Amazon, others may balk at giving such a huge business even more money. In this list, you’ll find a healthy mix of Amazon links as well as other businesses to support in your quest for the best zero waste gifts. 

37+ Low and Zero Waste Gift Ideas for Every Budget

Free and Low-Cost Zero-Waste Gifts

If you’re willing to get creative and thrifty, there is a LOT you can do for free or close to it. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Upcycled or Secondhand Items

This is probably one of the most obvious places to start, but it always bears repeating. Look for unique, upcycled, or secondhand items at thrift stores or flea markets.

Consider looking for a local Buy Nothing group on Facebook or checking your local Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace listings for unique items you could upcycle or give secondhand. You never know what fun collector’s items, artworks, or quirky niche interest items you may find.

I mean, I recently found a lot of 6 steel playground ride-on dinosaurs in good shape for $70. Talk about a unique (if not bizarre) gift for the young child or dinosaur enthusiast in your life!

Recipe Collection

Share your favorite zero-waste recipes with friends or family digitally, reducing the need for printed recipes. Of course, you can make some simple recipe cards by printing the recipes on cardstock, or print your pages and bind them together with staples or a binder. You may be able to thrift or reuse an old binder that is still in good condition, or you could opt for something like this. It may not be the lowest-cost item on this list, but if you want to reduce your plastic this binder may do the trick.

This is a recipe collection I was gifted when I was getting married and I absolutely adore it! You can skip the plastic sheet protectors to make it more eco-friendly.

Bulk Bin Snacks

Fill reusable jars or containers with snacks from the bulk bins of a local store. After all, who doesn’t like receiving massive amounts of their favorite snacks? Save your sauce jars or collect mason jars and take them to your nearest bulk bin store. We have a Fresh Thyme near us that has all kinds of chocolates, nuts, and other treats in the bulk bin dispensers. Just have an associate get the tare weight of your jars first so you don’t overpay!

Personalized Coupons

Before you toss this idea out as cheesy, hear me out. My cousin actually did this a few years ago and she followed through when my mom redeemed a coupon to have her drive two hours to help her run a yard sale. You can create personalized coupons offering services like:

• A homemade meal. As a bonus, go to a local thrift shop and buy a glass baking dish to prepare the meal in so the recipient can keep the dish when they’re finished!

• A day of help with chores, especially something daunting that the recipient has been putting off, like cleaning out the attic or digitizing all the old family photo albums.

• A special skill you can share. Are you really good at organizing? Making videos? Creating cool things in Canva? Include coupons that use your unique skills!

• Nature Walk or Hike: Give the gift of time by taking someone on a nature walk or hike, enjoying the outdoors without generating waste. 

• Volunteer Together: Spend time volunteering for a local environmental or community organization, contributing to a meaningful cause.

• Movie or Game Night: Bring your favorite popcorn and bust out the board games or pop on one of your old favorite movies! Especially in an age when we can be so disconnected from each other, a fun evening in with friends may be the perfect gift!

DIY Zero-Waste Workshop

Are you the person in your family or friend group who is known for making/doing all sorts of quirky yet impressive eco stuff? Host a DIY workshop to make eco-friendly items like reusable beeswax wraps, homemade cleaning products, bucket compost bins, or upcycled crafts that your guests get to take home!

Plant Cuttings or Seeds

Share cuttings from your houseplants or seeds from your garden for a sustainable and living gift! If you need help getting started with plant propagation, check out these resources:

• How to Propagate Houseplants from Patch Plants
• Propagating Houseplants from Penn State Extension
• How to Propagate Your Houseplants from BHG

Nature Art

Collect natural materials like leaves, twigs, and flowers to create art or crafts, turning nature into a unique gift. Consider crochet, knit, macrame, woodworking, pottery, sculpting, you name it! There are a million different ways you could get creative using low-waste materials or even reusing much of what you have on hand.

If you need inspiration, I highly recommend checking out some of these books. You can try to find them at your local library or pick up a copy to own through our links:

• Wild+Free Handicrafts
• Nature Crafts: Japanese Style Plant & Leaf Projects
• Crafting With Nature
• 52 Nature Craft Projects

Digital or Physical Playlist

Share a curated playlist of favorite songs or create a mix CD (if they have a CD player). There’s something uniquely special about knowing someone put real time into preparing a playlist of songs that remind them of you. You can certainly do this in something like Spotify or you could make something physical like a CD or put songs on a flash drive.

I got a mix CD from one of my uncles when I was in high school and I never forgot the eclectic mix of songs on it. They wouldn’t necessarily have been what I would have picked, but that’s the genius of it. I got familiar with some new bands and gained insight into how he saw me at that time in my life. 

Personalized Video

Not long ago, one of our good friends made us a video celebrating our home-building project including pictures and videos set to some of our favorite music. It was super thoughtful, zero-waste, and cost nothing besides time!

You can actually watch it here if you want to see some cool photos of our building project over the years and get ideas for your own personalized video!

Local Experience

A great “experience gift” is to explore free or low-cost local events together, such as farmers’ markets, community fairs, local landmarks, hidden gems, or outdoor concerts and plays. It’s super fun to spend a day being tourists in your own town!

Personalized Digital Artwork

Have a knack for digital artwork? Create pieces like wallpapers, printables, and more with a personalized touch and share it electronically. You could make anything from screensavers to wallpapers to digital cards.

Use can use the free version of Canva to get started if you’re on a tight budget but still want to make something that looks polished.

Handicrafts and Traditional Crafts

If you have a knack for creating cool pieces with your hands, consider handcrafted gifts! Someone in my extended family is outrageously skilled with making brooms, and another is amazing at making wreaths and decorative pieces. Can you knit? Sew? Are you skilled with woodcarving or pottery.

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Organize a free nature scavenger hunt, encouraging friends or family to explore the outdoors and connect with nature. You can come up with your own or you can grab some premade cards. I received these nature cards as a gift years ago I’ve gotten loads of use out of them both on our own, with friends, and even with our homeschool co-op!

“Go Find It!” Nature Scavenger Hunt Card Game

Repurposed Container Herb Garden

Use old containers (like jars or cans) to create a small herb garden. You don’t even need to start plants from seed if you want. I rescued a plastic package of basil from my mom’s fridge from work and it had sprouted. Instead of tossing it out, I decided to take put the stems in some water to encourage the roots. The result has been an absolute load of basil that I paid ZERO dollars for more than two years ago and have been reaping the benefits of ever since. I ended up planting them in our garden beds and the seeds are so prolific that I just get volunteer basil now. A win all around!

Mindful Meditation Session

Are you a bit of a yogi or are you good with meditating? Make a date to share your favorite mindfulness or meditation practices with others for a stress-free, eco-friendly experience. Put on your favorite peaceful music and spend some quality time together!

Homemade Natural Air Fresheners

Create DIY air fresheners using natural ingredients like citrus peels, herbs, and essential oils. You can put the basic ingredients in a reused jar and wrap some ribbon or burlap around it. Get creative finding natural wrapping! 

Low Budget and Mid-Range Eco-Friendly Gift Ideas

Got a little bit of cash to spend but don’t want to break the bank? These items may be the perfect fit for someone who wants to limit their single-use items by switching to reusables. You could even create a nice little zero-waste starter kit for someone just getting started or bundle more involved items for someone taking the step on their zero-waste journey. 

Note: If you want some great alternatives to Amazon, I humbly suggest checking out the offerings over at these zero-waste shops:

• Zero Waste Outlet
• Zero Waste Store

DIY Zero Waste Kit

Consider filling a thrifted basket with all kinds of zero-waste goodies to help someone you love get started or fill in some gaps on their journey. Both Zero Waste Outlet and Zero Waste Store have fun offerings. You can also find many items on Amazon, if you prefer. But these are some solid ideas to consider putting in a basket or tote:

• Cutlery in a to-go pouch
• Wood and bamboo cleaning brushes
• Wool dryer balls
• Makeup remover pads
• Shopping bags
• Produce bags
• Towels
• Plastic-free health and beauty items
• Beeswax wraps
• etc.

There’s no limit to what you could put in and it’s entirely customizable to the gift recipient, so have fun with it!

Reusable Shopping Bags

An obvious first step in going zero-waste is reusable shopping bags. If you’re handy with a sewing machine, consider making your own out of scraps, seconds, discards, or clearance fabric. My sister-in-law made me a set of adorable shopping bags about 15 years ago and I’ve been using them multiple times a week ever since. If you aren’t up for making your own, I use these trolley bags or these canvas bags depending on the store and what I feel like bringing in.

Reusable Produce Bags

Help reduce plastic waste by gifting reusable mesh or cotton produce bags for grocery shopping. I’ve been using this particular set of produce bags for over five years now and they have held up beautifully. 

My only complaint about these is that they are a plastic fabric and so they will ultimately be garbage at the end of their useful lifespan. If you would like an organic cotton option, these are a nice (albeit more expensive) alternative.

Stainless Steel Straws 

As cliche as getting rid of plastic straws has become, a set of durable, reusable stainless steel straws can be a great way to eliminate a source of single-use plastic if it’s something your gift recipient uses a lot.

These can also make a great gift for someone who has mobility or oral-motor challenges and needs to have a straw but might find themselves in a situation where straws are unavailable. These are a good option from Amazon.

Beeswax Wraps

These are a sustainable alternative to plastic wrap for storing food. They can be used multiple times and come in a variety of beautiful prints and patterns. There are many iterations of this out there. You can even find tutorials to make your own if you want greater control over the size and shape of your wraps. You can get the original Bees Wrap on Amazon.

Reusable Drink Tumbler

You don’t have to jump on the Stanley bandwagon here unless you really want to, honest! There are loads of options out there. You might even find some gently used or like new at your local thrift store!

Encourage sustainable coffee (or tea!) habits by gifting a reusable coffee cup made from materials like glass or bamboo. This bamboo option has a silicone lid and seeks to minimize contact with plastic.

 If you want a stainless steel tumbler, you can’t go wrong with a Yeti. If you don’t want to spend quite so much but still want something durable and well-made, I’ve been using this exact Contigo mug for ten years now and it hasn’t failed me yet. Here’s a pic of me using it back in 2016 while we were building our cordwood house, and I’d already had it for a number of years by then.

Or if you want something classy, a ceramic option like this one is perfect to gift along with some fair trade coffee or organic tea bags.

Sustainable Water Bottle

Sometimes you don’t want something as large as a tumbler. For example, the drink pockets on my purse can’t fit my Contigo, and I needed something slimmer for when we were going to be on an international trip so I could refill it while we were sightseeing.

In these cases, reusable water bottles made from stainless steel or glass help reduce the use of disposable plastic bottles. This glass bottle with a silicone sleeve is perfect for days out. And this stainless option is what I chose to take on our London trip. It was the perfect size to tote around all day in the drink pockets of my Travelon bag and it never leaked!

Seed Packets 

Got a green thumb on your list? Give the gift of gardening with packets of seeds for herbs, flowers, or vegetables. If you save seeds from your own garden, you can give this gift for basically free. Simply make some cute seed envelopes or buy some premade like these from Amazon and you’re golden! Or you can buy some high-quality fruit, vegetable, flower, or cover crop seeds from a reputable outfit like True Leaf Market.

Cloth Napkins

True story, the same sister-in-law who made me my shopping bags also gifted us some everyday cloth napkins when we got married in 2006 and we are STILL using them daily. Stylish and reusable cloth napkins are a great zero-waste alternative to paper napkins! These are 100% cotton, feature a variety of colors and patterns, and come in plastic-free packaging.

Homemade Candles 

Make your own candles using natural ingredients like reserved and rendered bacon grease, beeswax, and reusable containers. Or if you’re going vegan, grab some soy wax, some wicks, and some jars out of your jar stash and make some beautiful candles for your family and friends. I made one from some bacon grease I had rendered and some beeswax I had left from when we were raising them.

Compost Bin Starter Kit 

Help someone get started with composting by gifting a stylish small compost bin to keep in the kitchen! I had once used a big pickle jar to hold our scraps until I could take them to the outdoor bin, but I found that I didn’t like seeing all the bits in the jar and it acquired a smell after a while that just wouldn’t come out no matter what I did. This stainless steel option would look nice on any countertop and getting replacement charcoal filters is pretty simple.

Homemade Snacks or Treats 

Don’t underestimate the joy and delight of receiving a homemade treat. One of my best friends is prone to making me loaves of sourdough bread, and I can’t adequately express how giddy I get whenever I get one. She often wraps it in a simple tea towel, which is the perfect zero-waste way to gift a loaf.

You can go beyond the standard baked goods too. Think of what might be interesting or sentimental to your gift recipients. One year for Christmas after my grandpa died, I made all of my cousins, aunts, and uncles a batch of Grandpa’s favorite treat: peanut brittle. I made little bags for them and tied them up with extra ribbon from my craft stash.

I also made infused vodkas for my cousins that year, including cinnamon and vanilla varieties. The possibilities are truly endless!

DIY Personal Care Products 

Create homemade personal care items like soap, shampoo, or body scrub using natural ingredients. Or if you aren’t up for making some, premade bars make relatively inexpensive gifts. I’ve been using shampoos and soaps from TangieCo for several years now as they’re the only thing that work in my hair with our particular rainwater catchment system. I noticed when we moved off-grid that my hair behaved differently with our cistern water versus the city water I’d used up to that point. There are a lot of solid personal care products out there, but these are some of my favorites.

Sustainable Food Storage Containers 

We were gifted a lot of Tupperware when we first got married, but lately we’ve been much more conscious of how much plastic comes in contact with our food. We wanted to transition to using more glass or stainless options, so every once in a while we grab some containers like these.

We’ve have had this exact set for years and like them pretty well, but the lids being plastic still sort of grates on me. If you have the budget and can grab some of these glass containers with bamboo lids, I recommend it.

Cloth Diapers and Wipes

I was tempted to put this in the high-budget category, but it’s actually pretty easy to do this one on a modest budget for the new parents in your life. You don’t even have to buy someone an entire diaper stash to make this one work. You can go as simple as a pack of baby washcloths and a small jar of homemade rash balm. Or you could uplevel and get a few pocket diapers like these (we actually used quite a few Alvababy pockets and had a great experience with them). If you’re cloth diaper curious and want to learn more, you can check out these posts:

• Types of Cloth Diapers
• Prefold Cloth Diapers for Beginners (and why they were our favorite!)
• Our Easy Cloth Diaper Day Bag and Routine

Thrifted, Audio, and E-Books

Books are fantastic gifts for all ages and interests, but ecologically it can be pretty difficult to justify the overall cost of traditional bookmaking. Rather than contribute to the estimated 3.4 billion trees set to be cut down for the international book market over the next ten years, opt for thrifted books, audiobooks, or e-books instead. You can always gift an Audible subscription to a book-loving friend to fill in the gaps of what they can’t find on Libby, Hoopla, or other library services!

Higher Budget Zero-Waste Gift Ideas

If you have room in your giving budget to be more generous, these can make the perfect Christmas gifts for anyone wanting more sustainable ideas:

Memberships

The best zero-waste gifts are the ones that will get used and offer experiences over things. If you’re in a position to gift a membership to a local zoo, museum, aquarium, fitness center, play place, or other similar place, consider it for your next gift-giving occasion! I know that I always appreciated memberships to our local zoo and museum center as a young family with limited resources. Some memberships easily cost upwards of $150+ for a family, but not every place is similarly pricy. There is a wide range, so consider what your gift recipient would love and use!

Lomi Kitchen Composter

The Lomi Kitchen Composter is an electric compost bin that can sit on your countertop and turn kitchen scraps into quality compost. This is one of those items I like the idea of but think it really depends on your situation. This is perfect for someone who lives in a small space and who would likely use compost for houseplants or a porch container garden but who lacks access to a garden, outdoor space for a compost bin, or a municipal composting service. One of our good friends has one and that’s basically how they use it.

Household food waste represents roughly 40% of overall food waste in the US each year, so I appreciate the effort to reclaim some of that in the form of compost. We have a compost bin that we built from reclaimed pallets here on our homestead, but not everyone has access to that kind of space.

If an appliance like the Lomi can remove some of the barriers to composting for folks who are apt to do it, that’s a good thing. It can be an even more carbon-neutral solution if your power source has a healthy dose of renewables in the mix.

The Lomi can use quite a bit of power to operate, and if your power source is largely based on fossil fuels, you have to consider the balance of what you save versus what you spend in terms of carbon dioxide. Throwing the food out to a landfill generates greenhouse gases. Running the Lomi generates greenhouse gases. But if it helps to curb waste and encourage more sustainable habits, I’m all for it. 

You can find the Lomi here.

Boroux Water Filters

A countertop water filter like Boroux is a whole different ballgame from your typical grocery store water filter pitchers. These reduce 99.99% of harmful contaminants found in many municipal water systems and make your water taste AMAZING. A filter like Boroux‘s is perfect for folks who buy loads of bottled water, have a questionable municipal water source, or who are after cleaner water for lifestyle or health reasons.

I’ve been super excited to see the growth of Boroux filter systems in the wake of the Berkey vs. EPA debacle. The people at Boroux, formerly of BerkeyFilters.com (a Berkey dealer, not the maker of Berkey) have been nothing but kind to me in the years I’ve worked with them. They even honored my Berkey warranty even though I was the one that totally messed up my filters. Whoops.

Their pivot into the filter game has been impressive. I really appreciate their efforts towards transparency and making sure they obtain all the right testing for the claims they make.

I also REALLY appreciate how much plastic they save over common grocery store options like Pur and Brita, not to mention the overall cost savings over those options. You can see a table breaking down the costs over time in our extensive Boroux review post.

If you had previously considered gifting a Berkey (or getting one for yourself even!) I definitely recommend taking a look at what Boroux has to offer.

You can read our comprehensive review of the BOROUX Legacy filter system here.

Leaf Razor

The Leaf Razor is the perfect gift for someone who wants to leap into the world of plastic-free shaving but is intimidated by standard safety razors and wants a pivoting head. My husband actually received a razor similar to the Leaf Thorn for Christmas several years ago and hasn’t looked back. But me? I hadn’t taken the plunge yet. I still wanted something similar to the disposables that have a pivoting head and multiple blades.

The Leaf ticks all the boxes. It boasts a solid metal construction (it has some heft to it…no cheap empty feel) with slots for 1-3 razors and a pivoting head. You can save your used blades in their blade tin or in something like an old mint tin and send it back for them to recycle, eliminating loads of plastic waste.

I will also say that ordering directly from the company is the way to go. When I had an issue with my first razor, I was easily able to send it in for their techs to look at it (along with my used blades for recycling). They couldn’t fix it, so they replaced it free of charge. They made the process super easy! I also appreciate the anti-waste ethic of first trying to repair it versus simply replacing it. 

Buy a Leaf directly

Buy a Leaf on Amazon 

So there you have it!

​37+ ideas across a range of budgets and ideals to appeal to all sorts of eco-friendly folks! 

There are so many more gift ideas out there. What are some of YOUR favorites? Feel free to share your ideas with us on our Facebook or Instagram pages. 

If you made it this far, check out these other posts!

• How to Go Zero-Waste (even if no one else around you wants to)
• What even IS an “accidental hippy”?
• Finding the Best and Safest Reclaimed Materials for Your Projects
• 13 Easy and Totally Normal Items That Reduce Plastic Waste (besides straws)

In the meantime, hop onto our free email list to learn more about how we created and manage our off-grid low-waste homestead!

Learn more about our original cordwood homestead project here. And be sure to join us on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram for more homesteading goodies that don’t necessarily make it to the blog. Thanks for reading!