A home is a sanctuary, and it should be filled with items that represent who the residents are as people. If you’re passionate about sustainability and mindful of your consumption, that means finding homeware items that reflect those values as well. From decor to furniture, our guide to sustainable gifts for the home covers all bases in turning a house into an eco-friendly, inclusive home.
True, some of these items are on the pricier side. But it’s important to remember that shopping sustainable means purchasing items that are built to last for longer; that often comes with a higher price tag due to factors like responsibly sourced materials and ensuring workers receive fair wages.
Kilim Stroke Rug from Made Trade, Starts at $115
North Stars: Heritage Value, Diversity & Inclusion, Carbon Footprint
Made Trade — a women-owned, carbon-neutral online marketplace for sustainable, ethical, and fair trade products from small businesses around the world — offers endless goodies perfect for gift-giving, but we especially love the look and story behind Kilim Rugs. An Egyptian lifestyle and social enterprise brand, Kilim’s artisans in Fowwa, Egypt handcraft heritage kilim rugs using responsible, sustainable materials, preserving this traditional textile form. This particular design comes in a variety of sizes, starting at two feet by three feet and beginning at $115 for this smallest size.
Hecho a Mano Prints, Starting at $40
North Stars: Heritage Value, Diversity & Inclusion, Gender Equality
Based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Hecho a Mano is an art gallery that showcases, supports, and promotes the work of artists from its home state and neighboring Mexico. From ceramics to paintings, these handmade, artisanal treasures celebrate the rich history and culture of their makers, allowing you to take home something truly one-of-a-kind. Made in a variety of mediums from woodcuts to serigraphs, the gallery’s prints collection offers something for all tastes. Genres range from contemporary Mexican to prints depicting life in New Mexico, and many prints start as low as $40. Give the gift of art while supporting working artisans from Mexico and the American Southwest.
Bee’s Wrap Bee Wraps, $19.99 (3-pack)
North Stars: Waste Management, Production & Consumption, Certifications
Creating food waste from leftovers is no fun, but neither is going through endless sheets of single-use plastic wrap for covering or storing food. Coated in a blend of beeswax, tree resin, and plant oil, these organic cotton wraps are a plastic-free, reusable alternative. This three-pack from the B(ee) Corp-certified Bee’s Wrap comes with a small, medium, and large wrap for different food storage needs, from packing snacks to sealing off leftovers, and features a variety of playful designs to choose from.
North Stars: Waste Management, Wildlife Ecosystems, Climate Actions
Made with BPA-free, food-grade silicone, these reusable bags and containers are another great way to cut down on plastic usage in the kitchen. Use them to store raw ingredients and leftovers or pack meals. They can also carry beauty products while traveling. Heat-safe, dishwasher-safe, and free of harmful chemicals, use them to microwave food or bake. Simply wash after each use and reuse ad infinitum. And even when they reach the end of their usefulness, they can be recycled into other items through Stasher’s partnership with TerraCycle. Stasher estimates they’ve helped prevent over 5.5 billion single-use plastic bags from polluting the oceans, and also donates a portion of sales to marine conservation non-profits. This ocean-hued five-bag mixed pack is a nice choice with its multi-size options.
Luma Kitchen Composter, $319
North Stars: Waste Management, Production & Consumption, Wildlife Ecosystems
Not everyone on your gift list may be blessed with a backyard or outdoor area where they can recycle food scraps into nutrient-rich compost. With its compact size that’s perfect for the kitchen countertop or an out-of-the-way apartment corner, this handy composter allows users to make compost right in their own homes. With a 2.5-liter capacity and user-friendly directions, scraps get transformed into garden-ready compost in just 3-6 hours. The clear-view window on the top even lets you watch the process happen. Essential for use in an indoor, enclosed space, it’s also odor-free.
North Stars: Waste Management, Production & Consumption, Certifications
An estimated 500 billion plastic water bottles are used each year around the world, most of which end up in landfills or dumped into the ocean or other natural habitats. Instead of single-use bottles, give the gift of a bottle that can be used again and again. This reusable water bottle from B Corp and Climate Neutral-certified Klean Kanteen. Stainless steel insulation keeps drinks ice-cold for up to 63 hours and hot for up to 24 hours. This feature ensures year-round use, from packing water for hikes in the summer to carrying warm hot chocolate on winter ski trips. Personalize your gift with different colorway options like marigold yellow or real teal. Gifting Klean Kanteen also supports their donations to various environmental causes like 1% for the Planet.
North Stars: Waste Management, Carbon Footprint, Wildlife Ecosystems
Move over, IKEA; no complicated, multi-step process is required for setting up this sturdy and stylish bed platform. But not only is the Bett 2.0 a breeze to assemble — simply slide this bed platform out of its box, stretch it out, and place your mattress on top — it’s a sustainable statement piece. Made from 70% post-recycled corrugated cardboard and shipped to your home using a carbon-neutral shipping partner, the chic, crinkle-cut edges are design-forward and cool, turning your bedroom into a hip sleeping space. Best of all, if you’re moving and don’t want to take the bed platform with you (even though it’s lightweight and easy to move), it’s fully recyclable. For each bed platform sold, RIAB also plants a tree through Eden Reforestation Projects.
East Fork Mug, $44
North Stars: Community Support, Certifications, Heritage Value
You can never have too many mugs, and we especially recommend gifting this lovely number to the mug-lover or ceramics enthusiast in your life. Handmade by artisans using regional materials from East Fork’s home among the Blue Ridge Mountains in Asheville, North Carolina, each mug can hold up to 12 ounces of liquid and is dishwasher and microwave-safe. From morel brown to amaro red, choose between a variety of earthy glazes and shades. Not only that, but East Fork is B Corp-certified, pays their team fair wages adjusted for cost of living increases, and partners with local non-profits to promote equity in the community. Supporting this company also helps the Asheville community rebuild and recover after the devastation of Hurricane Helene.
Sprout World Plantable Pencils, $15 (8-pack)
North Stars: Waste Management, Production & Consumption, Certifications
From practical needs like jotting down grocery lists to sparking inspiration through sketching and drawing, pencils are conduits for both utility and creativity; seeds, if you will. But instead of throwing out the worn-down stubs at the end of the pencil’s lifecycle, these plantable pencils from Sprout World take on new life as plants. Made with responsibly sourced wood, each pencil contains seeds that, once you’re done writing with it, you simply plant it in soil, water it, and let nature do its thing. This compostable eight-pack contains seeds to start your own herb and flower garden including daisy, thyme, and basil. Beyond the pencils, Sprout World practices what it preaches as a B Corp, carbon-neutral enterprise. Perfect for the gardener or eco-friendly artist in your life.