7 Ways Eco Gifts Beat Regular Gifts Hands Down - No Really!

It's just like Bob Dylan said, 'times they are a-changing'

. It wasn't so long ago that buying eco gifts amounted to the sum total of tie dye shirts and signing up all of your friends to sponsor some overworked donkey from Weston Super Mare.

But then something happened.

Somewhere within the bedrock of our throw-away culture and rising smog levels, being environmentally conscious became cool. David Cameron started bicycling to work and for a moment we all considered the repercussions of driving an electric car. Of course we quickly came to our senses and David Cameron hopped back in his petrol-guzzler. But Pandora's box had been opened.

Today there is a menagerie of eco friendly gifts that have hit the market in the wake of our sudden desire to save the planet. In fact, some of them are rather good. In good conscience you can now hand over eco friendly gifts to all your pals this Christmas, and not just the tree-hugging ones. Don't believe me? Take a look...

1. Food

Organic and Fair Trade chocolates, snacks and treats are simply brilliant. It's not sure whether they taste better because of all that marketing puff about all natural ingredients or whether you just feel morally superior eating them. Either way, it feels great to save the planet one organic chocolate bar at a time.

2. Clothing

Ethical fashion has come on leaps and bounds since peasant blouses and flip flops made out of old tyres. Thanks to the fashion world and their willingness to jump on any trendy cause, there's now a huge range of stylish eco friendly clothing you can wear without looking like a 60s love child.

3. Gadgets

Eco gifts and gadgets are now rife. Solar gadgets, wind-up gadgets, water-powered gadgets, you name it, the world has gone mad for anything that harnesses the power of a natural renewable energy source. It's under the guise of saving energy, but the real satisfaction comes from laughing in the face of dead batteries.

4. Hemp (the non-drug variety, of course)

Hemp eco gifts have a bad rep. It's partly down to the hippie revolution when drug-addled beatniks listened to psychedelic music while discussing the meaning of life dressed head to toe in hemp. Today you don't even need to be off your rocker to see the benefits of one of the world's premier renewable sources. And no, that's not the hemp talking.

5. Energy savers

Energy-saving eco gifts come in all shapes and sizes and stay one step ahead of being a tad dull by saving you money without you having to lift a finger, become a vegetarian or give up bathing. A great eco gift choice for eco conscious friends. And cheapskates.

6. Hand carved wood

Before you buy the first hand-carved wooden ornament you lay your hands on this eco gift comes with a few provisos. Endangered trees and rainforests are out and there are definitely bad karma points for making a family of racoons or other said tree-dwelling animals homeless. Best check the label. Or stick with the organic chocolate.

7. Carbon offsets

An interesting eco gift this one. In all essence it should get lumped in the same ambiguous gift category as sponsoring Jack the overworked donkey from Weston Super Mare, right down to the free sticker. But it doesn't. In fact, offsetting half a tonne of carbon for a tenner is rather appealing, especially during the Christmas excess. As a nation we must be harbouring a lot of guilt.

by: Phil Ward

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