Guest Blog: Eco Friendly Wedding Gift Ideas
In today’s article, Maya from Sustainer Container, explores eco friendly wedding gift ideas, giving you inspiration for what to get an environmentally conscious couple. Sustainer Container compiles eco friendly products into gift boxes and sustainable starter kits which are available for less than it would cost to buy the products individually, with her aim being to make sustainable living more accessible. Here are Maya’s top eco friendly wedding gift ideas:
The average British wedding uses nearly 20kg of single use plastic, with much of this coming from plastic cups and water bottles, disposable decorations and confetti. With much of this plastic potentially ending up in our oceans, it is no surprise that eco friendly weddings have been a growing trend in recent years. Plus, with Princess Eugenie choosing a plastic free and environmentally conscious wedding in 2018, it is likely that the trend will continue into 2021 once wedding celebrations are permitted as usual. When couples go to great effort to plan an eco friendly wedding ceremony, it can be difficult to find an equally environmentally conscious gift to celebrate the momentous occasion.
Eco Friendly Wedding Gift Ideas:
- Shopping locally to benefit your local community as well as the environment
- Do something different – buying an experience rather than a gift
- Sustainable and practical wedding gift and wrapping ideas
Eco Friendly Wedding Gift Idea 1: Shopping Locally
Shopping locally is an easy way of finding an eco friendly wedding gift, as unlike when buying from chain shops, items produced locally will not have travelled long distances, reducing their carbon footprint. The process of posting a letter on average produces 29g of carbon dioxide and shipping large packages will have a larger carbon footprint – to put this into perspective, boiling the kettle produces 15g of carbon. Instead of purchasing or ordering online from a chain, why not visit the high street and take a browse round your local shops to see if you can find the perfect wedding gift. Please note, shopping locally only benefits the environment if the items you are purchasing are produced locally and are made using sustainable materials and processes.
Not only does shopping locally benefit the environment, it also supports your local community and helps a small business to survive during these difficult times. Can’t visit your local highstreet or can’t find the perfect gift? Have a browse for local businesses online and see if you can uncover any hidden gems! Some local businesses will even deliver their items by bike courier for zero carbon emissions. Top tip: browse local business directories or have a look at online markets (loads of markets have popped up recently, particularly on Instagram) if you are struggling to find small businesses online. When looking for eco friendly wedding gift ideas online, be sure to investigate the packaging used by the business you are buying from. There is nothing worse than spending ages finding the perfect eco friendly wedding gift to find it arrives packaged in single use plastic.
As well as using reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging, small businesses are also more likely to package your eco friendly wedding gift beautifully. Plus, they may even have a gift wrapping service or include a personalised gift card with your order, making your eco friendly wedding gift even more special.
Eco Friendly Wedding Gift Idea 2: Buying an Experience
Whilst it might be a bit unconventional, bear with me on my second eco friendly wedding gift idea – buying an experience rather than a gift. Buying gifts for a newlywed couple are perfect for couples who are moving in together for the first time and have a long list of home items they need for their new life together. But, for many weddings now this is simply not the case and couples have been living together for months or years before getting married. In this case, the couple tend to already have most of the home items they need so it can be difficult to know what to get an environmentally conscious couple.
If your environmentally conscious couple are difficult to buy for and already have everything they need, purchasing an experience is worth considering. There are so many options – a romantic meal or afternoon tea at a fancy restaurant for foodies or maybe wine tasting or a cocktail masterclass for a couple who enjoy a drink (and don’t we all?). Otherwise, what about a relaxing spa day or maybe a night in a countryside hotel? The options are endless! If you know other guests at the wedding, consider teaming up to purchase an experience e.g. one group could purchase a night in a hotel, whilst somebody else could pay for the spa treatments and another group could get a romantic dinner. As above, consider supporting a local business with the experience you choose. Whilst it might be unconventional, an experience can be more environmentally friendly than a gift that will never be used, plus memories are priceless!
Eco Friendly Wedding Gift Idea 3: Sustainable and Practical Gifts
My final eco friendly wedding gift idea is to purchase a sustainable and practical gift, after all it could be argued the most eco friendly gifts are the practical gifts that will actually be used! At Sustainer Container, I compile eco friendly alternatives to everyday products into beautiful gift boxes. These gift boxes contain everything you need to start being more eco friendly. For an environmentally conscious couple, a gift box containing eco friendly alternatives to their usual stationery, home products and toiletries could be the perfect gift to keep in line with the eco friendly theme of the wedding. Although these boxes are designed for one person, rather than a couple, getting the couple a box each filled with eco friendly practical products to start their new married life together, could be the perfect gift which fits their eco ethos.
Another top tip is to consider how you will wrap a wedding gift for an environmentally conscious couple. Wrapping paper and plastic tape is often not recyclable and so ends up in landfill. Instead of conventional wrapping paper, try kraft paper and kraft paper tape for fully recyclable gift wrap. If you want to brighten up the brown paper, have a go at drawing your own designs onto the wrapping for a really personal touch. Otherwise, tie on different foliage and leaves that you can find for a really lovely natural look. Instead of ribbons that contain plastic, try using natural twine which is compostable.
From shopping locally to buying an experience and giving eco friendly, practical gifts wrapped in recyclable paper, these have been my top eco friendly wedding gift ideas. For more information about me and my business Sustainer Container, visit my website or connect with me on Instagram or Facebook.