My daughter and her friends are becoming solid tweens, and their eyes are wide open to pop culture. They’re drawn to blingy plastic fidgets, to Labubus and Taylor merch, and to overpriced single use polyester Halloween costumes. And honestly, I think letting them have a small amount of that is fine, so they feel like they’re part of the culture they’re growing up in.

But this is going to be their planet to run soon, and I think the best gift we can give them is the right frame of mind to run it well. The older my daughter gets, the more we chat about each purchase we make — and if it’s worth its eco-footprint or better left behind.

At Christmas time, I take inspiration from my nieces’ and nephews’ wish lists, and I look for alternatives that they’ll enjoy, but with an eco-minded twist.

Last year, I wrote a post about sustainable kids’ presents that was designed with smaller kids in mind. This year’s gift guide will include some of the same, but is more geared to big kids and teenagers.

Here are some ideas:

1. Fahlo

Who they’re great for: animal lovers of all ages

What they are: Stuffies and bracelets that come with a QR code to track an animal in real time.

We found Fahlo last year, when two of my nieces were nuts for big cats, and I looked up “sustainable gifts for wild animal lovers.” I hadn’t heard of it before then, but the company has since exploded — and for excellent reason. The app is addictively fun to use — full of education and character. The beaded bracelets are lovely, and the stuffies are cuddly and adorable.

The bracelets make an excellent Secret Santa gift, and the stuffies have been go-tos for us as birthday party presents.

How they’re eco-friendly: They donate 10% of profits to the nine different conservation groups who provide the tracking information. That money goes directly toward protecting the species and their habitats. The products are made using eco-friendly materials and a sustainable production line. It’s a win on so many levels.

2. Uncommon Goods

Who they’re great for: Americans. I live in Canada and do most of my shopping for Canadians, but I have two awesome nieces who live in Massachusetts, and I’ve used Uncommon Goods a few times to send them Christmas and birthday presents.

What they are: a curated web store with unique, sustainable gifts. Prices can be high, but I find browsing their site inspiring. They even have a page just for tween gifts.

Why they’re good to spend money with: They’re an independent company with multiple independent makers, with an emphasis on recycled or sustainable materials. They donate $1 or $2 from each item they sell to causes that make the world better, from cancer research to forest conservation to worldwide disaster relief. They were one of the original (founding) B Corporations.

Second American option: While trying to source this build-it-yourself candy dispenser for my nephew in Canada, I found an independent retailer called Cinder & Salt (that I thought was Canadian at first, but isn’t) devoted to a “fun, fresh, eco-friendly lifestyle.” Had my cart all loaded up with cool things for my Toronto family until I realized it was Chatham, MA (USA), not Chatham, ON (Canada). But if you’re shopping for shipping to America, it looks amazing.

3. MAKE Vancouver

This is definitely Canadian. It’s a store on Granville Island where my daughter and I love to spend time. They have a quirky selection of planet positive products — from Fahlo animals to Tentree fashions, to several local artisans. Browse their website for weird and wacky ideas, like this Taylor Swift crochet kit or this Kazoo That Tune game. (Hmm, those might actually be perfect for a couple people on my list…if only they had an Olivia Rodrigo…)

4. Speaking of crochet kits…

The crochet fad has hit the tween population hard. My niece in Boston is avid (and advanced), and my mission this Christmas is to make her fall in love with a different yarn than her current favorite (The Woobles) synthetic brand. I spent waaaayyy too long online looking up excellent natural alternatives, and (if you have an avid crocheter on your shopping list), here are some recommendations:

• Darn Good Yarn “partners with artisans in India and Nepal to create fair-wage jobs and transform reclaimed sari fabrics into sustainable yarns, clothing, and handmade goods. Every purchase helps uplift people, reduce textile waste, and keep traditional craftsmanship alive.”
• Manos del Uruguay is 100% biodegradable and a popular choice with high fashion brands like Stella McCartney, Marc Jacobs, and Coach
• Lion Brand has several recycled and organic yarns at an excellent price point

I ended up ordering her a varied collection from different brands at LoveCrafts — and they gave me this code to share if you’d like 30% off. (I think if you use it, they give me credit there too, which would mean more yarn for my niece, since I don’t crochet or live in the States.)

If you’re buying for beginners: one of my daughter’s favourite recent gifts was a Positive Crochet Friends Kit, which came in minimal, recyclable packaging and is designed and produced in Vancouver. Based on our experience with this, I’d order anything from this company (Spice Box), like this Van Gogh diamond painting kit, or this Training and Tricks for Cats book and kit (which my daughter just bought for her pet-sitting business).

5. Plant Kits

These won’t be for everyone, but my daughter is passionate about plants. If you’re shopping for a plant lover, fun ideas abound, like:

• Bonsai Kit (another favourite of my daughter’s from a recent birthday)
• Cactus Growing Kit
• Aerogarden (or similar)
• an interesting plant they don’t already have (I love Frondly in Vancouver, Billies in Squamish, Jomo in Toronto, and Plantsome for cross-Canada delivery.)

6. Pela Cases

Who they’re great for: people with cell phones

What they are: phone cases with a huge variety of appealing designs (or the option to custom make your own) in material that feels great in your hand.

Why they’re a good choice: In addition to high standards of ecology and ethics all the way through their supply chain, the cases are 100% compostable when you’re done with them.

7. Jewelry

If your tween or teen is into jewelry, there are several reasonably priced, eco-friendly options. You want to look for things like recycled metals, fairtrade or fairmined gold, conflict free diamonds, lab grown gemstones, recycled or reclaimed gemstones, and sustainable materials like pearls, wood, shells, and ceramic. Places to shop with reasonable prices are:

• Cinder & Salt
• Etsy
• Fahlo has just added some “demi fine” bracelets that include animal tracking
• Fierce Lynx Design
• Blue Ruby’s Cause We Care collection — 100% of proceeds support single moms living in poverty in Vancouver
• Pura Vida is a B-Corp that works with Costa Rican artisans to create fun, affordable friendship-style bracelets

Mejuri has a lot of eco-friendly branding, but Good On You (one of my most trusted vetting sites) rates them not good enough, especially when it comes to workers rights.

8. Makeup and Skin Care

Move over Sephora. If your tween or teen is into skin care, you can use this opportunity to introduce them to some high quality, earth friendly options. There are sooo many brands out there who are now advertising themselves as clean and eco-friendly. (This is a win, because it means more and more, this is what shoppers want.) In order to vet a product I haven’t met yet, I have two go-to sites:

Good On You — Plug the brand into their search engine and if it’s there, they’ll give you a report card about how good the brand is for animals, people, and the planet.

EWG also has a search engine called Skin Deep for brand names, but what’s super cool is that if the brand isn’t there, you can also plug in the ingredients to see if they rate them as safe and sustainable, or carry risks of cancer, neurological damage, and more.

Some brands that score high on these sites are:

• Three Ships
• Burt’s Bees
• LUSH
• Gucci (maybe not financially sustainable for most of us, but they check the health and environment boxes)
• UpCircle Beauty
• Odylique

Vetting in Process: My 14-year-old nephew has Black Mask Volume powder on his wish list. (Made viral by TikTok, apparently.) The website advertises all natural ingredients, free of parabens and sulfates. Neither EWG nor Good on You has the brand in its database, so I plugged in the main ingredients in EWG’s tool, and came up with it as a probably good product. (One ingredient, titanium dioxide, scores overall okay but has a moderate associated cancer risk.) The hitch: Black Mask doesn’t disclose a full ingredient list on its website, so I’ve messaged them to ask for one. I’ll update once I know — this is on my maybe list for now.

I’m working on a post that’s devoted entirely to skin care — and I’m working on a Christmas gift package for my skin care-obsessed niece! Stay tuned for a deeper dive when my research (and shopping) is through!

9. Fashion

Sustainable fashion brands abound — the trick is how to make them trendy.

When I saw Pink Palm Puff and White Fox on my 10-year-old niece’s wish list, I checked into both and found that while both are super hot with young people right now, neither checks enough boxes (yet) in the sustainability department.

Pink Palm Puff is making strides. White Fox is pure fast fashion. I’m not going to buy her either of them right now. But I found a super article that led me to a street fashion brand that looks AMAZING to me:

Broken Planet is a UK brand that makes it cool to be a climate warrior. It’s expensive — probably because all the workers in the supply chain are well paid, and the material is sustainably sourced. I love how they capture the anger and reality of the movement — I think that will speak to teens in a super authentic way, and fire them up to make real change. (I’ll shop there for myself just as soon as I’m finished buying everyone on my list their Christmas presents.)

10. Experiences

This is one of our go-tos for friends’ birthday parties. If you’re giving a gift to someone you like to spend time with, save the carbon footprint on stuff by doing something fun, like:

• an aquarium visit
• a local attraction (like Grouse Mountain in Vancouver, or the CN Tower in Toronto)
• skating and lunch
• a museum or art gallery
• a temporary attraction (like the Banksy or Harry Potter experience)
• a rock climbing gym
• indoor skydiving

The list goes on…just make sure you give them options that sound fun for you, too!

11. Outdoor Gear

Any gift that gets kids outside (and off screens) is a win. Young people who spend time outside in nature are way more likely to grow up to protect it. Some neat ideas for all ages are:

• Hacky Sack — So simple, so fun. Can be a gift on its own, or an add-on or stocking stuffer.
• Slackline — There are many brands, including this one by Hape, a company with an excellent eco-footprint.
• Spikeball is a sustainable Canadian brand. I haven’t played (yet) but we gave this to my nephew for his 13th birthday and he seemed excited about it.

12. Eco-friendly 3D Printing Supplies (?)

Okay, so if you guessed I’m not a fan of the 3D printing trend, you’d be dead right. My daughter would love to have one of these gadgets, but it’s a hard no from me.

That said, they’re popular AF, and my nieces in the States are getting one for Christmas. When I asked her for gift ideas, my sister joked and said that accessories and supplies for their new 3D printer are probably not on my sustainable gift giving list. I said, “Challenge accepted,” and proceeded to look for ways I can help green up this destructive hobby my two lovely nieces are about to embark on.

Some interesting options so far are:

• Eureka filaments — made in Canada from recycled plastic
• m3D — biodegradable (they say) and made in Canada

Preliminary research is telling me that it’s biodegradable only in commercial facilities — you can’t just throw it in your home compost — so it’s not perfect (yet). But I like that the industry is making strides in this direction, and I’ll keep my eyes peeled for a truly green solution to hopefully support their habit next year!

12 (a). Fidgets (?)

This would not be a tween list if it didn’t include fidgets. There are some 3D printing companies who claim to be eco-friendly (because they’re using PLA filament which they say is biodegradable). As I noted above, I don’t think they’re there yet in terms of being truly eco-friendly. But if you’re curious, check out:

• Mozzie Makes
• Vinglits
• Fidgets by Amelie — These are by far the most elegant, and marketed for adults.
• Needoh — Best of the worst? They use non toxic silicone and recyclable, minimal packaging. And they’re sensory tools that I admit do feel great in the hand, which may actually reduce anxiety and prevent this next generation from taking up smoking in their teens like my generation did.

I sure haven’t found a fidget that’s a sustainable WIN, but if it’s a must have in your household, we can at least try to buy from places that minimize their eco-footprint.

13. Board Games and Card Games

More and more games are greening up their packaging and losing plastic pieces in favour of wood. Some games that score high on the sustainability list are:

• Wingspan– A bird-themed game with recycled cards and wooden tokens
• Catan (New Edition) — has taken big steps to use more sustainable materials
• This Way Editions uses recycled materials and partners with environmental organizations
• Gobblets Gobblers — one of our favorites, a simple yet subtly strategic twist on Tic Tac Toe, with all wooden pieces. (I could play this one for hours.)
• Mindful Classics — chess, checkers, and other classic games made with recycled materials plastic and bamboo. I ordered one niece a collection of these games as her Christmas present.
• Etsy has a page devoted to sustainable chess sets, made from materials like olive wood or sustainably harvested rosewood.

14. Thrift Card

Instead of a gift card, why not give the kid on your list a thrift card — a dollar amount they can spend at any thrift store they’d like you to take them to. This not only gives you a fun shopping day with the kids in your life, but it shows them how much farther money can go when they spend it on saving things from the landfill.

And More?

What eco friendly gift has a teen or tween in your life enjoyed? I’ll expand this list as time goes on…just like I’ve done with the kid version. All ideas welcome!