2024 Reuse Gift Guide
As the biggest shopping day of the year approaches once again, here is a shopping guide fully in line with our mission of promoting reuse and featuring some of our favorite reuse enterprises (follow the underlined links). Enjoy!
For the Foodie on your list, consider a gift certificate to a local restaurant. Or a one-of-a-kind vintage food canister, filled from a nearby purveyor of bulk food. For tea lovers, maybe a vintage tea ball and an assortment of loose-leaf tea. Give the gift of calm - or caffeine, depending on their nerve’s needs.
Not all Foodies like to cook, but the Chef on your list might enjoy a delightful handmade potholder crafted from repurposed denim. Or a tote bag made from reused plastic bags to take to the Farmer’s Market. Or check local listings for knife sharpening and give the gift of repair.
The Homebody on your list might like a unique piece of furniture or a household item. We are big fans of Formr, which is working to save both people and the planet by empowering the formerly incarcerated to produce thoughtfully designed objects out of construction waste.
Remark makes beautiful glasses from bottles that you can pair with a growler of beer from your local brewery that you can fill again (and refill and refill…). For the green thumb on your list, here’s a rainmaker that repurposes soda bottles into watering cans. And who wouldn’t love the beautiful and sustainable table linens at Atelier Saucier.
Your local refillery likely has charcoal infused toothpaste tablets for those on your naughty list, as well as unique and clever household items designed to enable reuse. Swedish dishcloths, dish brushes, dryer balls and more will make even the most mundane household tasks fun.
Don’t have a refill store near you yet? Although bringing your own container is the best, many refill stores like BYO Long Beach, Refill Mercantile, or Fillgood can ship sustainably to wherever you are.
If you’re lucky enough to have a Creative Reuse Center nearby, you might give the Crafty folks on your list a reusable bag filled with creative crafting supplies. If you don’t, the amazing Tinkertopia has craft kits you can order online.
Someone who enjoys working with textiles might like a gift certificate for a creative mending workshop, like those offered by Old Flame Mending (search ‘visible mending workshop near me’ to find one locally). Wren Bird Arts offers pre-recorded versions and Katrina Rodabaugh has an online class starting in January. Or you could put together a gift of rescued fabric from Fabscrap or Swanson's Fabrics for the person on your list who enjoys sewing (include your measurements and maybe this gift will work out for you).
If you’re looking for something for the Techie in your life, try getting whatever is on their wishlist refurbished or secondhand. Or maybe a vintage radio that’s been refurbished to be bluetooth enabled (or the DIY kit to do it themselves) would lead to music - or swearing. You know them best. If they like fixing things, ifixit has specialty repair toolkits and guides on how to buy repairable gifts.
For the real early adopter, Fairphone is now available in the USA.
Stores offering stylish vintage clothing are everywhere now, so it's pretty easy to find a cool item of preloved clothing for the Clotheshorse on your list (or the Gem App makes online vintage clothes shopping a breeze). If they are new to thrift-store fashion, maybe add a used copy of How to Break up With Fast Fashion, by Lauren Bravo. Or get them something by one of the creative designers inventing new ways to repurpose old clothes.
Clothing is reborn at Suay L.A. Patchwork goes high fashion at Zero Waste Daniel. Tea towel tops from Selina Sanders. Vintage blanket vests from Joanne Sunny K. Embroidered banker shirts from Angkan. Jewelry made from old cars at Joyride. Or the amazing upcycled vintage from indigenous owned 4Kinship.
For the Playful there are dominoes made from chopsticks at Chop Now or puppets made from reclaimed sweaters at Cate & Levi. If you like to play outdoors, many outdoor gear purveyors now have resale sections.
Gear rental gift certificates make great gifts if you’re looking to try a new sport (ibuprofen not included). For your four-legged friend try a leash made from old climbing rope or decommissioned fire hose.
The Activist in your life will appreciate a donation in their name to a good cause (have we mentioned Reuse Alliance is a 501(c)3 and we have a rescued t-shirt that would make a great gift?)
Other organizations we love include Upstream Solutions, CalPSC, Build Reuse, and any of the nonprofits mentioned above.
Have a great reuse gift idea? We’d love to hear it. Send it to info@reusealliance.org and we’ll feature it in next year’s guide.
And may your holiday season be filled with the joy of reuse.
The Reuse Alliance Team
Upcoming Reuse Events + Opportunities
November 30 : Petaluma Toy Swap
Watch Santa arrive by boat from the shores of Grand Central Petaluma Cafe. Bring the toys your kids have outgrown and trade them at the Toy Swap! Bring a toy, take a toy! Or just take a toy! Plus, one of our amazing textile volunteers will be running an upcycling craft for kids - repurposing old gloves into finger puppets.
December 7 : South Novato Repair Fair
Our last Repair Fair of 2024 is coming up on Saturday, December 7th from 12 - 3pm at the South Novato Library Makerspace. If you have an item in need of repair you can register it at the link below. Interested in helping out? We can always use general volunteers in addition to the Repair Coaches! Email volunteer@reusealliance.org or sign up here for more details!
December 9 + 10 : Repair Economy Summit 2024
Registration is live for the annual gathering of repair event organizers, tool librarians, makerspace leads, creative reuse enthusiasts, repair and reuse business owners, solid waste nerds, educators, circular economy advocates, and the waste-reducing curious! Hosted by Repair Economy Washington for event details and other great resources and an ongoing conversation join their Hylo group.
December 11 : SB707 Webinar
Join calPSC for a FREE webinar on the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024 (SB 707, Newman), where you will hear from Senator Newman's office, and the bill sponsors, the California Product Stewardship Council. They will discuss passing the historic piece of legislation, EPR program structure, and the timeline for actionable milestones. Learn about opportunities to stay involved in the act's implementation and impact.
December 19 : Reusable Beverage Container Infrastructure Grant Deadline
CalRecycle is making $23,750,000 in grant funding available to fund reusable beverage container infrastructure. Learn more and apply before the December 19th deadline.
What would you give
for a world without waste?
Every dollar you give to Reuse Alliance is tax deductible and helps support our mission to prevent waste through reuse.
Donate today.
Reuse in the News
We could all use some positive reuse news these days and there’s plenty from the Street Stitching movement to robots designed to reuse e-waste to the Architect’s Journal Retrofit + Reuse Awards.
And we’re not the only ones with ideas for zero waste holidays and sustainable shopping tips.
Reuse to Amuse
Which art from reused materials is your favorite? Barcode scanner techno? Recycled object habitats? Or these reclaimed wood portraits?
I think we could all use an emotional GPS this holiday season.
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