Part two of my Sustainable Holiday Gift Guides: Gifts for Him. If you’re looking for more women-led gifts, I’ve got you covered with my sustainable holiday gifts for her post.
I don’t know about you, dear reader, but I have a little bit of STUFF fatigue. Come Black Friday, and it feels like the retailing world kicks it up about 10 notches: emails and sales and alerts and catalogues galore! If anything, the sheer amount of panic panic buy does quite the opposite for me: it makes me want to shut it all off. Cut through the noise, and just ignore my inbox. Is this some ironic back-handed way the retailers help us all capture the true CHRISTMAS SPIRIT we’ve been searching for? I see you, H&M.
(Oh and also: I write all this shop-hate, but please also note I spent a small fortune buying sweaters in the Black Friday sales. Because I am a hypocrite, and I love sweaters).
So, if you’re one of those “I Love Black Friday and Bought All My Christmas Presents in July, you Weirdo” kind of person, you be you and leave now. But, if you’re one of those who skipped (most of) the Black Friday madness and still need some high quality, life-long gifts to give — then you’ve come to the right place.
And, if you’re anything like me, you procrastinate buying gifts for him — I use ‘him’ in a very broad sense, because this applies to any man in your life ever. In order to get to the bottom of this “what to bloody buy him?” conundrum, I enlisted none other than — dun dun dunnnnnn — Nick, a.k.a. the Stag behind Wolf & Stag. He’s a guy with discerning tastes, who hates shopping, and loves design.
Everything here has been vetted, approved, and loved by Nick. So shop below knowing that ‘gifts for him’ is not solely the work of ‘squarely not him.’
That said — I think I may be a bigger fan of this gifts for him than my gifts for her one. So, happy shopping for me, and you for you, too…
1 | STONE DIFFUSER (currently on sale for 40% off!)*
This may seem like a strange one — what man do you know that gets excited over an essential-oil diffuser? — but, upon seeing it this webpage open, Nick’s eyes lit up, and he breathed, “Oh, that’s beautiful.” When I explained what it what, he was intrigued. If you’re going to be a diffuser, Vitruvi* is by far the best choice. This is the perfect gift for the guy who likes some form of wellness and great design.
2 | PHONE CASE
If the men in your life are anything like mine, they love their technology. However, caring about the pretty protection pieces that keep their technology safe? Caring is less. Pela phone cases are the first of their kind: made of plants, 100% compostable, and incredibly durable, they are the best choice for a phone case these days. (I should know, I have one myself!). Plus, Pela donates to charity with every sale. So much good in one small phone case.
3 | THE KEEP-FOREVER BACKPACK
Nick is not a big shopper (hello, I spend all our money). But, if there is one purchase Nick raves about the most, it’s the Peak Design everyday backpack. This dressy-meets-casual backpack has a plethora of pockets, making it incredibly useful for travel or commuting to work. Its jam-packed with enough little design touches to make the design snob (Nick) happy, and the sturdy, sustainable materials mean it’s a backpack he’ll keep for years and years.
4 | WOOL HOODIE*
The ultimate in cozy — if your guy isn’t the type to buy himself sweaters (Nick owns literally only one), then this is the perfect holiday present to give. Neutral but not boring, cozy for lounging, but also nice enough to wear out, this hoodie is nearly perfect* (I’m tempted to buy it myself). That said, you could pick almost any of Everlane’s sweaters and call your gift-giving a day.
5 | BLUETOOTH EARBUDS (currently on sale!)
Of the items that Nick put on his holiday wishlist this year, I thought finding sustainable or ethical technology would be the hardest. And then I discovered LSTN, an audio brand where every purchase helps give hearing aids through Starkey Hearing Foundation. The Beacon wireless earbuds are sleek and so well designed — and well priced! — that I want to buy myself my own pair.
6 | ORGANIC UNDERWEAR + SOCKS
Nick, stubborn in what he loves, was reluctant for me to switch his go-to underwear brand. At first. Until he tried how much more comfortable organic cotton is, and with the environmental benefits in mind, he was glad to make the switch. This Organic Basics ‘starter pack’ is the perfect way to help the man in your life make the switch to sustainable, organic cotton.
7 | MATERIAL KNIFE SET*
Upon discovering Material — the branding, the products, the design — and showing Nick, he bought the knife set almost instantaneously. Which may have been the fastest I’ve seen him buy anything. And, month later, we still love our knife set*. Its sleek design lends itself to any countertops, and the compact size is perfect for apartment living. Nick recommends buying the knife set with the block for the full experience!
8 | MEAT THERMOMETER
If your guy likes to cook at all — especially if he likes to cook meat — and he doesn’t have a meat thermometer, this is the only gift to give. For years, Nick never had one, and I happened to pick one up for his stocking by random last year, and it’s been his most used kitchen gadget. I now only wish I had chosen this beautifully designed one by Meater from Huckberry.
9 | THE SUSTAINABLE WATCH
Solios is a sustainable watch brand focused on eco-friendly materials, lifelong designs, and sustainability initiatives. But even beyond all that wonderfulness, their watch designs are beautiful. And while not cheap, they certainly aren’t eye-wateringly expensive. Nick’s favorite is the Eclipse in Brown Eco, but as he told me, if he received any of their watches, he’d be one happy man on Christmas day.
10 | LIGHTWEIGHT CLASSIC PAJAMAS*
Almost every guy I’ve ever known (including Nick) runs hot. Those lucky bastards (she writes snuggled under 3 layers of fur blankets). But, for those few times he does get chilly in the house — and, of course, at Christmas time, when cozy is mandatory — he needs pajamas. These ones from Parachute are gauzy*, meaning they’re lightweight, and are minimal and classic enough to please any pajama-hater.
11 | RECYCLED CASHMERE BEANIE
Another OrganicBasics item to make this list, but they really are such high quality. It’s hard to find (somewhat) affordable recycled cashmere. Their recycled cashmere beanie makes the perfect cold-weather gift for a friend or Secret Santa.
12 | NISOLO PACKABLE SHOES (currently on sale!)*
True story: when Nick goes to pack for a weekend away, he puts one pair of his size 12 shoes in his suitcase, and that’s it for room! When I showed him that packable shoes exist — designed to be collapsable and sit three times lighter than a normal shoe — he was smitten. Even despite the fact that they are perfect for travel, they are just a great pair of all-purpose shoes — and from one of the best sustainable shoe companies out there.
13 | HANSELMANN POTTERY COFFEE CUPS
Nick and I have spent the past year trying to find pottery/ceramic coffee cups that were modern, from a small business, well-made, and not gigantic (what can I say: we’re a flat white household). Our search has ended upon discovering the ‘half pint’ cup from Hanselmann Pottery, which look small but fit a perfect 8 ounces. A great gift for any espresso coffee drinker you may know.
14 | CORD ORGANIZER*
I bought this for Nick last Christmas. He loves using it when we travel, which these days seems to be a lot. This is Ground makes some of the most well designed, stylish leather travel accessories. And because it’s such quality leather, it will only get better with age. It’s another beautiful-yet-useful gift to gift, perfect for any guy that loves his technology.
15 | NECESSAIRE BODY WASH* & LOTION*
The holidays are the time to gift the person you most love something they’re truly cherish. Or, if you’re a wife like me, the time to buy your husband the practical things he refuses to buy for himself but in pretty packaging. Necessaire is a clean beauty brand with a focus on sustainability and design — essentially, the perfect beauty brand. I’ll be stealing some of Nick’s present for myself.
*Links indicate affiliate links. This means, if you choose to purchase the product linked here, at no additional cost to you I will make a small commission. Considering this post took me close to 16 hours to put together, it is very, very appreciated. Thank you for supporting sustainable brands, and thank you for supporting this blog!