Eco Friendly Gifts Ideas for Eco-Aware Travelers

As travelers, we love exploring our beautiful planet. With that comes the responsibility to try our best with reducing any negative effects that we may have with our actions. Travelers are becoming increasingly more eco conscious on the products that they are using – following the path of an eco-conscious traveler.

The good news is that there are so many products designed with eco-conscious travelers in mind. More and more companies are designing wonderful environmentally friendly travel items and accessories to help eco-conscious travelers reduce their footprint while traveling the world.

Whether it’s a Christmas gift, birthday gift, wedding gift or farewell gift – we’ll help you find the perfect eco-friendly gift for the eco-conscious traveler in your life!

Here is the Travel Dude’s teams favorite eco-friendly gift ideas for eco-conscious travelers!

Gifts for the eco friendly travelers in your life

From recycled gifts to sustainable and ethical gifts – below is a list of great unique travel gifts for all eco-conscious travelers. Including travel gifts for men and travel gifts for women.

Eco-friendly toiletries

Buying travel-size toiletries is so unnecessary! Some alternative toiletries to buy include:

• Reusable toiletry containers – to fill up with the products that you are using at home!
• Bamboo toothbrush
• Shampoo bars
• 100% recycled products from Preserve, a certified B Corporation (meaning they have met guidelines for environmental and social responsibility). Check out their razors, razor blade refills, and toothbrushes.
• Unisex stainless-steel razor
• Plastic-free, sustainable toothpaste
• Ocean-friendly sunscreen
• Organic argan oil – it contains no added fragrances or parabens and soothes hair, skin and nails while traveling.

Scrubba wash bag

Backpackers or any traveler that is looking to pack light will often wash their clothes while traveling. The Scrubba Wash Bag is a useful item for doing laundry on the go as it allows you to wash your clothes pretty much wherever you can find water. Saving you on excess water use when doing laundry the traditional way as well as expensive laundry costs in hotels.

Collapsible coffee mug and water bottle

Coffee lovers will love getting a collapsible coffee mug. Because it’s collapsible, it doesn’t take up much room when it’s not in use – making it great for traveling! The same with a collapsible water bottle.

We love the Stojo collapsible coffee mugs and the CHICMODA collapsible/foldable water bottle. For eco-conscious travelers who frequently travel in areas with unsafe drinking water, bottles with a purification (not just filtration) system may be a better gift option. Two popular options are Grayl and LifeStraw.

Reusable straws

While more and more restaurants and bars are ditching plastic straws thanks to the worldwide #NoMoreStraws movement, it’s still a good idea to keep your own reusable straws with you while traveling. They’re great to whip out while sipping your Pina Coladas on the beach or for families traveling with kids.

Check out this 12-pack of Bamboo straws (comes with a cleaner and pouch bag), or these handy collapsible reusable straws (they also come with a cleaning brush).

Multipurpose travel towel

Fast-drying towels are a lifesaver when traveling. A quick-drying, antimicrobial towel made of eco-friendly fibers like the Trespass bamboo towel is an all-in-one option. This isn’t only convenient while traveling as it folds up really small, but it also means less washing which is better for the planet.

Reusable food containers and cutlery

In countries with a strong street food culture, it is almost impossible to not have to use one-time use takeaway bags and containers. That’s if you don’t have your own reusable containers to rather use, of course. The collapsible silicone food containers from reuseit are great. We also love the silicone reusable food bags from Stasher – these are great for packing snacks for a hike or long bus ride.

Takeaway containers often also come with plastic cutlery – which are both pretty useless and usually don’t get recycled properly. Get your travel buddies a set of reusable cutlery to carry with them on their travels. The Light My Fire Spork is a great option, along with this bamboo cutlery set that rolls up into a neat pouch (it even includes a pair of chopsticks!)!

Solar charger

Finding a way to keep your gear charged can be a hassle for travelers on the road – particularly during long bus/train rides or when hiking off the grid. The Anker PowerPort Solar harnesses the energy from the sun to allow you to charge your gear. Other solar charger options are from Solarage or Goal Zero.

This is a great environmentally friendly gift for active travelers spending a lot of time in the outdoors. A solar charger really is a gift that keeps on giving!

Sustainable backpacks

Whether for staycations, day trips while traveling, backpacking treks, or to use as carry-on only luggage, finding a well-made and versatile backpack is important for many travelers. Cotopaxi is one of the best companies out there that makes well-made backpacks and gives back with their poverty alleviation project.

We love the variety of backpacks from Day Owl. Their bags are all made out of 100% recycled material and they look great.

Ethnotek is another great company focusing on keeping culture alive by creating high quality laptop and travel bags that feature ethically sourced handmade textiles. Buying one of their bags sustains employment for the art of hand printing, weaving and embroidery with their partnering artisan villages in Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Read our post on the top functional and stylish daypacks for more inspiration.