I spent a few minutes thinking about how I could give someone a present that would be appreciated AND would potentially result in the recipient using less plastic. Cloth bags are a bit boring and obvious, but they could be thrown in with more thoughtful gifts. The strategy that I am proposing is to find non-plastic items that have that ‘last one you will ever own’ kinda thing going on.

I am not overly active as a handyman and I have lost count of how many cheap plastic utility knives I have had in the past. A high quality knife has more than just durability going for it. Carefully engineered and well balanced tools are safer to use. I am pretty sure that most of the engineering that goes into plastic utility knives involves minimizing production costs. I am sure there are also people on your list who think that quality tools are beautiful. Giving such a person an instructional book about making toys or garden furniture out of wood could conceivably result in fewer plastic toys and plastic patio tables finding their way into the ecosystem.

If you have a loved one who uses the kitchen to express themselves, you can use the same basic idea for a gift for them. Find something that is of high quality that replaces disposable (or remarkably less durable) items that as often as not contain a lot of plastic.

I think the best gifts for music and/or movie enthusiasts are available as legal online downloads. Online media uses infinitely less plastic than cds and dvds and your gift could save young people from a life of piracy (yeah, right).

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