The holidays are a magical time, except for one tiny problem… they’re not known for being the most eco friendly of time. Between wrapping paper waste, travel emissions to see family, and pointless trinkets readily tossed once the new year rolls around, holidays come with a lot of waste.

That waste has negative impact on the planet and especially the wild spaces we so love to explore and admire. For outdoor stewards, the holidays can be a double-edged sword. 

That’s why we’ve come up with this list of low-impact gifts for outdoor adventurers lovers (an update on last year’s eco friendly outdoor gifts article).

These are gifts for those that not only love to explore nature but hike the extra mile to protect it.

We won’t dawdle on this article’s alpine start, so let’s hit the trail and get on with this list of eco friendly gifts for adventurers.

*This post contains affiliate links.

Navigation for Eco Friendly Gifts for Nature Lovers

Patagonia Retro-X Fleece
Sea to Summit Trash Dry Sack
Ursack AllMitey Bear Hang Bag
Environmental Ethics Book
Patagonia Black Hole® Pack 32L Backpack
Ignik FireCan™ Portable Fire Pit
Sea to Summit Bucket
BioLite FirePit +
Ignik Compostable Hand Warmers
tentree Carbon Offsets
Donation on their Behalf

1. Patagonia Retro-X Fleece

Who is the best brand to turn to for gifts for adventurers? 

Patagonia, of course!

One of the best outdoor clothing brands that has been doing things sustainable for decades, Patagonia offers one of the most comprehensive, sustainable, and stylish (can you say super bright colors?!) selections when it comes to gifts for hikers, campers, climbers, and everyone in between.

Their new Retro-X Fleece line represents the best of the best Patagonia has to offer. Choose between anoraks, bomber jackets, vests, full zips and more, for men, women, and kids alike.

Every piece is made of a whopping 85% recycled fleece and maintains that high-pile classic Patagonia-chic that has been pleasing customers for decades now.

Find it here: Patagonia / Backcountry / REI

2. Sea to Summit Trash Dry Sack

What’s the Golden Rule of Leave No Trace? Leave it better than you found it, and a big part of that is packing what you pack in, out. 

This nifty little gadget for hikers will help you do just that.

“Helping you manage waste to leave no trace”, the Sea to Summit Trash Dry Sack is an ultralight and packable, leak-proof bag for all your garbage in the backcountry. This small bag folds down ultra-small but carries 10L of garbage when full.

While not meant for full water submersion, it features a 10,000mm hydrostatic head to keep liquids in and rain out.

Let your giftee know that all they need to do is line this gift for backpacking with any plastic trash bag and they’re good to go.

Note this is also a great gift for rock climbers so they can be sure to keep the crag clean and litter-free.

Find it here: Sea to Summit / Backcountry / REI / Moosejaw

3. Ursack AllMitey Bear Hang Bag

Ursack bags are not only the perfect gifts for campers of all kinds, but the perfect gifts for those who know that letting wildlife into your food isn’t just dangerous for you, but dangerous for them!

Ursack bags are made with a revolutionary critter-proof fabric that keeps out even the hungriest of bears. Best of all, it’s a bag that folds away neatly, as opposed to a clunky bear can.

They come in various sizes, but the 10L AllMitey ensures they can safely hang their food and trash on even longer backpacking trips.

Find it here: Backcountry / REI

4. Environmental Ethics Book

We can’t always be out on adventure, so for the downtime in between, give them a gift that will teach them even more about environmental stewardship.

Marion Hourdequin’s book Environmental Ethics: From Theory to Practice dives deep into the theoretical and historical relationship between humans and nature, as well as offers practical advice and solutions for major environmental issues.

Deep and meaningful, but written in a highly digestible and understandable way, this gift for environmentalists is sure to bring some outdoor magic to those cold winter evenings indoors.

Find it here: Amazon

5. Patagonia Black Hole® Pack 32L Backpack

If you’re looking for eco friendly hiking gifts for her (or him!), look no further!

Patagonia’s Black Hole® Pack 32L Backpack is the perfect way to pack all the daily essentials for a day out hiking, climbing, or whatever adventure calls.

Since the outer is ripstop and coated with PVC-free TPU laminate, they’re weather-repellent and incredibly durable.

But the sustainability comes from what’s underneath. The whole Black Hole® line (which also including luggage, duffels, sling packs, and more) is made of 100%  bluesign® approved recycled polyester, down to the straps and webbing.

Find it here: Patagonia / Backcountry / REI

6. Ignik FireCan™ Portable Fire Pit

One of the best camp gifts you can give is the gift of a campfire. But we all know how often campfires are abused, ignored, and can cause irreparable damage to the environment. 

That’s why Ignik Outdoors has revolutionized the campfire to make it safer. The FireCan™ Portable Fire Pit was inspired by upcycled ammo cans and used this basic design to create and compact and ultra-durable fire pit that keeps your fire off the ground… wait for it… doesn’t even use wood!

Instead, it burns propane and comes with all you need to hook it up to your tank.

This means no improper cutting down of trees to use as firewood and will be totally extinguished at the end of the night.

When camping season is over, the legs remove and the whole thing can store in no bigger space than an ammo can.

Find it here: REI

7. Sea to Summit Folding Bucket

Here’s another essential camping gift idea.

Anytime you make a campfire, in a self-contained pit or not, you should always have a bucket of water on standby in case of errant ember or gust of wind. 

For that, the Sea to Summit 20L bucket ensures they can have a bucket no matter how deep in the backcountry they are. 

Weight only a few ounces and folding down into a palm-sized zippered pouch, it’s sure to become a backpacking staple.

A pocket-size tool that can prevent forest fires and promote responsible campfire? Talk about a big little gift on a budget!

Find it here: Sea to Summit / Backcountry / REI / Moosejaw

8. BioLite FirePit +

Camping gift ideas can be tricky because it’s hard to know what someone has and what they need. Here’s a neat outdoor gadget your loved one probably doesn’t have: the BioLife Fire Pit+ portable fire pit and hibachi grill.

Like the Ignik FireCan™, it keeps the fire off the ground in a safe, low-impact, self-contained unit. Unlike the FireCan™, however, it runs on wood or charcoal for a slow burning, efficient heat.

Does your loved one camp BBQ? They’ll love being able to toss on the grill grate and effortlessly grill some burgers beneath the stars. Plus, with the 12,800 mAh battery, they can charge devices and even use Bluetooth integration to control the size of the flames for that perfect sear.

Not a griller. No problem. Maybe your loved one just loves campfires but hates the smoke that follows them around. This ethical outdoor gear brand’s ingenious creation is smoke-free!

Find it here: BioLite / Backcountry

9. Ignik Compostable Hand Warmers

“More heat, less waste”. 

That’s what you’ll get from Ignik’s compostable hand-warmer pouches.

Delivering 10 hours of hours of warmth, these hand warmers not only stay hot longer than most on the market, but they can be resleaed in the AirBarrier™ pouch zip which allows you to store theme for up to 72 hours. That means if they don’t end up getting the full 10 hours of life out of it, they can be stored for the next outing.

When they are totally spent, the inside can be composted!!! Just note, you cannot recycle or compost the outer pouch, but that’s still a big improvement on the industry standard.

These make excellent gifts for adventurers of all kinds, but especially those who enjoy winter sports and other cold weather pursuits. 

Find it here: REI

10. tentree Carbon Offsets

Gifts for nature lovers don’t necessarily need to be things. They can be so much more!

Just as protecting the outdoors can mean more than just mitigating one’s own negative impact. It ideally means having a positive one!

Carbon offsets are essentially a monetary donation that goes toward supporting various carbon sequestering projects around the world. So while you may not be able to erase the carbon emissions of driving your car to the trailhead, you can fund a project that helps sequester that much carbon back out of the atmosphere. 

Common examples include planting trees/reforestation, biodiversity protection projects, renewable energy, and regenerative farming.

tentree, one of our favorite sustainable outdoor clothing brands, offers these carbon offsets alongside all their wonderfully organic clothing and accessories.

Choose between subscriptions for various family sizes or one-time offsets, such as eight months of daily driving (maybe the perfect gift for vanlifers?) or long showers (don’t we all love those after a long backpacking trip?).

Compliment it with the 100% organic cotton “Smokey Says” t-shirt from their new Smokey Bear Collection.

Find it here: tentree

11. Donation on their Behalf

If you know someone who truly wants nothing, give them the gift of preserving the outdoors. Now that’s priceless.

A donation to an outdoor-serving organization, whether it be working toward conservation, animal rights, or impact management, is one of the best gifts for environmentalists around.

There are so many out there, but here are some organizations whose missions we support:  Protect Our Winters, Access Fund, and Leave No Trace (you can get them a membership or donate one time in their name).

Find some here: Protect Our Winters / Access Fund / Leave No Trace

Before You Drive Away…

Another option to give eco friendly outdoor gear is to give something pre-loved. Be sure to browse some of the best online used gear stores to see if you can find the perfect gift used before resorting to buying new.

If you know someone struggling to find the environmentalist in their life the perfect, eco friendly gift, consider passing along this list of gifts for outdoor lovers.

Together, we can make sure the holidays don’t bring harm to the outdoor spaces we all love so much.

**This post contains affiliate links to support the continued creation of these van life guides. This just means that if you purchase something from one of the links above, I get a small commission from the sale at no cost to you. Read more here or reach out with more questions.