Green Holidays: 5 Eco-Friendly Gifts for 2014 by Hikari Matsuo

This holiday season, InfoSpace invites you to Green Holidays, a festive season of giving with clear motives to reduce e-waste and become a more sustainable planet.

If you’re from the Syracuse area, a white holiday season is almost guaranteed every year. Instead of talking about the snow, why don’t we focus on Green Holidays this year? What exactly are Green Holidays? No matter what holiday you celebrate, instead of giving expensive gifts that may be tossed aside or only used once, invest the same amount of money for a more practical, useful, and eco-friendly gift. The Globe and Mail recently published an article of eight unique gifts suitable for tech-savvy adult family members. From this, we’ll go in depth with our five favorite gifts and describe why buying eco-friendly technology for holiday gifts can go a long way. The second article in this two-part series will go into detail about properly recycling unwanted devices to reduce electronic waste.

5 Eco-Friendly Gifts for 2014

1. DoDo Case Charging Nest
Originally from Northern California, this simple charging dock is made from reclaimed California Orchard Walnut with a natural linseed oil finish. It can also be personalized with a monogram for an additional cost. This dock can be conveniently used with or without a case, with an interchangeable adapter insert to accommodate all smartphone types. Not only does this charge your phone, it even keeps your charger in one place so it doesn’t get lost underneath your bed! (A problem some of us can relate to). This gift uses reclaimed wood to make one of the most stylish and practical ways to simply charge your phone.
– starting from $99

 

2. MemoBottle
Two designers from Australia and San Diego, CA, have transformed the reusable water bottles. To address the problem of using plastic water bottles that are thrown away with one or two uses, the two innovators designed water bottles that resemble paper sizes for ease of use. This slick bottle comes in A5 (750 mL), A4 (1.25L), and Letter size (1.25L), quenching your thirst in various convenient sizes that can easily fit in your bag. Of course, MemoBottle is BPA free, durable, leak proof, as well as dishwasher, freezer, and heat safe. With this design, it allows everyone to use an eco-friendly water bottle that is equally convenient, while allowing for a slim carry bag profile.
– starting from $23

3. Apple MacMini
While this may not be in everybody’s stocking, Apple’s MacMini definitely gets the job done. Small, compact, and certified Energy Star, the MacMini was claimed the most energy efficient by the Electronic Production Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Registry tool. Furthermore, all Apple products are manufactured without the use of mercury and arsenic. You can check out all of Apple’s environmental initiative here. The used glass and material can also be easily recycled.
– starting at $499

4. WinkHub
Imagine a smart house that makes home management easier and simpler than ever before! WinkHub, from Wink, renovates your home to an actual smart home without rewiring or renovating your entire house. This Internet of Things gadget connects to a wireless router and talks to the connected devices using either Wi-Fi, ZigBee, or Z-Wave. In accordance with the Wink App available in iOS and Android, this tool can easily make life easier with a single device to easily manage your home. When it comes to lights that have been left on, you can easily turn them off from the comfort of your own smartphone. A feature that is sure to please consumers and save electricity as well. From light switches to door locks, this simple tool ties it all together for a moderate price.
– $50

5. Lono Another Internet of Things gadget for your home, Lono helps monitor your personal or corporate sprinkler system. With Lono, home owners can simultaneously save money and water. With the Lono app, you can schedule a watering cycle, delay watering times, adjust the watering level, and even turn zones off and one with a single button. What’s more, Lono works in conjunction with real-time weather updates. When a storm’s rolling in, it’s configured to change your scheduled watering so your lawn doesn’t get over watered. This may be the perfect gift for people who aim for the perfect lawn but are still environmentally conscious. Check out InfoSpace’s spread on Lono as well!
– Starting at $199

A variety of eco-friendly and technologically advanced gifts make for the perfect holiday season! Stay tuned for the second part of our two-part series coming on Monday to InfoSpace. Happy Holidays!