Summer ’22 Sustainable Gift Guide

For the home

Celebrate the start of summer with this sustainable gift guide.

Spring 2022 Sustainable Gift Guide

To celebrate the summer solstice (aka the official start of summer), I want to share with you a fun little summer gift guide, for yourself or a loved one. I’m thinking about dining al fresco, growing heat-tolerant lettuce (to eat al fresco) and of course wearing sunscreen that isn’t filled with junk and won’t hurt our precious ecosystems either.

  1. Tikal Wood Serving Bowl: The summer bounty is coming in hot and not every veggie wants to live in the fridge after harvest. Give your garden harvest a beautiful dedicated place on the countertop and grab a tomato when you need it.
  2. Decorative Rain Barrel: Saving a previous natural resource doesn’t have to mean sacrificing aesthetics. Learn how to save water with a rain barrel system and water your pots during dry spells.
  3. Vishu Table Runner: I’m dreaming of using this table runner as a quick way to spruce up my outdoor dining table. These runners are handcrafted by a group of 32 master weavers in Kannur, India. From start-to-finish, this piece is made in a fair-trade environment. 
  4. Cantaro Pots: I can’t decide if I want these to live inside my house or outside on the porch. Either way, they can be moved around easily and would work great for annuals or perennial houseplants. From The Citizenry, these pots are: “meticulously handcrafted by master artisans in Jalisco, Mexico, each one takes three weeks to complete. All made start-to-finish in a fair trade environment.”
  5. Tikal Wood Salad Servers: I’ve never calculated the exact amount, but I’d guess our house eats hundreds of pounds of lettuce each year. I can’t wait to start using these beautiful servers to compliment the beautiful garden lettuce. Handmade by a group of artisans in the Petén Jungle of Guatemala, each piece is made from sustainably sourced wood that’s certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). All made start to finish in a fair trade working environment.
  6. Heat Tolerant Newham Lettuce The trick to growing lettuce in the summer is to choose heat-tolerant varieties. Newham lettuce is a cute little gem style that goes great on summer tomato sandwiches and crunchy chopped salads. The kind of lettuce you grow should change with the season, which you can learn more about in my favorite varieties of lettuce post.
  7. Minime Cucumber Seeds: It’s not too late to plant another round of cucumbers! These MiniMe cucumbers take just 50 days to grow and are the perfect size for snacking and crudite plates.
  8. Reef Friendly Sunscreen: I’ve been on the hunt for a long time for a sustainable sunscreen that doesn’t come in a plastic tub. I tried this sunscreen in Mexico last winter and it was super easy to apply, easy to carry around in my purse and easier to recycle the tin when finished.
  9. Bihu Linen Apron: I need to be honest with myself about the need to start cooking with an apron. Why do I think I am immune to olive oil stains when all my clothes are covered in olive oil stains?! Handcrafted by a group of master weavers in Kannur, India, each apron is made start-to-finish in a fair trade environment.

Please let me know what you think!
Leave a comment below and tag @growingwithgertie on Instagram.

Some of the links listed are affiliate links. This means if you click on a link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission from the retailer at no cost to you. Thanks for your support!

Join the Conversation

  1. Katie, that is a great list. Thanks for putting it together! +100 on the Badger 40. I love it in the tin! I think I need some of those Cantaro Pots. Terra Cotta from Jalisco, heck yeah!

    1. Thank you Theo! I think we need to check out the terra cotta factory in Jalisco!

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