The Choosing Raw 2010 Holiday Gift Guide

Thanks so much for your positive responses to the raw Caesar dressing, and to my frustratingly vague allusions to “seismic life change.” I look forward to writing more soon! In the meantime, and before we share any more food talk, I thought I’d put up my official holiday gift guide for 2010. This comes a little late this year, but let’s be honest: have any of us actually done our holiday shopping yet? No. We plan on doing it online, this weekend, and praying that stuff arrives on time.

Last year, my holiday gift guide was fairly comprehensive. This year, I’m giving it some focus: wardrobe and accessories. I’ve included some stocking stuffers, but for the most part I wanted to highlight apparel for the compassionate men and women in your lives. Why? Because veganizing my own wardrobe, as you all know, is a project I’ve been hard at work on. Food and diet are the obvious entrances into a vegan life, but as one’s veganism deepens, it’s only natural to start thinking a lot harder about clothing, skincare, bags, and shoes. I’ve found that the process can be a little scary, so I’d love to share with you some of the vegan items that have caught my own eye—both because they’re cute, and also because they’re “cruelty free.”

Note that I’ve tried to keep most everything on the list below $100. I recently checked out a bunch of major green websites and was a little shocked at just how “green” the pricetags on their holiday gift guides were—and by that I mean lots of cash, not eco-friendly. I don’t personally have the money for a $500 water filtration system or a pair of Olsen Haus boots, so—with the exception of the Vaute Couture coat and the Matt and Natt laptop bag, which I included for those of you who do feel like splurging on a special someone—most of this stuff should be (relatively) budget friendly. If not, I have a few ideas at the end for edible giving. Enjoy!

For the Vegan Lady in Your Life:

Toggery Dress from Ecolissa:

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Nancy Faux Wool Coat from B.B. Dakota:

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Madden Girl Pleather Ankle Boot:

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Slouchy Cacoon Cardigan:

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Hunch Brown Pleather Boots:

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Faux Cashmere Scarf:

CreamShawl2

Playing Cardigan:

sweater

Vaute Couture Pea Coat:

Christy Robinson Pendant:

Corduroy Purse (a great deal on Etsy!)

For the Vegan Gentleman in Your Life:

Men’s Carport Bison Brown Vegan Sneaker:

Vegan Collection Men’s Wallet:

Laptop Bag from Matt and Nat:

Vegan Belt from Ethical Wares:

Shawl-Collar Cotton Sweater:

Skinny Ties from The Ethical Man:

Patagonia Synchilla Jacket:

Ultrasoft Hemp Shirt from Orvis:

Skinstinct Jeans:

Swiss Hunter Watch:

Stocking Stuffers for Him and for Her:

Vegan Chocolate set from Endangered Species Chocolate:


Soy Candles from Beanpod:

Sweet and Sara Marshmellows:

Vegan Soaps from Ethically Engineered:

Primal Strips Jerky (this is kind of a dude gift, but still):

VegNews Subscription:

Lifefactory Water Bottle:

Go Vegan! 2011 Calendar:

Crazy Rumors Lip Balm:

Max & Ruffy’s Vegan Dog Treats:

Edible Giving:

OSG Snickerdoodles:

Jenna’s Vegan Sugar Cookies:

Maple Pumpkin Butter from Vegan Visitor:

Chocolate Candy Cane Cupcakes from Manifest Vegan:

Almond Cherry Macaroons from Rawmazing:

May you share these gifts with all of the plant-loving people in your life, be they vegans or omnis. Tis the season!

xo

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    31 Comments
  1. Hey Gena,

    I noticed that one of your suggestions there was cotton. I guess I wasn’t aware that cotton was considered a cruelty-free option. It might be different in other countries I guess, but in Australia cotton farming is a massively destructive industry, and a main contributor to the slow death of the Murray-Darling river system.

    Is it different over in the states?

  2. Thanks for the “budget-friendly” holiday list. I didn’t get a chance to comment on your “cruelty-free” post (basically, I think there’s cruelty in industrial production; whether you’re talking about bananas and coffee, meat and dairy, or shoes for that matter is beside the point – animals, workers, the environment are all victims) but as I was pondering it, I found myself bothered by the fact that the ethical option is (almost) always more expensive. Sure, in most cases a vegan diet is cheaper than an omnivorous diet, but let’s face it, organic strawberries cost more than conventional, and local strawberries, picked by people who actually make a living wage, cost more than industrial organic. And sometimes, fruits and vegetables cost more than hamburgers (because, as we saw in Food Inc, industrial producers externalize most of their costs) but that’s an anomaly.
    Vegan or omnivore, a healthy diet is, sadly, not cheaper than an unhealthy diet, and, once you get beyond food, you find that a “cruelty-free” lifestyle is usually more (sometimes a lot more) expensive than buying from the industrial system. I love companies like Rawganique, but not everyone can buy a $85 hemp shower curtain vs. the $5 PVC-leaching shower curtain from Target. I guess it kind of irks me that every “ethical” choice I make feels like a charitable donation. Because there’s (almost) always a premium. Yes, I pay the premium. I have a hemp shower curtain. I buy Eden brand beans for $1.99 vs. 365 brand for $0.99. And I buy clothes, shoes, skincare products from small producers, but in every case I pay more, often a lot more, than I’d pay if I shopped at Target.
    Now I’m the first to admit that I’m a horrible snob so that even if my ethics didn’t steer me away from mass retailers, my aesthetics would. But I guess being unemployed and having to stick to a budget has heightened my awareness of this as a justice issue. And it’s made me really grateful that you’ve made a list that I could actually shop from. I love food gifts best of all.

    • I totally agree; it’s frustrating that we’re forced to pay more for what’s less cruel, less harmful to our own health, less destructive for the planet, etc. As far as that relates directly to this post, I despise shopping for an eco-friendly or vegan t-shirt and finding that it’s some $200 hemp/bamboo blend; that’s simply not doable for me! Anyway, I did my best to find stuff here that, while not exactly “cheap,” isn’t in the triple digits.

  3. Aren’t you too cute in that dress! Love all the clothes. Maybe I can get the HH to wear a shawl collar sweater-lol! And the edible gifts are some of the best. . . nothing like a homemade gift!

  4. Wonderful list, Gena! I think I’ll gift myself with the Hunch Brown Faux Leather boots! 🙂 NM, they’re not available in my size. 🙁 But great ideas here, I just started getting into VegNews and hoping I’ll get a subscription for Christmas.

  5. Wow, so many choices! I need to go on a shopping spree just for me! The ethical man in my life could also use some of these items. My dad asked for a shaving brush and I took it on and found a cruelty-free one. No badgers killed for him.

    Sienna and Ellie highly approve of Max and Ruffy’s cookies. Good stuff.

    Coincidentally I have a gift guide ready to go out soon. I will link to yours for more options.

  6. Love all the clothing and accessory ideas! And the Candy Cane Cupcakes, yum 😉

    Also, check out Hearts of Darkness by Cri de Coeur for inexpensive, stylish vegan shoes and boots!

  7. Those brown pleather boots are way cute, and I agree with Averie with the moolah thing. Thanks for posting some great recipes. Food always makes an awesome gift! I appreciate it so much more because I know they took the time to cook/bake for me. Happy Holidays. ; )

  8. Nice stuff! I have to admit, I’m used to thinking about avoiding leather when I shop, but I’m not used to thinking about wool. I am personally interested in avoiding animal cruelty but not necessary avoiding animal products beyond that (eg I am enormously concerned about animal suffering from factory farming but fairly unconcerned about products from animals raised on true family farms with attention to their care). So, I’d love more info about wool… Of course I think human cruelty is involved in a lot of clothing production. My go-to for earth-friendly products is Burts Bees, but clearly that isn’t vegan for those who avoid bee products. I also love whole foods body section. As I’m sure I’ve posted before, I love shopping for gifts at thehungersite.com and buying local, homemade foods and accessories from farmers markets.

  9. Nice stuff! I have to admit, I’m used to thinking about avoiding leather when I shop, but I’m not used to thinking about wool! I am personally interested in avoiding animal cruelty but not necessary avoiding animal products beyond that (eg I am enormously concerned about animal suffering from factory farming but fairly unconcerned about products from animals raised on true family farms with attention to their care). So, I’d love more info about wool… Of course I think human cruelty is involved in a lot of clothing production. My go-to for earth-friendly products is Burts Bees, but clearly that isn’t vegan for those who avoid bee products. I also love whole foods body section. As I’m sure I’ve posted before, I love shopping for gifts at thehungersite.com and buying local, homemade foods and accessories from farmers markets.

  10. I really do not know WHERE 2010 has gone! I am seriously in shock!!!! I just got used to wriiting 2010 on my cheques..haha.

    I absolutely love this post and it has given me so many great vegan friendly ideas. Thank you so much! Also thanks for mentioning my cookies…they are one of my all time favourite cookies and very quick to make.

  11. Keeping it short, I dunno what’s going on when I try to publish my full thought that I emailed you, it’s glitching up on me…sorry!

    Anyway, thanks for mentioning that many of us aren’t made of money, re buying gifts.

    Love everything you chose and can’t believe it’s been a year already since your last gift idea post! Wow time flies!

    🙂

  12. thank you SOOOOO much, this list is so awesome and so helpful!! merry christmas! keep up the awesome work!

  13. mmmm, i’ll take the sweet n sara marshmallows please 😀 i love smores, but i find conventional marshmallows utterly repulsive. i think you’ve switched on my inner smore craving gena.

  14. You know I am all for vegan chocolate as a gift 🙂
    And I’ve heard about the change you’re making and I’m SO happy for you. I can tell that you’ve put a lot of thought into this and will be heading down the right path for you.

    • Ha! Glad word is getting around — ah, the warp speed of good news in the blogosphere 😉

      Seriously, it makes me glad that you’re glad for me. Thanks.