Yesterday I was walking through Third Street Promenade, a large outdoor mall in Los Angeles, and became curious if mainstream shops were offering any sustainable choices for holiday shopping this year. I walked into the incredible sale at The Limited Express.

Me: “Excuse me, do you have any organic clothing?”
TLE: “Any what?”
Me: “Organic clothing?”
TLE: “Organic? Uh, no.”
Me: “Thanks.” (Sigh.)

No Christmas presents will be bought here this year…again. So there’s sustainable online shopping, which is great for shipping to your family in faraway places, but where do you go when you want to see and feel the gifts you want to give this year? Artisan markets are certainly a great alternative to mindless deal-hungry stampedes at Wal-mart. If you’re in Los Angeles this weekend you are truly blessed, because the Eco Gift Festival is taking over the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for the second year in a row. It’ll cost you $10 to get in, but it’s worth it in more ways than one…

VENDORS

At Eco Gift Festival, there will be green gifts of every sort from all over the country. Ecochic dresses by Kate Organic, stylin’ sustainable hats by Livity Outernational, sleek reusable water bottles by Earthlust and utensil sets by To-Go Ware, recycled jewelry by Smart Glass, Fair Trade shoes by Autonomie Project, loungewear by Natural High Lifestyle, handmade goat milk soaps by Chivas, Fair Trade sports gear, bamboo kitchenware, non-toxic candles, juicers, yoga gear, baby clothes, ethical clothing galore, organic chocolate, toys, gardening supplies, recycled jewelry, natural cosmetics, and on and on.

The companies vending at Eco Gift go way out of their way to bring ecological sanity to their sourcing, manufacturing, packaging, and shipping. When I’m buying eco-conscious gifts for my friends and family and I know my purchases are actually creating positive effects in the communites where they’re made- for the people, the wildlife, and the land itself- it’s a really good feeling.

VIBE

What makes Eco Gift a festival instead of just a holiday market? According to Eco Gift Founder, Tommy Rosen “Connection with people. Passion. Awareness. And a sincere desire to find solutions rather than to just buy something. The format makes for great connections between attendees and vendors.” Tommy is also looking forward to the educational aspect of the event. “We added a really great speaker series with some amazing authors, activists and leaders of industry…I love Arianna Huffington and to be able to see her in a setting this intimate will be exciting…Dr. Andrew Dattila with his extraordinary story and products, David Crow, Mallika Chopra, Tom Szaky. I have to tell you though that I am truly excited to see every one of them.

“I think the speakers and performers of Eco Gift Festival reflect the staff’s vision of what we have the ability to create together as one; drawing in to us a fantastic group of educated and evolved visionaries to our speaker series,” says Jay Donnellan, Coordinating Producer of Eco Gift Festival since 2007. When asked about what fresh concepts she is introducing for 2008, Jay explained, “For this event, one thing I really wanted to do was to create a more communal atmosphere. So I placed park benches throughout the Civic Center both inside and out, put a large communal dining table in the food court, and created more open pathways for people to walk though.” The atmosphere at Eco Gift Festival is authentically warm and truly about sharing the community tradition of gifting throughout the holidays. Very refreshing.

Eco Gift will feature some of LA’s favorite musicians like Tom Freund, Jillian Speer, Jon T. Howard, and The Luminaries. Jay also organized an rich and diverse children’s stage with storytime, singalongs, Pilates lessons, and educational skits about how to be stewards of the environment.

GREEN

Both children and adults will learn about eco practices, as the event itself is a testament to it’s core values of environmental stewardship.

• Zero Waste Stations will be placed throughout the facility to help divert 90% or more of the event’s waste from landfill.
• Complimentary purified water is provided on-site and will be served in biodegradable cups to eliminate plastic water bottles.
• Event signage is made with recyclable, reusable or biodegradable materials.
• Event collateral is printed with a “green printer” with vegetable-based inks and recycled FSC paper.
• Food sold at the event, if packaged at all, will be packaged in biodegradable, compostable food ware, and biodegradable cornstarch or potato plates and utensils are mandated.
• Implementation of a carbon offsetting program will reduce emissions generated by equipment, heating & cooling, shipping and electricity.

GREENBACKS

I asked Tommy if, as the producer of a consumer gift show, the pending recession was effecting his mental state. He responded in his typically east-meets-west spiritual realism, “At times I have wondered about outcomes. Mostly though, I am trying to stay present. I have avoided most negative spins on what I consider to be a very important and necessary process of change that we are going through. That is not to diminish the suffering many have gone through, it is just to put it in a continuum and a context.”

Luckily for those of us effected by the rough economy, there will be some incredible discounts offered by some of the vendors this year. In fact, my absolute favorite sustainable body care company, Pangea Organics will be offering an unbelievable 50% off their entire line of products! If that’s any example of what’s available there, holiday shopping here is going to be just as good as it is green.

NECESSITIES

Make sure to bring your reusable water bottle to fill up at the free filtered water stations (or grab one at Earthlust), plenty of reusable shopping bags (if you don’t have any yet, head to The Inconvenient Bag and the Envirosax booths), and a leisurely amount of time because you might actually have so much fun, you won’t want to rush this.

“What I love most about Eco Gift is to be living in the solution to our biggest challenges,” says Rosen. “On a micro level, I am exposed to people and companies that support my health and well-being. In turn, I can share this radiance with others…On a macro level, I am involved with something that can effect change at the global level. The energy of money, when flowing in great directions, can be a beautiful thing.”

Full disclosure: The author of this article, Jenn Breckenridge, was the Director of Operations for Eco Gift 2007.