All of us are familiar with classic T-shirts, bags and cups we bring back from our vacation or are given as a souvenir. You have spent a great vacation and want to remember it even after your return—and perhaps share the experience with your loved ones with mementos.

When shopping, however, you should be careful. Typical takeaways are not really eco-friendly. Instead they often are mass-produced cheap goods and will often displace local and handmade items. Our three top tips on how to buy environmentally friendly gifts are as follows:

• Species extinction and animal suffering: For example, jewelry, shells, or combs made from tortoise shell from sea turtles, tiger wine made from tiger bones, or the illegal export of live birds of prey as “vacation souvenirs.” In 2019, according to the Customs Criminal Investigation Office, some 470,000 species-protected animals and plants or products derived therefrom were confiscated in the federal state of Brandenburg in Germany.
• Waste of resources: to produce inexpensive tourist keepsakes, an immense wastage of materials takes place. For instance, to produce tags, magnet signs or t-shirts with city names. Furthermore, these are typically produced in low-wage countries and flown and shipped around the world.
• Waste production: At the first moment, souvenirs may be considered useful. Once you are back home, many ends up in a drawer or even in the garbage though. This does not save resources or avoid waste.

But you don’t have to do without your presents. Local goods boost the local economy and give you an insight into the culture of your vacation destination away from the tourist crowds. 

Our Green Pearls® partners show you how it’s done.

Homemade treats and goodies for your dogs

In Warpe in Lower Saxony, a small concept store is waiting for you inside the café that belongs to Hotel Okelmann’s Here you can get dog accessories homemade treats from the café kitchen and selected sustainable gift ideas. These include soaps, teas, and chocolates.

This range of products is a perfect fit with the concept of the hotel and restaurant. Sisters Maren and Kristin Okelmann emphasize the regionality of their food. Herbs and fruit are grown in their garden, asparagus, and blueberries come from the neighboring farm, and organic goat cheese from Hohenmoor.  

The Naturhotel Outside in Matrei, Austria, also follows the same principle. The hotel in East Tyrol attaches great importance to culinary delights. The hotel’s own gourmet restaurant Inside will spoil you with all kinds of new-found classics. 

The takeaways that you can also buy belong to this category. The syrup assortment includes the well-known elderberry syrup as well as unusual varieties such as meadow sage, dandelion, and lavender. You can also obtain delicacies here, such as Swiss stone pine and larch liqueur. It is also made by the hotel itself and distilled in part by a local distiller.

Special and regional specialties

And while we’re on the subject of Swiss stone pines: In the Naturhotel Aufatmen in Leutasch, you can purchase Zirbenstöpsel. When you put them on a Y-carafe, the water takes on a pleasant pine scent. So who needs artificial aromas anymore?

Besides this special feature, organic herbal teas, home-made jams and whiskey from a neighboring farmer in the Austrian high valley are also on offer. 

Homemade jams, syrups, fruit breads or dandelion honey await you at Hotel Bella Vista in Zermatt, Switzerland. Family owned for 60 years, the hotel boasts many old traditional recipes, such as Zermatt hay soup. 

The sandwiches and jams are perfectly sized for small appetites after a busy day in the fresh air, keeping you full until dinne. And they’ll bring back lovely vacation memories once you get home!

Creativhotel Luise in Erlangen offers regional and sustainable specialties as well, but goes one step further: not only do you get the special memorabilia beautifully presented in an antique pharmacist’s cabinet in the hotel store, you can also reorder them online. Be it specially selected gin, coffee grounds espresso cups, sustainable beer mats or decorative items—you’re sure to find a great gift here. Or that delicious syrup or wine from your vacation that you won’t find anywhere else.

The Creativhotel attaches great importance to upcycling: The pharmacy cabinet with souvenirs, the wall of sandstone in the garden and the entire conference room were created in this way. No wonder, you can also buy some great Upcycling projects via the website.

So, what’s your favorite souvenir? Tag us in your Instagram story and show us!