CARMEL — If you're still searching for that perfect holiday gift, the Green Gift Shop could be a sustainable option.
The Carmel Green Initiative has been organizing this event every year since 2014. Last year, around 500 people attended, but they hope to double that attendance in 2024.
There will be 29 vendors are this year's shop. All the vendors will be selling items that are sustainably sourced.
"Let's face it, we all want to get gifts," laughed Madelyn Zalon, a board member for Carmel Green Initiative. "You can buy things that are great gifts and good for the environment."
Nathan Rues of Kaps For Kids will be a vendor. He collects bottle caps, which cannot be recycled and creates ornaments.
"Not a lot of people do anything with bottle caps," Rues explained. "I really find a lot of value."
He went on to say that people collect the caps, which would otherwise be thrown away, to give to him to further his craft.
Another vendor is Melissa Bunce with Essential Wellbeings.
"I formulated products for the body, mind, and the spirit," Bunce said. "All using organic or sustainably wild harvested ingredients."
Rachel Mirabella from Afterglow Market is a clothing vendor. She talked about the public's awareness of waste and pollution from the fashion industry.
"If they have an opportunity to participate in it, without causing as much harm, I think that's really appealing to people," she said about her sustainably-sourced clothes.
While making a few eco-friendly choices may not save the planet, it still may make a positive impact.
"If everybody does just a little bit, all those little bits add up to a lot," Zalon said.
The growth in the number of vendors and shoppers through the years is encouraging to Zalon.
"People are seeing the impacts of climate change," she stated. "People are more aware of what's going on, and then people want to do their part."
The Green Gift Shop is a one-day event, held at the Carmel Clay Public Library. It is from 1:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 5.
You can learn more about Carmel Green Initiative and Green Gift Shop here.
