There are a lot of great opportunities and tools out there this year to help you support vegan and local businesses in your holiday gift-shopping. Here are a few. Please comment with ones I’ve missed!
- First off, anyone in or near Olympia on Sunday (December 11) should definitely go to the grand opening of Oly Vegan, Olympia’s newest vegan business! They’ll be open from 10am to 4pm at 313 5th Ave. Suite A. Be sure to take cash since they won’t yet be set up with a register, and take your own bag (maybe even donate a few if you have extras hanging around). Let’s help Lesli get off to a strong start so Oly Vegan can be a great resource for the south Puget Sound area!
- If you’re in Portland, wrap up all your shopping in one block at the vegan mini-mall. Sweet and savory food items, books galore, clothing, cards, accessories–even tattoos, if you’re shopping for ink-lovers! Or if Northeast Portland is more convenient, shop (and eat and drink) your way down NE Alberta.
- Further north? Seattle, of course, has lots of options as well. Here’s a great list of ideas for any budget, from Vegan Score.
- Folks around Vancouver, BC, would be well advised to head to New Westminster to shop at Karmavore or Shine, or maybe Pacific Breeze Winery for some delicious vegan wine. Here’s my write-up about each of those places, which I visited on The Hungry Taurus‘s awesome vegan bike tour a few months ago.
- For local or online shopping, be sure to browse the holiday shopping guide from Vegan Cuts: A 25-page, magazine-style guide to all kinds of vegan gift ideas, including lots of coupon codes to make it easier to buy from even more great businesses.
- Wherever you are, don’t forget your local farmers’ markets for gifts. Many now sell locally produced wine and hard (and fresh) cider, and since you’re buying right from the producers you can ask whether they use any non-vegan stuff in their processing. Also look for dried fruit, dried flowers, handmade confections (ask about vegan options–you may be pleasantly surprised!), nuts, dried herbs and spices, vinegars, cooking oils, and lots more. You can do your grocery shopping at the same time as your gift shopping, and support local farmers to boot. What could be better?
