Giving an eco-friendly or environmentally friendly food gift basket is a great way to help the environment. Whether you buy the gift basket or make it yourself, the environment will be better off for it. Think recycled paper (100% post-consumer, waste/process, chlorine-free paper,) organic where possible, living foods, recycling and composting. Just follow these simple instructions for making your gift basket.

First of all, decide on what food theme you'd like for your environmentally friendly gift basket. Some ideas are: organic fruit, organic foods, organic vegan, organic vegetarian, living foods or wheatgrass gift basket.

Once you've decided on the theme for the environmentally friendly gift basket, decide whether you'll be using organic items or products, organic hardy fruits, organic pre-packaged or homemade foods, or fair trade items like coffee and chocolates.

Next, decide on what items will go into the environmentally friendly gift basket.

For an organic fruit gift basket you'll want to use organic, hardy fruits that will hold up well like: apples, pears, oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, fuyu persimmons, pineapples, pomegranates, kiwis, baby kiwis, mango, papaya, nasturtiums, pansies or other flowers. These fruits will eventually decompose so take that into consideration.

For an organic food gift basket some ideas are: fruits, vegetables, herbal teas, specialty teas, shade-grown fair trade coffees, fair trade cocoas, fair trade chocolate, trail mix, packaged raw nuts, nuts in the shell, a quality nutcracker, hardy fruits, healthy snacks, organic popcorn, homemade foods, homemade jams, cinnamon sticks, vegan, vegetarian or raw food cookbooks, your favorite vegan, vegetarian or raw food recipe printed neatly on a 3x5 card made of recycled paper, books about organic foods, health, nutrition or energy bars, small bamboo cutting boards, bamboo skewers, non-plastic cooking tools, non-plastic, wooden eating utensils, edible nasturtiums, or other flowers for decoration.

For an organic living foods gift basket some ideas are: raw food 'uncookbooks', your favorite raw food recipe printed neatly on a 3x5 card made of recycled paper, packaged raw food crackers, raw food cookies, homemade or pre-packaged raw food brownies, jar of organic tahini, jar of organic almond butter or cashew butter or macadamia butter, jar of organic olives, jar of raw sauerkraut, jar of raw dressing, jar of raw salsa, or a jar of raw, unfiltered farm honey (keep in mind some raw food vegans don't eat honey.)

For an organic wheatgrass gift basket you can use: wheatgrass growing supplies, organic soil, wheatgrass seeds, books about wheatgrass or wheatgrass growing, or books by Ann Wigmore.

Now that you've decided on the theme and what items to use it's time to put your environmentally friendly food gift basket together.

For gift containers you can choose from: fair trade baskets, wooden baskets, wooden bowls, fiber baskets, straw baskets, locally made pottery, buckets, non-aluminum, non-Teflon cooking pots and pans, large tea pots, potted plant holders, wire baskets, large pasta bowls, large popcorn bowls, clay pots, colanders, fabric gift bags, used baskets and containers from Goodwill Industries and Salvation Army stores or anything recyclable.

For gift basket liner you can use: shredded newspaper, organic cotton tea towels, organic cotton dish towels, organic cotton hand towels, colored recyclable napkins, organic cloth napkins, or fabric pieces.

For gift basket filler, if needed, you can use: crumpled newspaper comics, straw or use your imagination.

And for gift basket wrap and tie you can use: recyclable paper, butcher paper, newspaper, newspaper comics, or reusable brown paper bags. Also check with the Salvation Army or Goodwill Industries stores for inexpensive recyclable wrapping paper. Tie with jute or raffia twine for a simple rustic look or leave the gift basket unwrapped.

Now the instructions for putting your friendly gift basket together - first start with your chosen container. Place the liner inside and add the basket filler. Arrange the items with the tallest in back. If needed, fill any holes with organic wrapped candies or crumpled shredded recycled paper. Cover with wrap and tie with jute or raffia twine. Don't forget the personalized, recycled card. If you're using a homemade card include a great, happy, positive uplifting, spine-tingling favorite quote or saying. That's it! You should have a fine-looking eco-friendly, environmentally friendly food gift basket!