It’s time for Father Christmas to be kind to Mother Nature. 

While the holidays can be filled with ties, bathrobes and colognes, area retailers are also stocking gifts that ultimately give back to the planet, from rain barrels to new-wave backpacks.

Downtown Home and Garden sells plenty of both for the holidays, said owner Mark Hodesh. The 75-gallon rain barrel ($175) catches rain runoff from the roof and collects it for watering the garden. “Plants really like water that is un-chlorinated and un-salty,” Hodesh said. 

The eight-cubic-foot tumbling composter ($185) turns today’s food scraps into tomorrow’s compost.

 “It’s a gift of love,” Hodesh said. “It takes a product of the earth and turns it into something for the garden. It’s the perfect gift for a gardener.” 

And to create a tidy kitchen-to-compost route, Downtown Home and Garden sells a small kitchen sink composter ($12). The bucket has a biodegradable liner. 

“There’s no washing and no fuss,” Hodesh said. “All you have to do is pick it up by the handle and trot it out to the composter.” 

Hodesh said he’s had customers coming in since August shopping for the holidays.

 “And it’s been picking up ever since,” he said. 

Holiday shoppers depend on the People’s Food Coop on Fourth Avenue to stock gifts that give back to the environment, said Kevin Sharp, marketing and member services manager. 

A popular gift, he said, is the nylon Chico bag, a reusable sack that collapses to the size of a large egg but that can hold a bag full of groceries. It can clip onto a daypack or belt loop or be tossed in a purse. 

As Ann Arbor weans itself from paper and plastic bags, it’s the perfect stocking stuffer, Sharp said. At $5, it’s also ideal for frugal shoppers hit hard by the economy still looking to make an impact on the environment, he said. 

Another holiday gift that keeps on giving is a $60 coop membership, Sharp said. A membership allows shoppers to own a piece of the coop and earn a rebate at the end of years when the store is profitable. And it’s refundable when membership is cancelled.

The Coop offers natural and often organic food and produce, another Earth-friendly practice. 

The Clean Energy Coalition’s new Energy Outlet in Ypsilanti’s Depot Town has stocked a host of items for the holidays, from energy conservation kits to solar backpacks.

 The storefront gives shoppers the chance to ask questions about the products and get tips about saving energy before they make a purchase, said Robyn Skodzinsky, project manager.

 

For the shoppers with serious backpackers on their lists, there is a solar backpack ($250) which can produce enough energy to power an i-Pod or GPS. They can special order a more expensive style that can power a computer, she said. 

For the more modest budget, the Energy Outlet offers three energy conservation kits from Niagara for the holidays, for water, electricity and gas. These include low-flow showerheads, sink aerators, toilet tank banks, compact florescent light bulbs and more. They run between $20-$25. 

And as more people look for ways to spare the Earth and save on energy costs, there’s also the gift to taking classes at the Clean Energy Coalition, Skodzinsky said. They offer classes in weatherization, creating a green home and more. 

A growing number of customers have seen the light, switching to compact fluorescent bulbs, said Skip Hackbarth, co-owner of Stadium Hardware. He’s seen a push toward the energy-miser lights, especially since the summer. 

While they aren’t traditional holiday gifts, a five-pack ($10) could be wrapped and put under the tree. He sells several hundred CFLs a week, he said. 

“All day long, people come in and buy them. A lot of people are converting since their light has gotten better and their price has come down. We sell piles of them.”