Hey Cleantech and sustainability enthusiasts! Thomas Hall, Executive Director of CleanStart here, and I want to share some home-grown holiday gift ideas for your friends and family. In Sacramento, we have many good citizens who take pride in not only supporting entrepreneurship and innovation in our region, but also in committing to reduce their carbon footprint. Below are a handful of gift-giving ideas from local clean tech startups that will help you accomplish both objectives!

Have a tech enthusiast who wants quality personal solar? Check out California Sunlight! They have everything from solar chargers to solar cookers. Founder Bing Gu has been building quality personal solar products for nearly 10 years. There is the popular Solar Balloon Cooker that is great for backpacking and is the lightest solar cooker available. Or consider: the solar Square: it can charge in a car window and power your mobile phone!

Have an Electric Vehicle enthusiast on your list? Buy them an EVAA membership so they can stay up-to-date on all issues in future transit. They can also participate in the local Chapter and make a difference as the Sacramento Region is Electrified. They’ll learn more about topics such as Chargepoint’s growth, the VW settlement, and much more.

Do you know someone who commutes in the most sustainable way but has the “Last Mile” problem–having to walk from public transit to their destination?. Get them a Glide Cruiser from from Christopher Wiggins. He builds them locally and they’ve even been featured on regional news. Every year he takes them to Burning Man, so if you have a Burner in the family, the Glide Cruiser is a great option.

It there a tinker you know that wants to manage their entire household energy use and save 15-30% in energy costs? Introduce them to Grid Rabbit. Henrik Westergaard’s energy management product has helped many groups lower their carbon footprint.

Finally, you can give the gift of Sacramento’s sustainable future to our region by donating to the CleanStart Catalyst crowdfunding campaign. Your tax deductible donation will support the acceleration of clean tech startups in the Greater Sacramento area. And if you become a Catalyst, Clean Start will stuff your stocking with a California Sunlight Solar Square!