Corruption, embezzlement, and money laundering have been endemic in Bangladesh but reached new heights during the last 15 years of the now-toppled regime led by the Awami League. The recently published "White Paper on the State of the Bangladesh Economy" reported that $234 billion was syphoned off from Bangladesh between 2009 and 2023. The interim government has promised to work tirelessly to identify the perpetrators of this massive mayhem—to loot and plunder the country and its poor people—and bring back some of the ill-gotten resources. Tax havens around the globe, particularly in the Middle East, Malaysia, the UK, Canada, the US, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore, provided a golden opportunity for businesses, bureaucrats, and politicians to use a well-crafted system of patronage and crony capitalism to take advantage of the country's incompetent leaders and financial regulators to launder an average of $16 billion a year. The White Paper documented the mechanism used for money laundering (ML)—these tricks have been well-known for a long time. The then foreign minister of Bangladesh stated during an interview with The Daily Star in 2020 that the AL government had information that politicians, businessmen, and government officials, including some "serving officials," had pilfered and whitewashed money by buying properties in Canada. It is no secret that Bangladesh Bank and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) were fully aware of the scale of ML and the role played by the key protagonists! The previous government was, on many occasions, alerted by the World Bank, multilateral financial institutions, UN agencies, and national watchdogs about the scope of illicit financial flows (IIF). In 2011, during negotiations with the World Bank to secure financing for the Padma Bridge, the bank provided "credible evidence of corruption" to the government. These were brushed aside and dismissed as "trumped-up" allegations by the former prime minister. In my brief discussion on this matter with members of the current administration, it is clear that money laundering and its prevention are among its highest priorities. Last week, the BB governor publicly reiterated his intention to bring back stolen assets from other countries. He chairs a nine-member taskforce with representatives from important state agencies, which has been assigned to track down stolen assets abroad and support investigations aimed at their recovery. The taskforce seeks to expedite legal proceedings for asset recovery, identify and address barriers to recovery, manage frozen or recovered assets abroad, and strengthen communication with relevant domestic and international bodies to gather essential information while enhancing internal coordination and capabilities. While asset recovery is a tough and time-consuming process, it needs to be done, and for many reasons. The money looted from the coffers is now being used to undermine the present government. If we reverse the resource outflow and turn back the tide, that would rejuvenate our economic development. For example, the ML activities of the owners of the S Alam Group have resulted in the bankruptcy of the various businesses they own. If their overseas resources are liquidated and the proceeds repatriated and invested in their domestic enterprises, the local economy will receive a shot in the arm. Also, we need to send a message to the culprits. In the language of criminal justice system, the purpose would be "deterrence, retribution, and restoration." The asset recovery stage encompasses several steps that need to be pursued diligently. To begin, a special sub-unit comprising legal and financial experts could freeze, without delay and much fanfare, the funds or other assets of designated persons or entities. Fortunately, Bangladesh can leverage the goodwill earned by the interim administration and seek assistance from three powerful international bodies: i) The World Bank's Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (STAR); ii) The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), based in Paris; and iii) The US Department of Justice's Money Laundering and Asset recovery Section (MLARS). Going forward, the taskforce must initiate and hire staff to undertake and strengthen legal action in the following areas: identifying stolen assets, including non-performing bank loans; collecting intelligence and evidence and tracing overseas assets; determining the beneficiaries of ML and ownership transparency; initiating international cooperation between involved jurisdictions; coordination between agencies participating in the taskforce; and legal actions, domestic and international. Why is international collaboration so important? Most of the stolen money is invested overseas or stashed away in foreign banks. The process of identifying these investments and recovering them will be slow and involve tackling the lawyers, trust experts, real estate agents, accountants, and financial institutions representing the individuals—the Saifuzzamans and the Benazirs—who might have already been identified and tipped in advance. The money, once taken out of the country, is most likely to have been invested in real estate or businesses through a process known as "layering," where the ownership is completely fuzzy. We need to hire the best global investigators to trace the money since the beneficial owner may be hidden behind multiple layers of shell companies or a nominee company director. Since the US, Canada, Singapore, and the UK have some of the strictest anti-money-laundering (AML) legislation and enforcement mechanisms, our embassies or high commissions in these countries must be notified of the business entities or persons of interest. Several newspaper accounts of Bangladeshi residents in Singapore, New York, Toronto, and London have surfaced over the last few years. The taskforce can forward the list of suspects to MLARS and target the three most corrupt sectors identified by the White Paper: financial, ICT, and power. The ultimate goal of the current administration is to lay the foundation of an anti-ML programme that will prevent future occurrences. A comprehensive ML programme will include investment in employee education, stricter internal controls, accountability, and early detection. We need to build stronger defences against corruption, money laundering, and fraudulent trading practices. Key sectors like banking should have guardrails against the "bad influence of party politics," to quote Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud. Various policy measures and actions recommended by the Farashuddin Commission, set up after the Bangladesh Bank heist, need to be implemented. A whistleblower programme to reward individuals who provide helpful information on illegal financial activities must be established. Finally, this most recent money laundering and kleptocracy saga underscores the pressing need for unwavering diligence and proactive implementation of a comprehensive AML compliance framework in Bangladesh to safeguard the financial system. Dr Abdullah Shibli is an economist and works for Change Healthcare, Inc., an information technology company. He also serves as senior research fellow at the US-based International Sustainable Development Institute (ISDI). Views expressed in this article are the author's own. Follow The Daily Star Opinion on Facebook for the latest opinions, commentaries and analyses by experts and professionals. To contribute your article or letter to The Daily Star Opinion, see our guidelines for submission. Corruption, embezzlement, and money laundering have been endemic in Bangladesh but reached new heights during the last 15 years of the now-toppled regime led by the Awami League. The recently published "White Paper on the State of the Bangladesh Economy" reported that $234 billion was syphoned off from Bangladesh between 2009 and 2023. The interim government has promised to work tirelessly to identify the perpetrators of this massive mayhem—to loot and plunder the country and its poor people—and bring back some of the ill-gotten resources. Tax havens around the globe, particularly in the Middle East, Malaysia, the UK, Canada, the US, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore, provided a golden opportunity for businesses, bureaucrats, and politicians to use a well-crafted system of patronage and crony capitalism to take advantage of the country's incompetent leaders and financial regulators to launder an average of $16 billion a year. The White Paper documented the mechanism used for money laundering (ML)—these tricks have been well-known for a long time. The then foreign minister of Bangladesh stated during an interview with The Daily Star in 2020 that the AL government had information that politicians, businessmen, and government officials, including some "serving officials," had pilfered and whitewashed money by buying properties in Canada. It is no secret that Bangladesh Bank and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) were fully aware of the scale of ML and the role played by the key protagonists! The previous government was, on many occasions, alerted by the World Bank, multilateral financial institutions, UN agencies, and national watchdogs about the scope of illicit financial flows (IIF). In 2011, during negotiations with the World Bank to secure financing for the Padma Bridge, the bank provided "credible evidence of corruption" to the government. These were brushed aside and dismissed as "trumped-up" allegations by the former prime minister. In my brief discussion on this matter with members of the current administration, it is clear that money laundering and its prevention are among its highest priorities. Last week, the BB governor publicly reiterated his intention to bring back stolen assets from other countries. He chairs a nine-member taskforce with representatives from important state agencies, which has been assigned to track down stolen assets abroad and support investigations aimed at their recovery. The taskforce seeks to expedite legal proceedings for asset recovery, identify and address barriers to recovery, manage frozen or recovered assets abroad, and strengthen communication with relevant domestic and international bodies to gather essential information while enhancing internal coordination and capabilities. While asset recovery is a tough and time-consuming process, it needs to be done, and for many reasons. The money looted from the coffers is now being used to undermine the present government. If we reverse the resource outflow and turn back the tide, that would rejuvenate our economic development. For example, the ML activities of the owners of the S Alam Group have resulted in the bankruptcy of the various businesses they own. If their overseas resources are liquidated and the proceeds repatriated and invested in their domestic enterprises, the local economy will receive a shot in the arm. Also, we need to send a message to the culprits. In the language of criminal justice system, the purpose would be "deterrence, retribution, and restoration." The asset recovery stage encompasses several steps that need to be pursued diligently. To begin, a special sub-unit comprising legal and financial experts could freeze, without delay and much fanfare, the funds or other assets of designated persons or entities. Fortunately, Bangladesh can leverage the goodwill earned by the interim administration and seek assistance from three powerful international bodies: i) The World Bank's Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (STAR); ii) The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), based in Paris; and iii) The US Department of Justice's Money Laundering and Asset recovery Section (MLARS). Going forward, the taskforce must initiate and hire staff to undertake and strengthen legal action in the following areas: identifying stolen assets, including non-performing bank loans; collecting intelligence and evidence and tracing overseas assets; determining the beneficiaries of ML and ownership transparency; initiating international cooperation between involved jurisdictions; coordination between agencies participating in the taskforce; and legal actions, domestic and international. Why is international collaboration so important? Most of the stolen money is invested overseas or stashed away in foreign banks. The process of identifying these investments and recovering them will be slow and involve tackling the lawyers, trust experts, real estate agents, accountants, and financial institutions representing the individuals—the Saifuzzamans and the Benazirs—who might have already been identified and tipped in advance. The money, once taken out of the country, is most likely to have been invested in real estate or businesses through a process known as "layering," where the ownership is completely fuzzy. We need to hire the best global investigators to trace the money since the beneficial owner may be hidden behind multiple layers of shell companies or a nominee company director. Since the US, Canada, Singapore, and the UK have some of the strictest anti-money-laundering (AML) legislation and enforcement mechanisms, our embassies or high commissions in these countries must be notified of the business entities or persons of interest. Several newspaper accounts of Bangladeshi residents in Singapore, New York, Toronto, and London have surfaced over the last few years. The taskforce can forward the list of suspects to MLARS and target the three most corrupt sectors identified by the White Paper: financial, ICT, and power. The ultimate goal of the current administration is to lay the foundation of an anti-ML programme that will prevent future occurrences. A comprehensive ML programme will include investment in employee education, stricter internal controls, accountability, and early detection. We need to build stronger defences against corruption, money laundering, and fraudulent trading practices. Key sectors like banking should have guardrails against the "bad influence of party politics," to quote Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud. Various policy measures and actions recommended by the Farashuddin Commission, set up after the Bangladesh Bank heist, need to be implemented. A whistleblower programme to reward individuals who provide helpful information on illegal financial activities must be established. Finally, this most recent money laundering and kleptocracy saga underscores the pressing need for unwavering diligence and proactive implementation of a comprehensive AML compliance framework in Bangladesh to safeguard the financial system. Dr Abdullah Shibli is an economist and works for Change Healthcare, Inc., an information technology company. He also serves as senior research fellow at the US-based International Sustainable Development Institute (ISDI). Views expressed in this article are the author's own. Follow The Daily Star Opinion on Facebook for the latest opinions, commentaries and analyses by experts and professionals. To contribute your article or letter to The Daily Star Opinion, see our guidelines for submission."We can't stop individual celebrations": Karnataka Dy CM on New Year, 7-day mourning after Manmohan Singh's demiseVan Nistelrooy returned to Old Trafford as Erik ten Hag’s assistant in the summer and had a four-game interim spell in charge following his compatriot’s sacking in October. He left the club in the wake of Ruben Amorim’s appointment but was only out of work for two weeks after being appointed Leicester’s new manager on a deal until 2027. The 48-year-old had a glittering playing career with United and was disappointed his return had to end so soon. “The moment I took over the interim job what I said was I’m here to help United and to stay to help United, and I meant it,” he said. “So I was disappointed, yeah, very much so, and it hurt I had to leave. “The only job I would take as an assistant was at United because of the bond that I have with the people in the club and the fans. “But in the end I got my head around it because I also understand the new manager. I’m in football long enough, and I’ve managed myself, that you can think of a situation, me being there, I understand. “I spoke to Ruben about it, fair enough to him, the conversation was grateful, man to man, person to person, manager to manager, and that helped a lot to move on and straightaway get into talks with new possibilities which of course lifted my spirits.” The Dutchman takes on a difficult job at the King Power Stadium as he is tasked with keeping Leicester in the Premier League. He inherits an influential dressing room, which has seen a number of managers come and go over the last few years. Van Nistelrooy revealed he has done his due diligence and also let the players know as well. “It’s the only way you can work. It’s mutual respect. I also mentioned to the players yesterday that I looked at the squad and started to make phone calls about players, because in football everyone knows everyone,” he said. “With two or three phone calls you hear stories about 20 players and for me it was important that you hear there are good characters there. That’s important, that there are good people there. “I look at the players how they play. I obviously don’t know them but I got general information and the individuals that they are a good bunch of people. That was important for me to get in.”

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The Christmas season affects more than just our wallets and waistlines, so how can you reduce the impact of your yuletide celebrations on the environment? The total environmental cost of Christmas is hard to measure – and whether a real or fake Christmas tree is the more ethical choice is up for annual debate – but the Stockholm Environment Institute estimates Christmas festivities account for 650 kilograms of greenhouse gases per person, or about 5 per cent of each person’s annual carbon footprint. Christmas can be the most wonderful, and most wasteful, time of the year. Credit: Monique Westermann Australian shoppers are expected to spend $11.8 billion on gifts this year, up $1.6 billion on last year, Roy Morgan estimates. Australia Institute polling suggests a quarter of Australians anticipate receiving unwanted gifts, most of which are expected to end up in landfill. It is a different story at Lori Spence’s house: she is something of an expert on managing, and reducing, waste. Three-and-a-half years ago, Spence relocated with her husband and two children to Narara Ecovillage, an 130-person sustainability-focused community on the NSW Central Coast. “We have a culture that appreciates crafted, homemade, homegrown and home-baked gifts,” Spence says. Typical presents include homemade elderberry wine or hand sewn knitwear. Lori Spence and her two children try to celebrate Christmas in a sustainable way. Credit: Each family brought a dish to the recent village Christmas party. Leftovers were shared, given to the village chickens, or composted, Spence says. Ten-cent recyclables, including glass bottles and cans, were delivered to the nearby recycling centre. Money earned will be allocated for children’s equipment and craft activities. When it comes to the tree, “decorate a favourite pot plant instead of buying a plastic tree”, Spence recommends. Alternatively, she suggests donating your real tree to keen gardeners on Facebook Marketplace after the holidays. Loading If you’d like to keep the sparkle this Christmas without emission-driven electricity use, Spence suggests solar-powered lights, which require minimal maintenance and can last up to 20 years with proper care. Even better – invest in high-quality decorations or create your own plantable Christmas decor using newspapers, seeds and water, she says. University of Sydney Business School retail academic Lisa Asher requests no Christmas gifts, saying: “The joy of coming together, and being together, is a gift in itself”. “Photos which capture this are worth more than material items,” she says. Asher says Australians produce 30 per cent more waste during the Christmas period due to gift-wrapping paper, food waste, unwanted gifts and over-consumption, describing the environmental impact as “eyewateringly significant”. “We are led to believe buying and consumption is necessary, but is it really?” The federal government’s National Food Waste Feasibility Study found households generate roughly 30 per cent of Australia’s food waste . Asher says businesses and families need to commit to gradual changes. “The Christmas dining table is a great place to start,” Asher says. Sourcing sustainably can be challenging, but small steps like freezing leftovers and eating local produce can reduce carbon emissions of food miles . Secret Santa is a great option for minimising the number of gifts and unwanted items for those who still wish to buy presents, she adds. Loading As part of her sustainable resolution, Asher successfully avoided buying new clothes this year. “I repaired clothes, and if I wanted something new, I purchased it second-hand,” Asher says, a practice she plans to continue and encourages others to adopt in the new year. Queensland University of Technology fashion lecturer Zoe Mellick says there has been a growing disconnect between the gifts we give and their value to the recipient. Mellick suggests creating a wishlist and asking preferences for gifts – “that way, people are receiving gifts that they want,” she says. When buying clothes, Mellick advises considering local brands affiliated with Seamless , a federal government initiative that recognises brands which aim for clothing circularity by 2030. Uturn, a sustainable fashion marketplace, had a threefold increase in sellers listing their unwanted clothes on its website in October. It anticipates wardrobe reassessments will increase in the holidays. Alex Dimou, managing director of Uturn, hopes more customers will embrace sustainable Christmas gifting by buying items secondhand. “We see thousands of designer and premium items come through our stores,” Dimou says. Salvation Army circular economy senior manager Sarah Knop says the organisation sees a significant surge in donations at this time of year. The Salvation Army’s Sarah Knop says more people should shop for gifts secondhand. Credit: Simon Schulter Buying from charity stores is a way “to be more sustainable, but also to ensure Christmas comes within budget”, she says. “Some of the best gifts I’ve seen, to be honest, come from secondhand stores.” Knop suggests decorative silk scarves or cloth as a reusable, zero-waste wrapping alternative to the 150,000 kilometres of wrapping paper the CSIRO estimates Australians use each year. The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here . Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. License this article Christmas Family Ethical living Most Viewed in Environment LoadingThe Denver Gazette sports business insider is a reader’s guide to understanding the influence of money, politics and power behind their favorite leagues, teams and players: Sports business insider: The top 10 highest-paid Colorado professional athletes will combine to earn more than $260 million in 2024-25. Short version: The Denver Gazette gathered public salary cap data (via spotrac.com ) to determine the top 10 highest-paid professional athletes in Colorado. 1. Nikola Jokic, C, Nuggets: $51.4 million cap hit (2024-25) 2. Jamal Murray, PG, Nuggets: $36 million cap hit (2024-25) 3. Michael Porter Jr., PF, Nuggets: $35.8 million cap hit (2024-25) 4. Kris Bryant, 1B, Rockies: $28 million payroll salary (2024) 5. Aaron Gordon, F, Nuggets: $22.8 million cap hit (2024-25) 6. Garett Bolles, LT, Broncos: $20 million cap hit (2024) 7. Kyle Freeland, LHP, Rockies: $15 million payroll salary (2024) 8. Charlie Blackmon, DH, Rockies: $14.5 million payroll salary (2024) 9. D.J. Jones, DT, Broncos: $12.9 million cap hit (2024) 10. Nathan MacKinnon, C, Avalanche: $12.6 million cap hit (2024-25) Folsom Field beer sales nearly double with CU football coach Deion Sanders | Sports Business Insider Long version: The Nuggets have four players ranked among the five best-paid athletes in Colorado. Jokic — a three-time league MVP — is tied with Sixers center Joel Embiid as the second-highest paid NBA player this season. The league’s flexible salary cap is currently at $140 million per team. The Rockies' payroll ranked No. 17 among MLB teams at $147.7 million and it didn’t lead to success. Colorado lost 100-plus games in back-to-back seasons. Bryant, the top-paid baseball player, appeared in only 117 games over that span due to injuries. There is no MLB salary cap. The Broncos overcame significant salary cap challenges (more on that later) with help from the strong play of quarterback Bo Nix on a rookie contract. Bolles is in the final year of his current deal with a front office decision looming on his future in Denver. Jones will also be an unrestricted free agent this summer. The NFL’s hard salary cap is currently at $255.5 million per team. The Avalanche boast the reigning Hart Trophy winner. MacKinnon is the NHL’s second-highest paid player this season. And yet, he barely cracks this list. That is because the league’s hard salary cap is just $88 million per team. However, on Tuesday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters in Florida that it is expected to hit $92.4 million next season . Key context: The highest-paid Colorado professional athlete does not live in the state. The Broncos released ex-quarterback Russell Wilson in March and Denver incurred a $53-million cap hit this season ($85 million total over two years). Translation: the Broncos are paying Wilson more than any professional athlete in Colorado this season to quarterback the playoff-bound Steelers (10-3). The good news is that both teams appear better off from the Broncos-Wilson split with Nix leading the Broncos (8-5) to a likely playoff berth, too. How the Denver Broncos aim to lift Colorado small businesses | Sports Business Insider Looking ahead: Expect a handful of young stars to join this list in the near future. Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain signed a four-year, $96-million extension that begins in 2026. Outside linebacker Jonathan Cooper agreed to a four-year, $60-million deal that also starts next year. Offensive Quinn Meinerz also signed a four-year, $80-million contract. Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen has yet to reach a contract extension. He’s earning $9.25 million on his current deal that expires after this season with Rantanen anticipated to increase that number on his next deal. The Nuggets have long-term commitments from their core four players: Jokic, Murray, Porter and Gordon. The Rockies have Bryant under contract through the 2028 season.MILAN — Shoppers laden with bags from Fendi, Loewe, Prada and other designer labels clog the narrow sidewalks of Milan's swankiest shopping street, bringing joy to the purveyors of high-end luxury goods this, and every, holiday season. There's even more to celebrate this year: a commercial real estate company crowned Via MonteNapoleone as the world's most expensive retail destination, displacing New York's Fifth Avenue. The latest version of American firm Cushman & Wakefield's annual global index, which ranks shopping areas based on the rent prices they command, is a sign of Via MonteNapoleone's desirability as an address for luxury ready-to-wear, jewelry and even pastry brands. A man walks past a shop Dec. 12 in Monte Napoleone street in Milan, Italy. The average rent on the Milan street surged to $2,047 per square foot, compared with $2,000 per square foot on an 11-block stretch of upper Fifth Avenue. Via MonteNapoleone's small size — less than a quarter-mile long — and walking distance to services and top cultural sites are among the street's key advantages, according to Guglielmo Miani, president of the MonteNapoleone District association. "Not everything can fit, which is a benefit," since the limited space makes the street even more exclusive and dynamic, said Miani, whose group also represents businesses on the intersecting side streets that together with Via MonteNapoleone form an area known as Milan's Fashion Quadrilateral. Women look a shop Dec. 12 in Monte Napoleone street in Milan, Italy. The biggest brands on the street make 50 million euros to 100 million euros in annual sales, Miani said, which goes a long way to paying the rent. Tiffany & Co. is preparing to take up residence on Via Montenapoleone, and longtime tenant Fendi is expanding. The MonteNapoleone District says 11 million people visited the area this year through November, but there's no way to say how many were big spenders vs. window shoppers. The average shopper on Via MonteNapoleone spent 2,500 euros per purchase between August and November — the highest average receipt in the world, according to the tax-free shopping firm Global Blue. The street is a magnet for holiday shoppers who arrive in Maseratis, Porsches and even Ferraris, the sports car's limited trunk space notwithstanding. A mannequin is seen Dec. 12 in a shop in Monte Napoleone street in Milan, Italy. Lights twinkle overhead, boutique windows feature mannequins engaged in warm scenes of holiday fun, and passersby snap photos of expertly decorated cakes in pastry shop displays. A visitor from China, Chen Xinghan, waited for a taxi with a half-dozen shopping bags lined up next to him on the sidewalk. He said he paid half the price for a luxury Fendi coat that he purchased in Milan than he would have at home. "I got a lot," Chen acknowledged. "It's a fantastic place, a good place for shopping." A man waits for a taxi Dec. 12 in Monte Napoleon street in Milan, Italy. A few store windows down, Franca Da Rold, who was visiting Milan from Belluno, an Italian city in the Dolomites mountain range, marveled at a chunky, yardslong knit scarf priced at 980 euros. "I could knit that in one hour, using 12-gauge knitting needles as thick as my fingers, and thick wool. Maximum two hours," Da Rold said, but acknowledged the brand appeal. Buildings are decorated Dec. 12 in Monte Napoleone street in Milan, Italy. Despite upper Fifth Avenue getting bumped to the No. 2 spot on the Cushman & Wakefield list, the organization that serves as the Manhattan street's guardian and chief promoter had praise for MonteNapoleone's achievement. "Milan's investment in its public realm is paying off, which is a win for their shoppers, businesses and city as a whole," said Madelyn Wils, interim president of the Fifth Avenue Association. She also expressed confidence that with new investments and a record year for sales on Fifth Avenue, "we'll be back on top in no time." The holiday season feels a little less jolly considering the amount of waste generated by gift-giving. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the amount of household garbage in the U.S. increases by 25% between Thanksgiving and New Year's. After the decorations come down, all that waste heads to landfills, producing a significant contributor to climate change: methane gas. "Greening" the holidays is essential, and one simple tip is to think more about how sustainable the materials are in your decorations, decor, and, of course, gifts. Instead of plastics, you could opt for items that can be reused, are made of renewable materials or natural fibers that boast a smaller environmental impact in both production and durability. Due to consumers' desires for more eco-friendly goods, sustainable materials are among the biggest trends in home decor. Fortunately, there are plenty of affordable—and earth-conscious—home goods that make perfect holiday gifts. Made Trade rounded up a list of sustainable home decor trends in 2025 that offer dozens of creative options for holiday gift-giving. Each trend includes examples of great gifts for the home and advice for ensuring items are sustainably produced or can help create a more eco-friendly space. In the depths of winter's gray days, it's a real gift to see a little green, which is why indoor gardening gifts are a wonderful idea. Not only are they eco-friendly and promote sustainability—the more food you can grow yourself, the less you have to buy—they also foster an appreciation of nature and bring the natural world indoors to enjoy. Sprouting kits and microgreens require minimal amounts of space and sunlight, but a sunny, south-facing window will permit a small herb garden or leafy greens for salads. If you're not sure what kind of light your recipient has access to, go with gifting indoor grow lamps along with the plants, or pick a hardy, low-water houseplant—some can act as natural air purifiers too. When buying gifts for the home, consider what materials the items are made from and how far away they come from—not only are natural materials like rattan, jute, palm leaves, clay, organic cotton and linen, and ceramics more sustainable, but if they are being used by a local craftsperson, gifters are also saving on fossil fuels for the transportation. Plus, you're helping the local economy by supporting local craftspeople, so it's a win-win. Natural fiber pillows, sheets, blankets, and even doormats offer comfort and consideration of the environment. The most sustainable and eco-friendly gift is one you already have, so get creative about reusing materials already in or around your home (raid the recycling bin, find nice pieces of wood outside, wash out and reuse glass jars) to fashion them into new, thoughtful goods. Similarly, think vintage and secondhand—what items can you give a second life to by passing them along to someone who will find new meaning in them? Some of the most thoughtful gifts are small heirlooms—pieces of jewelry or a beloved ceramic dish—passed along to the next generation that will appreciate them. Green technology offers ways to reduce our carbon footprint in everyday life, and smart thermostats, solar lights, smart sprinklers, and smart plugs all make great gifts, saving people money and conserving our valuable resources. For those looking into home renovations or updating decor, try a new light fixture paired with smart blubs, or a new window treatment with smart shades. Even something as simple as a rain barrel can reduce energy use—and while the technology for that isn't very sophisticated, it certainly is, like composting, "smart." Integrated outdoor living is the ultimate gift, allowing us to bring the natural world into our homes. However, doing so sustainably takes a little more effort than simply leaving the doors to the deck open all the time. First, find eco-friendly and sustainable outdoor furniture, perhaps thrifting it or buying it used and fixing it up for a one-of-a-kind gift. If you can't go secondhand, choose furniture made of sustainable materials such as reclaimed wood, recycled plastic (great for outdoor rugs), or bamboo. For smaller gifts, consider solar lights, a water feature that recycles water, a rain barrel, or even a set of handmade wind chimes made from seashells. Story editing by Carren Jao. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Clarese Moller. This story originally appeared on Made Trade and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. Respond: Write a letter to the editor | Write a guest opinion Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.

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