It’s obvious that tourist and travelers love souvenirs. If they didn’t there wouldn’t be such a huge proliferation of souvenir shops everywhere that groups of tourists congregate. From airports, to tourist attractions, to shopping streets in every major city you’ll find racks and racks of merchandise, quite often made in China, emblazoned with the local name. But how do you avoid tacky souvenirs without resorting to environmentally irresponsible or possibly illegal practices? For those visiting the Bay Islands, we have the ultimate guide for sustainable Roatan shopping and souvenir ideas.

Roatan Marine Park

The great thing about buying souvenirs from the Roatan Marine Park is that not only do you get a great memento of your travels, you’re also supporting a great non-profit organization dedicated to protecting Roatan’s coastal and marine environments. Their products are predominantly eco-friendly and locally sourced with all the proceeds being funneled back into the organization. By buying souvenirs from the Roatan Marine Park you are personally promoting environmental responsibility and protection.

Local Handicrafts

Roatan has a great tradition of locally made arts and crafts. By buying your keepsakes from local artists you’re ensuring money goes directly to the people who live and work on the island. As opposed to ending up with a homogenous souvenir that can be found anywhere else in the world, you’ll have something unique, one-of-a-kind and native to Roatan. And by supporting local artists you’ll also be supporting environmental sustainability by not buying something that was manufactured and shipped from the other side of the world. You’ll find local vendors on the beaches, the streets and with their own shops set up all over the island.

Rusty Fish

Rusty Fish is a local success story. By creating souvenirs out of recycled materials, this social enterprise has not only provided training and employment to poorer members of the local community, it has also raised awareness of the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling. Buying your keepsakes from Rusty Fish puts money into the pockets of members of the community while preventing useful materials from ending up in the landfills. You’ll now find four locations of this locally grown social enterprise on the island, West End being the closest

Roatan Chocolate Factory

Some people might not consider chocolate a souvenir because it may never actually make it home before it’s eaten. However, the Roatan Chocolate Factory is known for making 100% organic chocolate using beans from Honduran cacao trees and it makes a great gift – even if it’s only to yourself! As opposed to most mass-produced chocolate you won’t find any palm oil, lecithin or artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. And part of the proceeds goes to preserving the rainforest where the cacao trees are grown.

What to Avoid

As mentioned in the introduction, there are certain things that you really shouldn’t be buying as souvenirs. It might be environmentally harmful, damaging to the local wildlife or outright illegal. Some of the items that you might see for sale, but should avoid are turtle shells, conch shells, corals and seahorses. And remember that buying live animals, reptiles or fish can get you in a lot of trouble – both on the island or when you try to bring them back home.