The word “vegan” is a bit more popular than “vegetarian” because it is a newer, shorter, and a bit more stylish word. In the dieting and lifestyle world, it often means a person who shuns all animal products. Whereas a vegetarian might sometimes consume eggs and milk because they are byproducts, a vegan only consumes products from plants. This might extend to refusing leather products.
Pleasing a vegan is not too much of a challenge. It just means being a bit literate on what is fashionable in the vegetarian world. If a person goes far enough to refuse meat for environmental reasons, then the same person might only consume organic vegetables that received few chemical fertilizers or pesticides. To that end, one good idea of vegan gifts is to give them a magazine or book that describes what is going on in the world of organics.
Other common products just help them to enjoy their vegetables better. Most vegans already have a juicer, but some might not if the price of the product they want is a bit higher. Giving them this gift allows them to migrate away from commercial vegetable juice products. If a vegan gifts does have a reasonable bit of money, then a rare or unusual gift might fit the bill. Try giving them a vegetable spiraler that can be used to turn vegetables into noodles.
Another idea is to think of all the unique ways to cook vegetables. One very healthy way to eat vegetables is to stir fry them, so a good quality wok might be the best solution. It is basically a big pan like a mixing bowl that has a thicker bottom to promote proper heat transfer. Another unique idea is to give them an electric grill with top and bottom heating plates. This might sound bad, but many vegetarians eat burger substitutes, and veggie burgers tend to crumble if flipped too aggressively in a pan.
Other gift ideas have less to do with food. Man products are made with animals or else with synthetic materials that are a substitute for biodegradable plant fibers. A longstanding fashion is to buy pants or jackets that are made with hemp fibers. These fibers are very durable and have long been seen as preferable to nylon. They can also be quite comfortable once broken in.
It is also possible to turn any vegetable oil into soap or wax. Giving them a set of soap made with canola oil and potassium hydroxide is a gift they will immediately understand. Giving them candles made with soybean oil is a pleasure, especially if they are scented with lavender extract. Such specialty candles are a bit more expensive than regular candles even though vegetable oil wax itself is not expensive to make. Your friend will feel a bond with your enlightened perspective.