10/14/2015
Green Holiday Guide – Gifts You Can Give Mother Nature
This holiday season, consider the impact your celebration has on the environment. There are a number of ways you can modify your choices this season to reduce the amount of waste you create. From the gifts you buy and the type of gift wrap you use, to the holiday cards you send, we hope you’ll find these tips helpful this month, and all year long.
Gifts
The California Department of Conservation has created a Green Gift Guide to help consumers purchase products made from recycled materials, including bottles and cans. The site features more than 60 individual and national recycled product retailers including industry leaders such as LL Bean, Birkenstock and PETsMart, as well as a variety of small businesses such as Point Beach Outdoors and Fire and Light. The website can be found at: http://greengiftguide.com/
From fleece products made from recycled plastic bottles to decorative dishware made from recycled glass bottles, these companies offer items for everyone on your holiday list. The Green Gift Guide also includes a variety of eco-friendly tips for holiday entertaining and decorating. Consumers will also find creative gift-wrapping ideas and tips on how to “be green” all year round.
Holiday Cards
Conservatree has put together information about purchasing holiday cards that are printed on recycled paper. They recommend the ones below on their website. For more tips about purchasing paper items (including calendars and office products) with recycled-content, go http://conservatree.org/paper/AddlProducts.shtml
• Hallmark’s Shoebox Greetings, My Thoughts Exactly, and Comedy Club lines
• Leanin’ Tree’s Western and Native American art
• Peaceable Kingdom’s illustrations from favorite children’s books
• Pomegranate’s photos and illustrations
• Recycled Paper Greetings
Some of Region 2000’s favorite green gifts (and suppliers):
1. Goblets made from recycled wine bottles – www.greenglass.com
2. Basket made from recycled milk jugs – www.basketsleeves.com
3. Serving tray made from recycled aluminum – www.tenthousandvillages.com
4. Horse or Deer tire swing made from recycled tires – http://tireswingsandgardenthings.com/
Gift Wrap
Most wrapping paper cannot be recycled in our area due to the metallic dyes used in making it (It’s not compatible with the other papers we collect.) Instead save it to reuse next year. Another idea is to recycle papers like the Sunday comics pages, maps, coloring pages, or to create your own using brown craft paper and stamps – a good activity for the kids! A third option is to use reusable items like gift bags or packaging that is almost part of the gift – for example, a set of kitchen items wrapped in kitchen towels or using containers like flowerpots. For gift tags, cut up used greeting or holiday cards so the art on the card serves as the front of the gift tag and write a message on the back.
When sending gifts, try to reuse shipping materials like padded envelopes, cartons, and peanuts, and think about how the gifts will be sent when you’re shopping for it. Smaller and lighter may be easier and greener to package and send. If the gift is staying local, hide the gift and send the recipient on a scavenger hunt to retrieve it. What fun!
Don’t want to buy a gift – do a good deed. Instead of buying a gift for neighbors or relatives, do something nice. Rake their lawns, shovel their sidewalks or take on another chore. This is particularly nice if they really don’t want anything. Some people would rather not be given gifts that they must find a place for or figure out what to do with. This is the perfect opportunity to make frozen meals, put together an emergency kit, give a gift certificate for a nearby grocery store, or make a gift basket of essentials such as stamps, envelopes, and pens. Don’t forget about photos: put them in a small book or on a magnet or mug.
