Eco-Friendly Green Holiday Gift List
Going Green is Easy Because Every Small Positive Change Counts
In the United States there is a 25 percent increase in landfill contributions during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Which indicates that the holidays are a time of year when it is really very easy to enact environmentally friendly changes.
There are many areas in gift giving which can be easily changed to be more eco-friendly. Every little adaption you make will help to make our planet a cleaner place to live. Add in birthdays, Mothers and Fathers day as well as a few other holidays and it is easy to see how these special days can create an environmental nightmare if we let them. Fortunately changing the statistics isn't difficult. It truly is the little things that matter most and these are also generally the simplest to enact. Let's Take a Peek at a few ways to go Green in Your Gift Giving
The gifts you choose to give and how you elect to wrap them can make a big difference in the amount of waste produced over the holidays. Your gift choice can also make a huge impact on the environment in many other ways.
Insuring that the gifts you purchase and the wrappings that cover them are environmentally friendly can have a big impact. Rather than selecting a gift made of plastic consider giving a gift made from glass, steel, wood, cloth, or paper instead. These materials will generally last a long time and are more environmentally friendly than items designed of plastic. A Reusable Cl0th Shopping Bag is Ideal for Wrapping Gifts in
Use Re-Usable Packaging: Gift Baskets, Tins, and Cloth Bags
Whenever your gift packaging is reused it is a better option than commercially purchased wrapping paper which is generally tossed into the trash immediately after its use.
Take advantage of decorative tins, wooden boxes, cloth bags, or satin ribbons for your gift giving needs. Remember that every little difference that you make to go green does count. Jar gifts have recently come into vogue and these can be a wonderful way to package your gift in an Earth friendly container. Preserves, home baked goodies, and other gifts from the kitchen are very green. A sweet Earth friendly gift is to purchase in bulk (or grow your own) tea, herbs, or seeds and then gift them in small cotton bags grouped together in a basket or bowl. Gift baskets are an excellent method of container gifting. Yes, Money is Indeed a Green Gift
Gifting cash or a gift card can indeed be a green gift. Less packaging equals less trash and these monetary gratuities are generally very happily received. Cash insures the recipient will receive exactly what they most want or need so it is a gift that definitely insures it will not create additional waste.
Many people view going green as a complicated procedure but it really is just a matter of making a few simple adjustments to your current lifestyle. It really isn't anything traumatic, nothing disastrously difficult to fear, just a few little environmentally friendly alterations in our current standard of doing things. Turning green can be easy. Don't Forget to Re-Cycle Your Coffee Grounds
Recycling your coffee grounds is so very easy. Just sprinkle them out across your lawn or garden and Mother Nature will take care of the rest. The nutrients will slowly seep into the ground beneath them. What's not to love about this? Your yard gets the benefit of enriched soil and the landfill has a lot less waste going into it. Best of all it is such a very simple way to be nice to the planet we live on. Start composting your coffee grounds today.
Wind-Up, Solar Power, or Manually Operated Gifts are Ideal
Choose solar power, crank, wind-up, or motion activated gifts over battery, electric, or gas operated products. There are many of these gifts to choose from.
Toys can be especially bountiful in these themes. Wind-up or pull back vehicles, pump action rockets, spin toys, or push toys have been on store shelves for years. Now solar power toys are also becoming a more popular choice. Environmentally friendly and economical because there are no batteries to replace. Decorative solar power lighting products come in many styles and can be found for both indoor or outdoor use. These can be a quite a novel gift to receive as many are very whimsical or romantic in design. They can be in traditional lamp style, a fiber optic design, or can be found in a decorative statue form. Many household appliances are now powered through solar energy as well and make for an excellent gift option. More great ideas that are sun powered are solar chargers, solar power toys, a solar water fountain, or a solar power tool. These gifts can be economical too. If the person you are shopping for is a bit of a health nut then perhaps the gift of a manual treadmill, skipping rope, hula hoop or bicycle may be a nice idea. Solar Lighting is Both Practical and Economical
Give a Living Gift: Herbs, Seeds, Flower, Plant, or Tree 
Have you thought of picking up a tree to gift to that special someone? There are many that make delightful gifts. An apple, cherry, plum, or lilac tree can be a wonderful green present.
Live potted Christmas trees are also available. These can generally live in the home for a few years and then can be moved outdoors when they outgrow their living space. If the person you are gifting to lives in an apartment or has limited yard space than a living gift of a bonsai tree or other potted plant is always nice to receive. An indoor herb garden or a potted Aloe Vera plant have special health benefits so are generally well received. Rather than purchasing a bouquet of flowers instead purchase a living gift. A miniature rose bush, bleeding heart, potted mum, or other rooted flower can be kept indoors or out on the patio deck. Many potted flowers are able to be transplanted into the flower bed where they can be enjoyed for years to come. Another interesting plant is a decorative bamboo. Representing luck the number of stalks on a lucky bamboo plant indicate the form of luck that the plant is supposed to bring. A bamboo plant with three stalks traditionally brings the three ingredients needed for a happy life: happiness, wealth and longevity. Most of these lucky bamboo come with a card stating the symbolic meaning of each specific plant. Buy Local as Often as Possible it Does Make a Difference
Purchase products produced locally whenever possible as this will help to reduce the environmental impact of your purchase.
If the item does not have to be transported to your area then a little less fuel will be used for its shipping. This equates to reduced greenhouse gas emissions. If thousands of people purchase just one locally made item this year it can mean a major decrease in the amount of green house gas produced. A great way to purchase locally made gifts is to search out bazaars and craft fairs when they spring up in the summer or for the holiday shopping season. There are a number of ways that you make an impact when purchasing these locally made baked goods or handcrafted items. Not only do you help out the organization that is sponsoring the event but you may also be helping a senior, student, disabled person, or stay at home parent supplement his or her income. Reduce Reuse or Recycle Whenever the Opportunity Presents
Environmentally conscious gifting is ideal for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, graduation, and many other all occasion events.
For Mother's day you could purchase mom a kitchen compost container to help her discover the many benefits of turning her vegetable waste into mineral rich soil, or gift her an old fashioned ice cream maker that uses crank power to produce delicious organic ice cream. Items made from bamboo are eco friendly because the bamboo replaces itself quickly and unlike most trees the lucky bamboo plant keeps growing even after it is harvested. Also don’t forget about “Going Green” when it comes to recycling after the holidays are complete. Try to reuse, re-purpose, recycle, or compost items that you cannot use. It really is quite easy to go a little greener and the holidays are a great place to begin. It just takes a little creative thought and a small adjustment to your current pattern of living. The great thing about going green is that once you get started it just keeps getting easier to find new and fun ways to participate. |
Lorelei Cohen
Writer, blogger, wife, mother, and grandmom. I love to write and I love to shop, combining these elements just seemed logical so here I am.
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