Eco-friendly Christmas gifts

Christmas is a time of giving. A time when we share our appreciation of friends and family in a direct and personal way. It’s also an opportunity to set an example for our children, to share our family values, and to vote with our dollars. The gifts we give often represent a substantial financial investment. What a great opportunity to invest in our future– to explore our commitment to Going Green!

Here are some resources you should know about:

• EcoFriendlyGifts.com is a website devoted to promoting stores and businesses that “lead by example in terms of sustainable and socially conscious business practices.” From eco-friendly pet beds to reusable lunch bags, this is a link to well-researched products and stores online.
• Eco Express is an online store with “uncommon gifts for the common good.” They specialize in high-end gift baskets of the build-your-own variety, and ship to any location world-wide.
• TreeHugger.com is an excellent resource for environmentally responsible gift ideas. They also provide articles and information on a variety of “Green” topics and concerns. I’ve used them as a resource for buying a new and environmentally-conscious washing machine, learning about the latest trends in Electric Cars, etc etc.
• Arbor Day Foundation offers a variety of gifts, including the purchase or planting of living baby trees. Buying a tree– the biggest air-purifier and oxygen-producer on our planet– is a great way to give a gift that cares for the environment.
  
• The Save the Redwoods League lets you buy a tree in someone’s name. A tree that can live to be over two thousand years old. Those trees now bear a plaque with the gift-recipient’s name, and get the opportunity to grow into the giants their ancestors once were. What a gift!
• There are many opportunities to protect our natural environment in somebody’s name. Often, these opportunities include a website or plaque that can be visited by the recipient of your gift, and a Certificate that you can wrap and place under your own tree at Christmas. Visit Mother Earth News for “A Guide to Environmental Non-Profits: How to distinguish the good ones from the ones that just sound good.”
• Also, consider giving a gift such as gift certificates for massage, Reiki, acupuncture, or possibly a guided hiking tour or dinner at a local and environmentally-responsible restaurant. These gifts do not require harsh chemicals or environmental pollution to produce, and they definitely show the recipient that you care!
• Most stores and online catalogs now offer inventory made of recycled content, or made with “green values.” Look for items with organic or responsibly recycled labels, and limited packaging materials. The plastic and manufactured packaging materials are often harder on our environment than the gift they contain.
  
• Consider wrapping your gifts in recycled materials, or in holiday-themed squares of fabric that can be reused or recycled. Natural grasses are available to replace ribbons, and recycled-content bows are available. Get creative– let your children decorate newsprint or paper bags as a way of contributing to the family’s gifts.

Whatever you do, have fun! The easier and more enjoyable your environmentally-responsible holiday shopping is this year, the more likely you are to do it again next year. And sustainable practices are what green living is all about.