Wrapping and unwrapping gifts has become a part of the holiday tradition but it also produces large amounts of waste! Consider using more sustainable wrapping methods in order to cut the amount of unnecessary waste you are generating. Here are some ideas:
- Use old newspapers, magazines and maps as gift wrap. The comic section makes especially great wrapping paper.
- Be creative with gift wrapping using items in your junk drawer. Interesting items like old VHS tape can make neat vintage wrapping jobs.
- Reuse your gift wrap.
- If you are interested in the traditional wrapping paper, make sure that you buy recycled. The following suppliers offer sustainable gift wrapping.
- You can find eco-friendly ribbon at Paporganics and Eartheasy.
- Instead of wrapping gifts for kids, hide gifts and give clues about where the gifts are hidden.
If every family reused just 2 feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved would tie a bow around the entire planet.
Holiday cards are a great way to send a warm greeting from afar, but imagine how many people are on your holiday card list. Now, imagine how many people are on their lists. This adds up to a lot of paper waste after the holidays.
- Consider e-cards. Try Blue Mountain's online greeting cards.
- Create an online slide show to send out to your friends and family at photobucket.com
- Be creative. Use old holiday cards and junk mail to make fun Christmas cards.
- If you do go with a card, buy or print cards on recycled paper that can also be recycled.
- Buy cards on plantable paper. That's right! It's seed embedded paper you can actually plant in the soil to sprout wildflowers. Visit Green Field Paper Company.
The 2.65 billion Christmas cards sold each year in the U.S. could fill a football field 10 stories high. If we all one card less, we'd save 50,000 cubic yards of paper.
Though they are incredibly festive, Christmas lights consume large amounts of energy. As an alternative to the traditional Christmas lights, use LED lights instead. By using LED lights, you can save significant amounts of the energy and reduce your electric bill drastically. These lights last longer and use 90% less energy than traditional lights. Here's where you can find them:
Holiday shopping can be hectic. But don't stress this year. Take some time to think about gift ideas then do some research online. Plan out your shopping trips accordingly and keep in mind to shop environmentally friendly:
- Take reusable tote bags.
- Buy locally made products to cut down the amount of miles (and emissions) it takes for your products to get to you.
- Buy products with minimal packaging.
- Plan shopping excursions so that you only don't have to make multiple trips.
- If you are shipping items, buy items that won't require excess packaging.
- Reuse packing material like peanuts, bubble wrap, or shredded newspaper.
- Find out where to drop off your packing peanuts so that they can be reused.
It's about that time to rush off to the stores to find the perfect gift for all those on your list. But this year, when thinking about what would be great for that special someone, also think about what would be great for the environment. Here's what you can do:
- Visit Treehugger's 2007 Gift Guide to find more than 180 different green gifts.
- Or forget the stuff.give gifts like tickets to a concert or a sporting event, a home cooked meal or a night of babysitting.
- Donate to a charity in the recipient's name.
- Shop at antique stores or flea markets to adhere to the old adage: one man's junk, another man's great holiday gift.
Decorating the house is all about creating a festive mood in order to get in the holiday spirit. Here's how to create that setting the green way:
- Look around your house for things to hang on the tree. Barbie dolls, pez dispensers and toy cars hanging from hemp twine can make fun ornaments.
- Take a walk outside your home to look for the natural decorations. Nothing gives the winter feel more than natural products of winter like pine cones, pine needles, twigs, bark, etc.
- Visit eco-artware.com for eco-craft ideas such as a beautiful silver wreath made from tin cans.
- Or you can buy decorations at Branch: Sustainable Design for Livin
Getting together with family and friends to enjoy a meal is arguably the best part of the holidays. Before gathering together and cooking your favorite holiday meals, please keep the following tips in mind:
- Support your local farmers market.
- Use organic locally grown foods.
- Decorate with organic flowers and eco-friendly candles.
- Use reusable containers instead of disposable ones. In particular, stay away from using Styrofoam.
- Limit excess food waste by planning to prepare an adequate amount of food for your guests. Encourage guests to take home leftovers in order to cut down on the amount of food you discard. Compost your leftover food waste.
- Clean up with natural products.
- For more information please visit Greenopia's article "How to Be Greener: Host an Eco-Friendly Feast."
Over 28 million pounds of food are wasted each year. That equates to approximately 100 pounds per person! You can really make a difference by re-evaluating your food consumption habits and making wise decisions about what you buy.
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