It’s that familiar time of year again when we embrace consumerism in the name of celebration and keeping family and friends happy. Telling your nearest and dearest that you won’t buy presents because it helps perpetuate environmental destruction will not work. You will be labeled cheap, a title that is hard if impossible to shake. To maintain your good name and relax your conscious lets look at a few gifting options which are less destructive to the environment.
Oh Christmas Tree
If I have to read one more blog entry debating the pros and cons of fake vs. real Christmas trees I’m going to puke. Either forget the tree, buy a live one at a nursery or find a company like The Living Christmas Co. TLC Co. (nice) will deliver a live Christmas tree to your house and then pick it up at the end of the holiday season. Just think – no cleaning up pine needles.
Antique Furniture, Books, Vintage Clothes, Jewelry
What’s old is new again and often better constructed. Call it antique, vintage or used there are some amazing finds floating around the antique and resale shops of the world. Try to stick with your friend or family members interests, for example: if your mother loves birds the gift of an antique birdhouse would be perfection.
Knit a Scarf, Hat, or Gloves using Organic or Recycled Fibers
Make useful winter (or for those in the Southern Hemi – summer) items out of whatever environmentally friendly yarn you can find. You can find a wide selection of organic and recycled yarns on the web at Amazon or Ebay. Knitting and crocheting are easy to learn and a fantastic way to get through a horrible movie like “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra”. Avoid acrylic and polyester fibers, as they are petroleum by-products. Notice, I didn’t list a sweater with a reindeer or snowman stitched on it – best to stay away from designs.
The Kindle
The printing of new books uses vast amounts of paper and toxic ink. The Kindle offers a possible solution to book caused deforestation, though the jury is still out on the possibility of future Kindle e-waste. I, for one, would love a Kindle, it would mean a lighter carry on at the airport. Owning a Kindle means you can chose from over 360,000 titles, which can be downloaded wirelessly. Surely, even your most difficult relative can find a book to love among 360,000.
The Model House that Keeps on Giving
For those creative kids (even the big ones) who like models, or do it yourself projects I give you the Thames & Kosmos Power House. The house teaches kids how to build their own solar panels and collect energy from the wind. The model was designed by physicist Uwe Wandrey who weaves the model home into a game of “how to survive on a remote island by harvesting your own energy.” It’s heavy stuff, but much cooler than the chemistry set I got when I turned 12.
Give to Charity
Giving to those less fortunate in the name of a loved one is a no brainer, and creates little to no waste only good fuzzy feelings. But how do you pick an organization that won’t bombard you with annoying junk mail after your altruistic gifting. In my many non-profit wanderings I’ve found a few that don’t. Oprah’s Angel Network will not only match your gift, but they won’t send you one scrap of paper afterwards. At Kiva.org you can make loans to small businesses in your family members name. They can then follow as the business repays the loan and then they can chose the next business to help or cash out and buy a coffee.
Organic and Fair Trade Food
I’m a big fan of food gifts because people have to eat. They might return the sweater you thought was perfect for them, but they wouldn’t dare trade in a good tin of unsweetened cocoa powder or fair trade tea. Here are a few companies with fair trade and organic gift baskets who even carry items for people with dietary restrictions like vegans and diabetics: TheoChocolate for orgasmic chocolate, Equal Exchange for encouraging fair trade, and Ecoexpress.com for the wine lovers.
More cool stuff on Celsias:
Navigating the Twitter-verse for Green Thumbs
Age-Old Wisdom for the New Economy
Another great company I discovered for gifts is Sustainable Sourcing https://secure.sustainablesourcing.com. They have these beautiful organic gift sets (I found one with Himalayan sea salt and organic peppercorns and another with massage stones and bath crystals) that are all made by Green-e certified wind power and they donate 5% of their profits to environmental causes.
Written in December 2009