Green Giving
As the gift giving holidays are almost upon us, shopping is in full swing! Make sure you are prepared to complete all your shopping in effective, yet ethical and sustainable ways! There are many ways that you can obtain all your gifts all while limiting your impact on the environment. While you're shopping sustainably, make sure you are wrapping sustainably as well! Continue reading for some tips and tricks for holiday gift giving this year!
To ensure your shopping is complete and ready for the holidays, plan ahead and create a list (obviously!). Begin by writing a list of all your friends and family who will need a gift this year and write out some gift options for them. Once you have your list, plan out a budget for how much you are willing to spend on each person that you will be buying for. Once you have your list and budget established, shopping will be a lot more enjoyable! By having a plan for gift shopping, you will be less likely to purchase unnecessary items and save some money (and resources) in the process!
Now that you have your gifting list and budget established, time to get shopping (the best part)! Here are some ways that you can shop responsibly this holiday season:
Shop local: There are so many small businesses that rely on local consumers to stay running, especially now more than ever. By shopping small you are helping locals to stay in business rather than supporting large corporations. Additionally, by shopping local you are helping to reduce carbon emissions! As shopping local means you are staying close to home, less driving is needed for shopping. Also, many local shops are small in size and contribute to less pollution than larger corporations. And if all that wasn’t good enough, local shops have unique products that most often cannot be found online or in large box stores. Head to some small shops for all the best finds this holiday season!
Shopping online: Shopping online may not be the most sustainable way to purchase gifts, but there are some hacks to reduce shipping emissions. Some companies like Amazon offer greener shipping options! Some companies also ship with eco-friendly and low-emissions shipping services, so do your homework when ordering online! Furthermore, make an effort to purchase from ethical and sustainable brands and companies while shopping online to ensure your gifts and eco-friendly. Additionally, make sure to be positive before clicking the order button, as returning items is a big contributor to carbon emissions.
Shop Sustainable: There are so many options that you can purchase for your loved ones, but try and make them sustainable this year! Many items have a sustainable version, so make an attempt to purchase sustainably. For example, opt for glass over plastic, or biodegradable vs imperishable and so on. Additionally, another way to shop sustainably is to purchase an item that will last longer than an alternative item. Buying something of higher quality will save it from ending up in a landfill and will allow it to be used for a longer period of time. When shopping sustainably, you may spend a little more but taking steps towards reducing waste are worth the extra cash.
Now that your gifts are purchased and ready for wrapping, here are some ways to reduce your gift wrap waste!
Reuse: If you're like me and you save gift bags and boxes, it's time to pull them out and get to packaging! Reusing old festive bags and boxes multiple times is a great way to reduce the amount of gift wrap that ends up in the trash. Giving new life to fancy boxes and tissue paper from packaging or gifts will save them from landfills.
Wrapping: When searching for wrapping paper, look for eco-friendly wrapping paper. Many of the classic gift wrap is non-recyclable and very wasteful. Look for recyclable gift wrap such as brown paper that you can stamp or add other decorative touches to. Tip: The most sustainable wrapping paper would be old newspapers that are waiting at the bottom of your recycling bin for new life! If you want to take it a step further, try wrapping in cloth or other fabrics by using the Furoshiki method. This is a beautiful and eco-friendly way to package your gifts that your friends and family will love receiving.
Giving: When it is time to give, think about what can be cut out of the exchange to reduce extra waste. For example, maybe this year, skip the extra card that will soon end in the trash can. If your family does a large give exchange, suggest a Yankee swap or White Elephant themed gift exchange so as to reduce the number of items purchased. If you are mailing your gifts this year, look out for compostable mailing packages that won’t be an extra burden in our landfills.
During the holidays it is easy to be wasteful as we are consumed by shopping and spending. Take a little extra time this year to step back and reflect on what kind of gift giver you would like to be this year. No matter how you chose to give, putting a little extra thought behind your buying and giving is a step in the right direction! As always, if you have any suggestions for holiday gift buying and giving this year, please reach out to share!
