Planet Stewards: Greening the Holidays

Happy Holidays Planet Stewards! Sometimes we wonder if the little things we do can really make the world a better place and hopefully, you believe the answer to be yes! Most importantly, with children in your lives, you are setting an example. Doing a little almost always leads to a desire to do a little more. Reducing our negative impact on the planet is a powerful and lasting gift to our children. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Holiday greetings: Consider sending a computer greeting—saving paper, transportation and postage. There are many e-card websites to help or you can even turn to a photo-sharing website and send the latest family shots. If you’re not quite ready to eliminate cards on the mantle, perhaps buy only cards with recycled content and avoid glitter, fuzz or special coatings which are not recyclable. Another technique is to cut up the cards you do receive and use them as gift tags or postcards. While you’re at it, be sure to recycle catalogs, junk mail and envelopes; move toward paperless bill paying; and visit proquo.com to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive as you enter the New Year.

Wrappings and Ribbons: Americans discard an inordinate amount of additional trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, much of it holiday gift wrapping and packaging. Fortunately, finding an alternative to standard gift wrap is no longer a challenge. Holiday gift bags can be used over and over; maps, comics or children’s art work make fun free wrapping. You can even buy discounted holiday fabric as wrap after the holidays and reuse it year after year. Many gifts don’t need wrapping—cookies in a reusable tin; a potted plant for décor and improved indoor air quality; tickets and gift certificates; just for starters. Ribbons and bows are very reusable and when they wear out, consider eliminating or reducing their use.

Gift-giving: Observe the amount of packaging that your prospective gifts come with and when possible, choose those with less. Step out of your comfort zone and mention to store management those products you are unhappy with. In addition to the ideas mentioned above, consider gifts with the environment in mind—an organic food gift basket, free trade coffee or cocoa, a stainless steel water bottle, a battery recharger—you get the idea. You can encourage a lifetime of conservation mindedness, particularly in families with children, by giving a bird feeder or house and a backyard bird guide. Donations to charity in your relative’s name, a service performed, free childcare—all of these may be as or more valuable than a material item. When choosing flowers and plants as gifts, opt for organic—these are no longer difficult to find.

Trees: If a real tree is in your holiday decorating plan, consider a local grower. When the season is over, you have multiple options. Stand the tree near bird feeders as a perch or create a wildlife habitat. Assuming local ordinances don’t prohibit it, lay the tree in the background of your garden and let it collect leaf litter and debris—many creatures count on this type of protected area to hide from predators and for nesting. With a little more effort, you might even be able to have your yard certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a Backyard Habitat (www.nwf.org). If you can’t keep your tree for wildlife, be sure it goes out to the curb on yard refuse day to be composted.

Lights: When replacing old light sets, seriously consider LEDs (light-emitting diodes) in place of incandescent bulbs. They use 80-90% less energy, cutting your electric bill, and last up to 20 years. Their price has come down substantially as well. Think carefully about investing in additional decorations that require electricity.

I hope you come up with many more ideas for your own “green” holiday season! Next month, we’ll look at some New Year’s resolutions we can implement to make our homes and environment safer for our children.