Tis the season again. and some of you are getting a early jump on your holiday shopping. With the help of friends over at Greenguide.com. Green Collar Rap has put together a Environmental Gift Giving Guide.
How to Buy a Green Gift
1. Be thoughtful about your purchase and pick items built to last. Even greener options don’t make good gifts if they end up in an attic or landfill after the holidays.
2. Pick products made from recycled or renewable materials
3. Look for fair trade imports. Such as jewlery, houseware and handcrafts.
4. When in doubt, buy food. Organic, Fair Trade Certified and locally grown and gift baskets are your best bet and usually don’t go to waste.
Material -Free Gifts
Some of the greatest gifts requirer no wraping at all. Consider giving an experience instead of a product.
1. Concert tickets
2. Dance, music or kickboxing lessons
3.Gift certificates to spas, restaurants or movie theaters
4.Handmade gift certificates for home-cooked meals or household chores.
5.Certificates to netflix or iTunes
6.Digital subscriptions to magazines
7.Membership to gyms, zoo or museums
Wrap Responsibly
Americans toss out an extra 25 million tons of trash over the holidays, largely due to packaging.
1. Make the wrapping a part of the gift. Stock a reuseable water bottle with outdoor essentials like a tube of sunscreen. Fill a bamboo mixing bowl with organic fruit and Fair Trade Certified chocolate.
2. Ransack your home for unexpected wrapping materials. Newspaper works well, especially if you match the page to the recipient personality. You can also use old concert posters, fabric or old subway maps.
3. Look for alternative materials, such as Seltzer’s 100 percent post -consumer- recycled wrapping paper. Or tree-free paper made from banana fiber, lokta bush or mango leaf.
