Posted by Sue Landsman on Dec.17, 2009

ⓒ iStockPhoto - inhauscreative

This is a hard time of year to maintain a commitment to treading lightly on the earth. Advertisements encourage you to buy, buy, buy, and once you do buy you’ve got to wrap, wrap, wrap. The thought of all that packaging and wrapping paper is enough to make any environmentalist cringe. There are ways to decrease your effect on the environment as you engage in the season of giving. Here’s some tips for putting the green back in Christmas:

1. Make the wrapping part of the present. You can buy colorful reusable shopping bags from many stores, and no one ever seems to have enough of these. Use them to wrap presents; roll the top down and tie with some nice ribbons and bows. You can also buy fabric in colorful holiday colors which the gift recipient can later use. If you have kids, they can use tempera paint to paint and stamp cereal boxes to use as gift boxes.

2. Support your local artists and business people. Yes, it’s tempting to order everything online, but consider finding a local gallery, boutique or gift store where you can find many of your gifts. Artisan galleries often have a wide range of things from fiber to pottery, to framed signed photography.

3. Make your own gifts. Even if you don’t think of yourself as crafty, or it’s the week before Christmas, there’s simple things you can make in very little time that people can use and appreciate. You can buy precut squares of fabric at places like Joanne Fabrics. If you sew a simple hem on four coordinating pieces, you’ve got a set of napkins. Over a few years, you can supply a friend or family member with enough napkins that they no longer need to use paper. Or, learn how to crochet, and crochet some washcloths; give with some nice-smelling soap.

4. If you have an extended family that buys lots of presents for each other, consider doing a yankee swap or an exchange where everyone buys only one present for someone else. If you want to get creative, you can put a dollar limit on the gift or have it be a homemade gift. It also can be fun to regift things you already have, especially if something everyone enjoys gets shared around over the years.

5. If you can’t reduce, reuse. Christmas cards can be recycled. If you’re creative, you can recycle them into new Christmas cards for the following year.

6. Give gifts that help the environment and encourage others to do so. You can gift a tree through the Arbor Day Foundation, or plant a tree in a recipients name. There are many products, including toys, that have been made with environmentally sustainable materials.

7. Replace some of your Christmas lights with low-energy LED lights, which use up to 90% less energy than traditional ones.

8. If you have a real Christmas tree, make sure you dispose of it properly rather than putting it in the trash. Most communities have tree-pick-up services. You can also rent a wood chipper or call a tree service to grind the tree into mulch, as long as it doesn’t have tinsel or flocking.

9. Make sure that you recycle at holiday parties and family get-togethers. Make sure it’s easy for your guests to know what to do with their bottles, cans, and plates. If your host doesn’t recycle, offer to collect the recyclables for them if you think they won’t mind.

10. Don’t drive around looking for that perfect gift. It’s the thought that counts, and you can take the time you would have spent driving to personalize something simple like a gift card. A hand-written note or letter is worth a lot, especially for a teacher who probably gets tens of boxes of chocolates or mugs, but not as much appreciation as he or she could use.

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Posted under Eco-Friendly Ideas, Living.