Seven Sustainable Holiday
Gift Ideas
Tis the season, and we all are buying gifts. The question is how
to do so without saddling friends and families with returns, throwaway gift
paper or mounds of fattening desserts.
Here are seven gift ideas that show you care for not only the
person receiving the gift, but also for people and planet.
1. Make a donation
This is my favorite gift. I give to a charity that I think
aligns with the gift recipient’s passions. Does she love dogs? A gift in her
name to the humane society always results in a truly genuine positive response.
What family is not touched by health issues like heart disease or cancer? A
gift to the Heart Association or Cancer Society is a thoughtful and meaningful
way of saying you care. Looking for a charity? I use Charity Navigator to find credible
nonprofits. The site also has top 10 lists that cover a diverse range of
charities.
2. Shop local
Make a local difference this holiday season. For every dollar you spend locally,
you create about 45 cents of added wealth for your community in the form of
jobs and taxes. Start with Yelp’s top 20 cities for local
shopping. Or do a search for your local community, and I bet you
will be surprised at the ideas that surface.
For us bald old guys, the standard 20th-century gift was a
magazine subscription. Of course that creates 12 months of magazines in the
trash. Try the 21st-century gift version by giving a digital subscription. Amazon’s top 100 digital magazines includes something
for everyone.
Other ideas include giving a digital movie or digital music. If
you have a millennial on your list, a digital gift will demonstrate you care —
and that you may be cooler than they thought.
4. Healthy food gifts
Am I shooting myself in the foot here by recommending the giving
of healthy food? Don’t get me wrong. I love holiday desserts. Sign me up for
pumpkin pies topped with whipped cream and big platters of chocolate chip
cookies! I don’t want to be a Grinch, but we are in a national weight crisis.
So, what about giving good food instead?
One idea is signing someone up for a CSA (community supported
agriculture) membership. These memberships deliver in-season fruits and
vegetables to the door. We all need to eat more good-for-us food. Make it easy
for a friend or loved one by giving them a CSA membership.
5. Give a repurposed gift
Gosh, people are so creative. It amazes and delights me when I
see what artists can do with the things we throw away. Have you ever shopped
online with Etsy? Here’s a link to the e-commerce site’s repurposed gift
items. You’d never know they were made from trash.
Or, in the spirit of shopping local, search out your community’s
artists and craftspeople. So many of these talented people are repurposing
things to make art — and giving them your patronage will brighten their day as
well as your loved one’s.
6. Give an experience
Depending on the experience, giving something like a concert ticket
or hosting a party has a lower environmental footprint compared to something
that has to be made, packaged, shipped and gift-wrapped.
Millennials love experiences. Research has found that 78 percent of millennials would
choose to spend money on a desirable experience over buying something.
Give your millennial something they really want. Give them an experience. Take
comfort in knowing that this year they will not be throwing gift wrapping paper
away or going through the hassle of exchanging your gift so they can buy the
fun time they’re really after.
7. Sustainably produced
gifts
If you are giving something like clothes, then buy the ones that
are sustainably made. Please consider an alternative to fast fashion where a
garment is worn and then discarded. Here’s a list of 35 fashion companies that have great
looks that are responsibly produced.
Founder
of Earth 2017. Author of The Boomer Generation Diet: Lose Weight. Have Fun. Live
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