Easy Ways to Go Green This Christmas
Reducing Waste and Lowering Carbon Footprint Over the Holidays
Dec 10, 2008
Searching for some ways to be earth-friendly over the holidays without giving up all the good cheer? Here are a few ideas to help reduce the negative impact of the season on the environment.
Send Environmentally-Responsible Greeting Cards
Americans buy about 7 billion greeting cards each holiday season (“Congratulations on Overpaying For This Greeting Card",Grinning Planet, 2005). Most of these cards are made from paper from virgin forests and end up in landfills shortly after arriving at their destination.
Christmas and holiday cards bring a lot of joy and help family and friends re-connect over the holidays, but there are more Earth-friendly ways to send them.
- Send e-cards. Cheaper, cleaner, and often free, e-cards allow senders to spread holiday cheer without creating unnecessary waste. A quick web search of “free holiday e-cards” will bring up plenty of options.
- Post a family update to a website. Many families like to send update letters and photos of the family, kids and/or pets. Reduce waste and cost by sending an email or e-card with a link to the web page. Web services like Kodak Gallery and Photobucket provide space for those without their own site. Some sites offer password authorization to restrict user access.
- Buy cards printed on recycled paper. If web greetings don’t appeal or there are recipients who aren’t internet saavy (like the grandparents and great-aunts), look for cards made from 100% recycled paper, preferably with a 100% or close to it post-consumer content label.
- Recycle old greeting cards by cutting off the written-on part and using the side with the picture as a postcard. Only having to pay the postcard rate will save money, too.
Another way to re-use greeting cards received in past years is to cut them up for scrapbooking, kids’ crafts or bookmarks. Also, backed with some cardboard and decorated with markers, glitter, and a ribbon for hanging, used holiday cards can be made into fun, kid-inspired ornaments.
Use Energy-Efficient Christmas Lights
Since most electricity comes from coal, which has a colossal impact on a person's carbon footprint, it can seem indulgent to light up the outside of the house with hundreds of holiday lights. There is, however, a responsible way to brighten up the neighborhood at Christmas.
According to Consumer Reports, LED Christmas lights can use up to 104 fewer kilowatt-hours than typical incandescents. They also last twice as long, and run cooler, reducing fire risk (“Holiday Lights: LED Versus Incandescents,” 2007). Not to mention the cost saving on January's electric bill.
Buy Earth-Friendly Gifts
As for shopping: go easy on the cheap foreign imports this year. Instead, try one of the following alternatives:
- Make a meaningful gift. A scrapbook, handmade recipe book, personal poem or song can brighten a person’s holiday while creating minimal waste. Having the kids make the grandparents a gift and including a recent family photo is likely gift enough for older folks. Use recycled paper material when possible.
- Think food. Cheese, wine, olive oil, a favorite baked good . . . these items are consumable and therefore won’t end up in a landfill. Extra kudos for choosing organic food and wrapping the items with a small amount of recyclable wrappings (a re-usable shopping bag with a festive cloth bow works well).
- Do a White Elephant gift exchange. Instead of purchasing something new for the family or office gift exchange, have everyone wrap up something they have at home that they no longer want. It doesn't have to be new, but should be in good shape. Recipients open the gifts one by one and can choose to keep their "white elephant" or "steal" one from another person instead. At the very least fun and at most hilarious, this type of gift exchange allows for holiday fun without extra expense or consumerism.
- Buy Earth-Friendly Products. There are items that are specifically designed to be easy on the environment. It may not be very romantic, but the Diva Cup replaces tampons and pads and all their waste. Organic beauty products, toys and gifts made from recycled materials, and locally-produced items are all great options.
- Donate Money. To take it a step further, the gift of a donation to a worthwhile cause in a person's name not only shows the recipient that you care about their cause, but embodies the true spirit of Christmas. Organizations like World Vision have holiday catalogues that can be ordered from. A simple recycled card stating the amount you donated to an animal rescue organization, environmental organization, or other charity not only reduces waste, but contributes to a better world.
Change doesn’t come easily, especially when holiday traditions that include lots of consumption and waste hold fond memories. The world is a different place, however, and creating new traditions may be easier than expected. Try a few of these environmentally-responsible ways to celebrate the holidays, including re-thinking your Christmas tree. The traditions practiced today will be the ones the next generation remembers joyfully and carries on as well.
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