Now that holiday gatherings, gift giving and excessive shopping are in full swing, there are a few tips for living greener this holiday season. When I mention holiday green tips to friends and family, their first reaction is that I’ll suggest cooking a Tofurkey for dinner or try to persuade them to avoid buying unnecessary consumer products as gifts. Actually, living green is the method by which we think and therefore live that is the theme for living green during the holiday season.
A Few Tips for Greening the Holidays
Shopping
Do your research. If you are interested in buying a particular item, look into all of the components that go into the process of getting it into your hands, and look for alternatives. If you spend time researching what you are buying you will not only be green, but more importantly, you will be making a smart decision. I always say that by purchasing something, you are telling the manufacturer that you approve of the product in how it is made, the materials or ingredients in it, the labor conditions of the workers who made it and where it came from. Whether you ask yourself this before you purchase something is irrelevant, because the purchase alone is telling the manufacture to keep making it, because you will be there to buy it.
Waste
Americans dispose of 25 percent more waste from Thanksgiving to New Year’s than at any other time of the year. Reduce waste by limiting the products you buy that include high levels of packaging and pick gifts that do not need to be wrapped at all. Instead of using wrapping paper, small gift bags can be reused time and time again. If you do choose to use wrapping paper, find materials that will be discarded anyway, like newspaper or magazine pages. Best of all, use a green bag to wrap your gift, as it will act as a gift inside a gift!
BYOB
Bring your own bag. There is no reason not to bring your own bag when you shop. Think outside the grocery store.
Electricity & Heating
The holiday season is often when we heat our homes to stay cozy and offer a warm home to family and friends during gatherings. Minimize the amount of energy needed to heat your home by turning the thermostat down just five degrees. Or turn the heater on just to take the chill out of the air and then turn it off again. After baking something in the oven, turn it off and use the remaining heat to warm your home.
Individual Actions Speak Loudly
Remember that everyone’s contributions are necessary to develop a shift toward greening our lifestyles. The famous quote “Think globally, act locally” can in many ways be flipped to say “Think locally, act globally” in that the wealth of knowledge we obtain through a community basis can be transmitted globally through the use of social networking tools like Facebook, Twitter and Myspace.
So before you take action and make decisions this holiday season, think about ways you can reduce your impact by making eco-friendly decisions. Remember that every action you take has reciprocating effects on others, so don’t be afraid to announce your holiday greenness to friends and family and to the global community.